The hospitality industry is part of the service industry, and most of its services are mainly provided by employees. When employees are satisfied with their jobs, they tend to provide high-quality service to customers. Satisfied employees tend to be more productive, positive, and creative than those who are not satisfied. However, the hospitality and tourism industry is suffering from a shortage of qualified employees (Kim, 2014; Kong et al., 2010). Furthermore, hospitality employees show a low level of job satisfaction but a high turnover intention (Catfield et al., 2013; Kim et al., 2016). Unsatisfied employees show deviant workplace behavior and exit planning, which in turn decrease service quality and job performance (Jang and George, 2012; O’Neill and Davis, 2011; Tuna et al., 2016). Over the past decades, job satisfaction has become a hot research topic because it is positively related to service quality, extra-role customer service behaviors, cooperation, organizational commitment, intention to stay, and other positive organizational citizenship behaviors (Gu and Siu, 2009; Jung and Yoon, 2015). In the academic area, scholars have explored a diverse range of issues concerning job satisfaction and submitted their work to journals for publication. With the increasing number of publications in this area, reviewing the subjects that have been explored in the past to shed light for future research is necessary. Therefore, this study aims to conduct research on job satisfaction. Research objectives include the following: (1) to conduct a comprehensive literature review of job satisfaction in the hospitality and tourism field, (2) to provide a systematic overview of its predictors and outcomes, (3) to analyze the outcomes of job satisfaction, and (4) to provide suggestions for future study and practical management in the tourism and hospitality area.

۲٫ Literature review

۲٫۱ Definition of job satisfaction

Job satisfaction has been defined in a variety of ways. Locke (1969) stated that job satisfaction refers to the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s job values. Robbins and Coulter (1996) suggested that job satisfaction is the general attitude of employees toward their job. When people speak of the job attitude of employees, they are likely referring to their job satisfaction. According to Spector (1997), job satisfaction is a reflection of how people feel about their jobs and the different aspects of their jobs. Locke (1976) stated that job satisfaction refers to the pleasurable or positive emotional state of an individual, which results from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience. Thus, job satisfaction indicates the general positive attitude of employees toward their job.