Building employee commitment in the hospitality industry

Purpose Employee turnover has lately considerably increased in the Lithuanian hospitality industry. Given the fact that organizational commitment is negatively related to employee turnover, the research aim is to determine the level of employee organizational commitment as well as their empowerment, which can be viewed as a possible means of stimulating employee commitment, as well as the interrelationship between employee commitment and empowerment. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was carried out among customer‐contact employees of Lithuanian upscale (four and five star) hotels. Findings The levels of both organizational commitment and organizational empowerment in Lithuanian upscale hotels are rather low, while the correlation between them is rather strong. This implies that improvement of conditions that foster empowerment would lead to a higher level of employee organizational commitment, especially the level of affective commitment that is of greater importance for the organization, as in this case commitment rests on common values and stimulates emotional attachment to the organization. Practical implications This paper gives evidence that by developing certain organizational conditions Lithuanian hotel management may raise the level of employee empowerment and commitment, which in turn can lead to a decrease in employee turnover. Originality/value The paper presents the state of employee commitment and empowerment levels in Lithuanian upscale hotels, and demonstrates an interrelationship between organisational commitment and employee empowerment.