Service employees’ perceptions of organizational vulnerability from macro-level risks and how innovativeness mitigates their impact

Purpose
This paper aims to explore how service employees, who often integrate the organization they work for into their identity, can be affected by macro-level risks and the resulting financial vulnerability of their service organization. In addition, it investigates whether innovativeness, a characteristic of the service organization, can alleviate these adverse effects, particularly on firm financial performance and mental well-being.

Design/methodology/approach
This research develops a conceptual model underpinned by protection motivation theory (PMT) with data used from an online survey of service employees (n = 365). The hypotheses and data are tested using MANCOVA and spotlight moderated-mediation analysis.

Findings
The results demonstrate the empirical impact of macro-level risks (financial and health) on service employees’ mental well-being and perceptions of firm financial performance. Financial vulnerability emerged as a key mediator in these relationships. Moreover, the findings indicate that high levels of innovativeness within service organizations can help maintain higher levels of mental well-being and perceptions of financial performance but this is only when risks are perceived as low from macro-level events.

Originality/value
This research broadens the discourse on vulnerability, extending it beyond consumer actors to illuminate the distinct challenges encountered by service employees. In addition, it advances theoretical frameworks by blending ideas from PMT and emphasizing the significance of incorporating deficit and strength-based perspectives in service research. This research argues that this offers a complete comprehension of vulnerability experiences, transcending debates about the exclusivity or superiority of these approaches to considering and understanding experiences of vulnerability.

© Rory Mulcahy, Jacqueline Burgess, Joy Parkinson, Lisa Schuster and Anthony Grace. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode.