Supervisor's HEXACO personality traits and subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision

Abusive supervision is detrimental to both subordinates and organizations. Knowledge about individual differences in personality related to abusive supervision may improve personnel selection and potentially reduce the harmful effects of this type of leadership. Using the HEXACO personality framework, we hypothesized that subordinates perceive leaders high on Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility as less abusive. In a sample of 107 unique supervisor-subordinate dyads that filled out the online questionnaire, we found that both Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility were negatively related to subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision. Our findings contribute to our understanding of the origins of abusive supervision and hopefully stimulate future research on supervisor personality and abusive supervision.     

Politics under abusive supervision: The role of Machiavellianism and guanxi

The study examines the relationships between abusive supervision, subordinates’ perceptions of organizational politics (POPs), and political behavior. The moderating roles of Machiavellianism (Mach) and guanxi in these relationships are also examined. Data were collected from 280 supervisor–subordinate dyads in a Chinese taxation bureau. Results indicate that, under abusive supervision, subordinates experienced heightened POPs and were more likely to engage in political behavior. Furthermore, the relationship between abusive supervision and POPs was stronger among low-Mach subordinates. Moreover, the relationship between POPs and political behavior is strongest among high-Mach individuals who have strong guanxi with their supervisor. The findings indicate that abusive supervision has important implications for political dynamics in an organization, and the political perspective serves as a meaningful theoretical lens to examine its impact.     

A moderated mediation model of the relationship between abusive supervision and knowledge sharing

This study uses the conservation of resources theory to examine the influence of a leader's destructive behaviors by investigating how emotional exhaustion resulting from abusive supervision affects employees' knowledge-sharing behaviors. Using a moderated mediation framework, this study suggests that organizational justice moderates the positive relationship between abusive supervision and employees' emotional exhaustion and attenuates the negative indirect effect of abusive supervision on employees' knowledge-sharing behaviors. The results of this study, drawn from a sample of 202 dyads comprising full-time employees and their immediate supervisors, support most of its hypotheses. The implications and limitations of the study, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.     

Righting a wrong: Retaliation on a voodoo doll symbolizing an abusive supervisor restores justice

When a subordinate receives abusive treatment from a supervisor, a natural response is to retaliate against the supervisor. Although retaliation is dysfunctional and should be discouraged, we examine the potential functional role retaliation plays in terms of alleviating the negative consequences of abusive supervision on subordinate justice perceptions. Based on the notion that retaliation following mistreatment can restore justice for victims, we propose a model whereby retaliation following abusive supervision alleviates the negative effect of abusive supervision on subordinate justice perceptions. In two experimental studies (Study 1 and 2), whereby we manipulated abusive supervision and subordinate symbolic retaliation—in particular, harming a voodoo doll that represents the abusive supervisor—we found general support for our predictions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

不打不成器:挖掘辱虐管理的正效应、负效应和净效应

辱虐管理一直是负面组织行为的研究热点,近年呈现一些新趋势,特别是在崇尚“不打不成器”的本土情境下,挑战视之为“绝对恶魔”的呼声渐起。理论创始人Tepper也呼吁进行更多的研究来比较与整合其正面和负面效应。摒弃已有研究忽视辱虐管理主观目的性的研究惯例,从概念本源出发,整合感知控制理论与有限控制理论双重线索,探讨了辱虐管理与下属绩效的倒U型关系及其成因。453份配对样本的Fieller法和J-N法检验结果支持了倒U型假设,并揭示辱虐管理对下属自我努力有凹型影响,较大程度上促进下属的纠偏努力,对自我损耗有凸型影响,加剧损耗;正负效应的叠加导致倒U型净效应出现。研究结果有助于深化辱虐管理影响机制研究,也有助于丰富和拓展非线性方法研究。     

