Does mortality salience produce positive effects on hotel employee behaviors? A temporal distance perspective

Abstract

Drawing on generativity theory and terror management theory, this study investigates how mortality salience influences proactive service behavior and helping behavior through anxiety and reflection as two death awareness dimensions. Additionally, it examines the moderating role of temporal distance. Three experiments, employing different mortality salience manipulations across various contexts (e.g., fire and pandemic), were conducted. The findings reveal that: (1) mortality salience positively influences proactive service behavior and helping behavior among hotel employees; (2) mortality salience suppresses these behaviors through death anxiety but enhances them through death reflection; and (3) the direct and indirect effects of mortality salience on proactive service and helping behaviors are moderated by temporal distance. This research provides practical insights for hotels on managing internal and external mortality threats, fostering positive employee behavioral responses.