EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL LABOURSTRATEGIES ON CONSUMER PATRONAGE OF FOOD VENDORS WITHIN ABUJA METROPOLIS

The study investigates the effect of emotional labour on consumer patronage offood vendors within Abuja Metropolis. It specifically sough to find out how the components of emotional labour such as surface acting, deep acting, emotional dissonance as well as self-efficacy effect on consumer patronage of food vendors within Abuja metropolis. Primary data was collected using five point Likert scaling questionnaire and analysed by using regression. Data obtained for this study was from primary source and analyzed with the aid of statistical softwares, SPSS V25 and SME-PLS, employing structural equation modeling techniques in order to achieve all set objectives. Also, data obtained for the purpose of this study was prior to the analysis, undergo different validity and reliability scrutiny so as to eliminate all forms of errors arising from analysis. The findings of the study reveal that components of emotional labour (such as surface acting, deep acting, emotional dissonance as well as self-efficacy effect) have positive and significant effect on consumer patronage of food vendors within Abuja metropolis. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommends that, the four elements of emotional labour (i.e. surface acting, deep acting, emotional dissonance and self-efficacy) have to be fully utilised by the entrepreneurs and managers who owned the food businesses, employed and managed the food vendors properly in order to enhance the consumer patronage of their product so as to improve the overall performance of their business.