摘要：Purpose: This study was done to analyze the effect of supervisor-focused impression management behavior of the airline cabin crew on perceived customer empathy. It focused on verifying dual meanings of the crew’s emotional expression divided into surface acting and deep acting. Research design, data and methodology: The survey was conducted on cabin crews of two major Korean airlines. The reliability and validity of each variable used in the questionnaire were verified. Then, each hypothesis was analyzed through multiple regression analysis. Results: Firstly, the crew's supervisor-focused impression management behavior had a significant effect only on surface acting of the crew's emotional labor behavior. Among the crew’s supervisor-focused IM behaviors, verbal IM behavior had a greater influence on surface acting than non-verbal IM behavior. Secondly, there was no relationship between the crew's supervisorfocused IM behavior and the crew's deep acting. Thirdly, the crew's emotional labor behavior (surface acting & deep acting) had a significant effect on perceived customer empathy. Fourth, the crew's deep acting had a greater influence on perceived customer empathy than surface acting. Conclusions: Cabin crews receive double evaluation from their immediate supervisors and customers. As a result, it was confirmed that the crew’s supervisor-focused IM behavior, the crew’s emotional labor behavior, and perceived customer empathy were connected process.
