Abstract
Shoplifting in supermarkets results in substantial economic, social, and psychological losses. The prevalence of ongoing shoplifting incidents suggests that existing measures of retail crime prevention are inadequate and that alternative shoplifting prevention methods must be explored in the supermarket context. In this study, the role of frontline service employees (FLEs) in crime prevention is explored through the lens of guardianship behaviour and the moral beliefs of employees. A cross-sectional online survey was developed to explore the relationship between moral beliefs and guardianship, and usable responses were collected from a total of 507 supermarket FLEs in New Zealand. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was applied to predict the proclivity of FLE guardianship behaviour, and the findings suggest that employee moral beliefs positively influence the guardianship behaviour of FLEs. This study offers three significant contributions: conceptually, the findings identify and establish a causal relationship between FLE moral beliefs and their guardianship behaviour; secondly, from a managerial perspective, the findings suggest strategies for recruitment and further nurturing of FLEs aiming toward better shoplifting prevention; finally, from a contextual viewpoint, this research provides empirical evidence on FLE guardianship for effective deterrence of shoplifting.