Abusive supervision: A systematic review and fundamental rethink

We report a systematic and critical review of abusive supervision research to provide a comprehensive catalogue of the correlates of abusive supervision (i.e., antecedents, outcomes, mediators, and moderators) and identify four major challenges facing the field. First, abusive supervision is conceptualized in a confused manner that conflates followers’ subjective evaluations of abuse with leaders’ behaviors. Second, we consider how conceptual confusion is reflected in and undermines dominant measurement tools. Third, we identify and critique overreliance on cross-sectional survey-based studies and vignette experiments, which vary considerably in the extent to which they can evidence causal effects. Fourth, we consider the fact that abusive supervision is a low base rate phenomenon (i.e., is rarely reported). Using novel and simulated data we demonstrate that most past research is ill-equipped to make claims about the effects of intermediate or high levels of abusive supervision. Throughout, we explain how each challenge limits past research and offer achievable recommendations for a fundamental rethink of abusive supervision. In the discussion, we synthesize the recommendations for rethinking the conceptualization, measurement, and empirical study of abusive supervision. Only by overcoming these challenges will future research be robust enough to provide meaningful theoretical advances and useful policy implications.     

Moral character: What it is and what it does

Moral character can be conceptualized as an individual's disposition to think, feel, and behave in an ethical versus unethical manner, or as the subset of individual differences relevant to morality. This essay provides an organizing framework for understanding moral character and its relationship to ethical and unethical work behaviors. We present a tripartite model for understanding moral character, with the idea that there are motivational, ability, and identity elements. The motivational element is consideration of others – referring to a disposition toward considering the needs and interests of others, and how one's own actions affect other people. The ability element is self-regulation – referring to a disposition toward regulating one's behavior effectively, specifically with reference to behaviors that have positive short-term consequences but negative long-term consequences for oneself or others. The identity element is moral identity—referring to a disposition toward valuing morality and wanting to view oneself as a moral person. After unpacking what moral character is, we turn our attention to what moral character does, with a focus on how it influences unethical behavior, situation selection, and situation creation. Our research indicates that the impact of moral character on work outcomes is significant and consequential, with important implications for research and practice in organizational behavior.     

Dying for charisma: Leaders' inspirational appeal increases post-mortem

In the present research, we shed light on the nature and origins of charisma by examining changes in a person's perceived charisma that follow their death. We propose that death is an event that will strengthen the connection between the leader and the group they belong to, which in turn will increase perceptions of leaders' charisma. In Study 1, results from an experimental study show that a scientist who is believed to be dead is regarded as more charismatic than the same scientist believed to be alive. Moreover, this effect was accounted for by people's perceptions that the dead scientist's fate is more strongly connected with the fate of the groups that they represent. In Study 2, a large-scale archival analysis of Heads of States who died in office in the 21st century shows that the proportion of published news items about Heads of State that include references to charisma increases significantly after their death. These results suggest that charisma is, at least in part, a social inference that increases after death. Moreover, they suggest that social influence and inspiration can be understood as products of people's capacity to embody valued social groups.     

Perceived intent of supervisor as a moderator of the relationships between abusive supervision and counterproductive work behaviours

This study examined the relationship between perceived intent of supervisors and subordinates' counterproductive responses to abusive supervision. Data were collected in two waves approximately one month apart from 268 full-time employees from the United States and in various occupations. Two forms of perceived intent of abusive supervision were assessed: hostile intent (i.e. abuse believed to be intended to cause harm to the subordinate) and motivational intent (i.e. abuse believed to be intended to motivate good performance from the subordinate). In general, subordinates who reported greater frequency of abusive supervision of both types at Wave 1 were more likely to engage in counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs) at Wave 2 than those who reported less abuse. As hypothesized, abusive supervision was more strongly associated with CWBs when perceived hostile intent was high rather than low. Contrary to expectations, abusive supervision was also more strongly associated with CWBs when perceived motivational intent was high rather than low. Our findings show that abuse by supervisors can result in CWBs by subordinates even if those subordinates believe that the abuse is intended to be motivational.     

Sins of the parents: Self-control as a buffer between supervisors' previous experience of family undermining and subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision

Drawing upon social learning theory, the intergenerational transmission of violence hypothesis, and research on self-control, we develop a model of the relationships among previous experiences of family undermining, self-control, and abusive supervision. We tested the model with data obtained from supervisor–employee matched pairs in Study 1 and matched triads in Study 2. Results revealed that: 1) supervisors who experienced higher levels of family undermining (whether reported by the immediate supervisor or a sibling) during childhood are more likely to engage in abusive supervisory behaviors as adults; and 2) this relationship is moderated such that it is stronger for supervisors with low self-control. Overall, our results highlight the role of self-control in mitigating the impact of supervisors' previous experiences of family undermining on subordinate perceptions of abusive supervision, even after controlling for previously established antecedents.     

