The effects of relationship bonds on emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions in frontline employees

Purpose - This paper aims to extend the relationship marketing concept to examine which relationship bonds (social, structural and financial bonds) have different effects on employee affective (want to stay), normative (ought to stay) and continuance commitment (have to stay). Preventing emotional exhaustion in frontline employees and helping them stay on the job is an important topic for emotional labor research. The research also investigates which types of commitment influence emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions significantly. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire administered to 401 restaurant service industry frontline workers. Findings - The findings support the hypothesis that whereas social and financial bonds influence affective commitment, structural and financial bonds influence continuance commitment. Furthermore, affective commitment is a crucial factor for preventing emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions, whereas continuance commitment positively affects emotional exhaustion. Originality/value - This research offers academic and managerial insights into the various types of relationship bonds and controls these bonds for facilitating employee organizational commitment, which consequently affects emotional exhaustion and turnover intention.