As the attention given to ethical issues in the hospitality industry has gradually increased, several scholars have focused on the causes of the unethical behaviours of hotel employees and ways of preventing them from engaging in unethical behaviours. In this article, based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, we investigate how and when hotel employees’ workplace procrastination triggers unethical pro-organizational behaviour directed at customers (UPB-C). By conducting two studies—using an experience sampling method design and a vignette experimental design—we found that hotel employees’ workplace procrastination leads to UPB-C through guilt (towards the supervisor). In addition, as a boundary condition, high performance expectations on the part of the supervisor strengthen this mediated relationship. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.
