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Based on the stressor-detachment theory, this study aims to investigate the effect of daily customer mistreatment on proactive service performance and ego depletion, mediated by psychological detachment inhibition during the evening. Additionally, this study endeavors to investigate the dual moderating role of prosocial motivation.

A time-lagged, diary daily survey involving 74 participants over 8 consecutive workdays was conducted to test the hypotheses.

The findings indicate that the psychological detachment inhibition during the evening of Day t mediates the impact of Day t’s customer mistreatment on Day t + 1’s proactive service performance and ego depletion. Furthermore, although prosocial motivation was found to intensify the impact of customer mistreatment on psychological detachment inhibition, it alleviated the negative association between psychological detachment inhibition and proactive service performance.

When employees experience customer mistreatment, hospitality managers should not only provide emotional reassurance and resolve any related issues promptly but also encourage employees to engage in activities that distract them and help them to relax and recharge, especially for those who exhibit high prosocial motivation. Moreover, hiring employees with high prosocial motivation is recommended for hospitality organizations to enable them to maintain high service performance.

This study focuses on psychological detachment inhibition during the evening linking within-person design and daily spill-over impact, enriching the mechanisms through which the repercussions of daily customer mistreatment extend beyond the immediate workday and affect individuals’ outcomes. This study also expands upon the existing literature by clarifying the dual aspects – both detrimental and beneficial – of prosocial motivation.

Drawing on the social information processing theory, this study aims to adopt a moderated mediation model to investigate the mediation role of cognitive crafting and the moderation role of regulatory focus in the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and employee innovative behavior.

A questionnaire study with 181 employees from a state-owned communications technology company in China was conducted through a two-wave survey, with a one-month lagged design. The model is tested through confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis and PROCESS bootstrapping program in SPSS24.0 and AMOS22.0 software.

This study confirms that perceived deviance tolerance is positively related to innovative behavior, while cognitive crafting mediates the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and innovative behavior. Furthermore, the promotion focus positively moderates the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and cognitive crafting, and higher promotion focus enhances the mediating effect of cognitive crafting on the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and innovative behavior. The prevention focus negatively moderates the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and cognitive crafting, and higher prevention focus weakens the mediating effect of cognitive crafting on the relationship between perceived deviance tolerance and innovative behavior.

Organizations need to establish a tolerant and inclusive management system and create a harmonious working atmosphere to provide a platform basis to inspire the innovative behavior of employees. Also, regulatory focus variables are suggested to be considered in organizational human resource management processes (e.g. recruitment and training) to improve organizational person–job fit.

The primary contribution of this study is to confirm that perceived deviance tolerance has a positive impact on innovation behavior and thereby providing a new perspective to understand the impact effect of perceived deviance tolerance. Another contribution the study explores the mechanisms and boundary conditions of perceived deviance tolerance on innovative behavior fills the theoretical gap of perceived deviance tolerance.