The theoretical exploration of the culture of fear in hotel businesses is essential to understanding the significant effects on business management and employee well-being. The primary purpose of this research is to provide information to improve businesses' management strategies by examining the impact of a culture of fear on employee behavior. Understanding the effects of a culture of fear on employees' psychological health, job satisfaction, and organizational productivity can help managers identify measures to create a healthier and more supportive work environment. This research may also contribute to the business management literature on the culture of fear and provide a basis for future studies. In conclusion, examining the culture of fear in hotel businesses is an essential area of research in business management and employee well-being, and this research aims to raise awareness and develop management strategies in this area.
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management for Complex Work Environments
TopIntroduction
Businesses reflect society and have specific cultural values as they have individuals with different qualities and cultures (Hofstede, 1994). These cultural values are called organizational culture and are claimed to impact the functioning of businesses (Koçel, 2005). In general, organizational culture keeps individuals who do different jobs and have other characteristics and value judgments around a business's common purpose (O'Reilly et al., 1991). Organizational culture can be defined as the value judgments that a business shares and adopts (Schein, 2010) or the values that give the business an identity and image (Marshall, 1999). In general terms, organizational culture is the order that covers a business and its employees and keeps both elements together around a typical value judgment, creates a functioning order that can prevent uncertainties, and gives the businesses a characteristic (Hogan & Coote, 2014).
Different management approaches and rules may be encountered by employees depending on the structure of the businesses they work in (Duggan et al., 2020). As a result of this difference, each business has an organizational culture that is unique to itself (Azeem et al., 2021). Employees' behaviors and emotions are influenced by the general organizational culture in almost every aspect (Men & Robinson, 2018; Ntalakos et al., 2024a, b; 2023; 2022a,b; Belias et al., 2023, 2022). Pressure and limitations are created for employees when fear dominates the organizational culture (Kish-Gephart et al., 2009). This situation may lead to employees experiencing different negative problems within the organization. Negative situations can have a negative impact on the quality of business services and cause organizations to fall behind in competition (Öztürk, 2022).
Fear has permeated human experiences and emotions throughout history, manifesting in various forms and contexts (Freeman & Elpidorou, 2020; Furedi, 2018). Individuals have encountered fear both as instigators and victims, contributing to a continuing cycle of apprehension. Presently, this cycle persists, with fear and its associated culture prevalent in certain industries, such as the hotel sector. Research indicates that the pervasive culture of fear within hotel businesses detrimentally impacts employees' creativity, collaboration, and morale (Dalgıç, 2019). Management practices within these establishments are cited as a primary source of employee apprehension (Yaşar, 2022). Recognizing the significance of this issue, this study examines the phenomenon of fear culture and its management within the hotel industry, shedding light on current challenges and circumstances faced by both employees and managers through a comprehensive literature review.