Ashforth and Humphrey(1993)가 사회정체성 이론을 이용하여, 스트레스 감소 및 심리적 안녕 증대에서 역할동일시의 중요성을 강조했다, 그러나, 이에 대한 실증적 연구는 미미하다. 특히, 역할동일시와 감정고갈간의 관계를 파악한 연구는 아직 없다. 본 연구는 Ashforth and Humphrey의 사회정체성 이론에서 제시한 역할동일시와 관련된 이론적 틀을 기반으로, 감정고갈을 낮추는데 있어서 역할동일시의 역할을 살펴본다. 즉, 역할동일시와 감정고갈 사이 관계를 살펴본다. 이와 더불어, 감정고갈과 역할이탈 사이의 연관성을 파악해 본다. 다음으로, 역할동일시와 감정고갈 사이 감정 요구-능력 적합성의 조절효과를 알아보는데, 이는 역할동일시와 감정고갈 사이의 관계가 감정 요구-능력 적합성이 높을 때 더 뚜렷해지는지 살펴보기 위함이다. 또한, 역할동일시가 감정고갈을 통해 역할이탈에 간접적인 관련이 있는지도 파악한다. 마지막으로, 역할동일시의 감정고갈을 통한 역할이탈에로의 간접효과가 감정 요구-능력 적합성의 크기에 따라 달라지는 지 검증해 본다. 이러한 연구목적들은 중국 베이징에서 고객을 상대하는 서비스 업종 종사자 191명에게서 얻은 데이터를 통해 분석되었다. 데이터 분석 및 가설검증은 통계패키지 SPSS 23.0과 LISREL 8.72를 사용하여 수행 되었다. 연구결과에 의하면, 역할동일시는 감정고갈과 부(-)의 관련이 있으며, 감정고갈은 역할이탈과 정(+)의 관계를 갖는다. 감정 요구-능력 적합성은 역할동일시와 감정고갈 간의 관계를 부(-)로 조절하는 것으로 나타났다. 즉, 역할동일시와 감정고갈의 부의 관계는 감정 요구-능력 적합성이 높을 때 더 강하게 나타났다. 또한, 역할동일시는 감정고갈을 통해 간접적으로 역할이탈과 관련되어 있으며, 이 간접효과는 감정 요구-능력 적합성이 높은 경우 더 큰 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 결과에 대한 함의는 결론 부문에 제시되어 있다.
Although Ashforth and Humphrey(1993) presented, using the social identity theory, the importance of role identification in reducing stress and enhancing psychological well-being, there is a scant empirical examination for this issue. Especially, no research has examined the relationship between role identification and emotional exhaustion. This paper examines the role of role identification in reducing emotional exhaustion using social identity theory and relevant theories. More specifically, the aims of this paper is to examine the relationship between role identification and emotional exhaustion, and the relationship between emotional exhaustion and breaking character. In addition, this paper aims to investigate the moderating effect of emotional demands-abilities fit in the relationship between role identification and emotional exhaustion. Then, it investigates whether role identification has an indirect effect on breaking character through emotional exhaustion. Finally, this paper examines whether such an indirect effect is influenced by the levels of the emotional demands-abilities fit. These research aims are examined using data from a sample of 191 employees who work in a range of interactive service organizations in Beijing. The results showed that role identification is negatively related to emotional exhaustion, and emotional exhaustion is positively associated with breaking character. Emotional demands-abilities fit appeared to negatively moderate the negative relationship between role identification and emotional exhaustion. This suggests that the negative relationship between role identification and emotional exhaustion is stronger at higher levels of emotional demands-abilities fit. The results also showed that role identification has an indirect effect on breaking character through emotional exhaustion. The indirect effect is stronger when individuals have higher emotional demands-abilities fit. The implications for the research results are as follows. The first is that the results imply the importance of role identification in reducing emotional exhaustion. Numerous studies showed that emotional exhaustion leads to various negative outcomes for employees and organizations. Thus, one means to reduce the negative outcomes resulted from emotional exhaustion is to make employees develop strong sense of role identification. The second implication is that emotional exhaustion reduces breaking character which is a representative emotional expression behavior which is used in the research area of emotional labor. Thus, if organizations want to improve the levels of their employees’ services towards customers/clients, they should try to reduce their employees’ levels of emotional exhaustion. The third is that the negative impact of role identification on emotional exhaustion is stronger at higher levels of emotional demands-abilities fit. This suggests that, to reduce emotional exhaustion, it needs to not only enhance employees’ sense of role identification, but also heighten their sense of emotional demands-abilities fit. To heighten employees’ sense of emotional demands-abilities fit, the organization should make an effort to hire employees whose emotional abilities fit into job demands, as well as it should strengthen its training effort for improving its employees’ emotional abilities. The final implication is that role identification has an indirect effect on breaking character through emotional exhaustion and such indirect impact is stronger when individuals have higher emotional demands-abilities fit. This suggests a possibility that role identification may be indirectly related to a number of work-related outcomes which are associated with emotional exhaustion, and such indirect effects may be stronger at higher levels of emotional demands-abilities fit.