Purpose – Employee engagement serves as a critical strategy for tourism and hospitality organizations to support their employees and fight adversity. This study aims to investigate the antecedents and effects of employee engagement and examine innovative behavior as a linchpin mechanism for the relationship
between organizational engagement culture and organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach – This study analyzed the antecedents and effects of employee engagement through a hierarchical linear model that considers both organizational- and individual-level factors. The data was collected through a questionnaire survey from employees of 39 hotels in Guangzhou, China.
Findings – The results confirmed the significant positive effect of organizational empowerment, leadership and collaboration atmosphere on employment engagement. An individual’s perception of rewards and recognition, distributive justice and procedural justice significantly affected employee engagement.
It was also confirmed that employee engagement ultimately improved performance outcomes at the individual and organizational levels. Additionally, the mediation effect of organizational innovation culture on the relationship between organizational employee engagement and organizational performance was confirmed.
Practical implications – Organizations can improve their performance by enhancing employee engagement, which in turn, can be encouraged by empowering leadership and organizational collaboration culture. Organizations can also improve their performance by providing rewards and recognition appreciated by employees and ensuring justice to them.
Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature on employee engagement in the hospitality industry by demonstrating how organizational performance can be improved through employee engagement using a multilevel model. The findings highlight that organizations with engaged employees are more likely to achieve an innovative culture, which in turn, leads to organizational success. This study also confirmed that empowerment, leadership and collaboration culture help improve organizational performance in the  hospitality industry