Perceptions of ethical climate and organizational justice as antecedents to employee performance: The mediating role of employees' attributions of leader effectiveness

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of employee attributions of leader effectiveness on relationships between perceptions of (a) ethical climate and (b) organizational justice and both positive and negative types of performance. We argue that these relatively under-investigated perceptions are critical antecedents to effective productivity in the workplace. Accordingly, this study is the first to examine the associations of both ethical climate and organizational justice on both positive and negative performance within the context of mediation via employee attributions of leader effectiveness. Based on online survey data from 2486 Romanian employees, our SEM-based findings reveal that the attribution of leader effectiveness functions as a mediator between the associations of ethical climate and justice perceptions on two distinct types of performance: (1) Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and (2) Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB).Additionally, the results revealed that trait negative affect moderates the mediating role of leader effectiveness with OCB but not with CWB. This study contributes to the recent and growing interest in the mediating role of attributions regarding work performance. Several theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed concerning leader-specific attributions, employee empowerment, and employee performance. Most prominently, we discuss why individuals with strong trait negative affect may engage in CWB without the influence of ethical climate or organizational justice.     

基于情绪中介机制的辱虐管理与偏差行为

理清偏差行为的成因和动机机制是偏差行为研究的焦点,但基于本土企业的实证研究相对较少。从员工工作场所情绪感受的视角,应用情感事件理论,探讨消极情绪在辱虐管理与组织偏差行为和主管偏差行为间的中介效应,并比较辱虐管理对两类偏差行为影响的差异性。通过对19家企业、180名管理者和360名下属的配对研究,采用阶层回归进行分析。研究结果表明,辱虐管理显著正向影响两类偏差行为,但员工展现两类偏差行为的倾向并不等同,即员工展现组织偏差行为的倾向强于主管偏差行为的倾向;消极情绪是偏差行为的诱发动机,显著正向影响员工的组织偏差行为和主管偏差行为,并部分中介辱虐管理与两类偏差行为间的关系。     

Consumer perceptions of luxury brands: An owner-based perspective

To deepen theoretical and practical understanding of consumers' perceptions of luxury brands, prior marketing literature has investigated the financial, functional, individual, and social dimensions of the luxury value construct. However, it has not considered the owners of luxury brands or detailed the moderated effects of luxury value on related attitudinal outcomes. To address this gap, this study draws on an existing second-order conceptualization of luxury value to introduce and empirically examine an extended conceptualization of the owner-based luxury value (OBLV) construct. The study draws on brand equity theory to offer a conceptual model of the attitudinal outcomes of OBLV in terms of brand loyalty, brand attachment, brand community behavior, and brand engagement. Using unique data from 452 actual owners of three luxury brands (Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and Prada), the authors confirm the predicted attitudinal outcomes of OBLV and reveal moderating effects of awareness of counterfeit existence. Their findings provide new insights and implications for luxury brand research and luxury brand managers. The research provides a richer understanding of OBLV and yields important managerial insights into how to influence luxury-seeking consumers' perceptions of, and attitudes to, luxury brands.     

The impact of a workplace terrorist attack on employees' perceptions of leadership: A longitudinal study from pre- to postdisaster

A terrorist attack targeting a workplace represents an organizational crisis that requires the leaders to manage emerging threats. The changing roles and expectations of the leaders are reflected in the employees' perceptions of them over time. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the 2011 Oslo bombing attack affected the targeted employees' perceptions of the leadership behaviors of their immediate superiors or the organizational managers' interest in the health and well-being of their workers. Ministerial employees (n ≈ 180) completed questionnaires on fair, empowering, and supportive leadership, in addition to human resource primacy, on two occasions several years prior to the terrorist attack. Assessments were then repeated one, two, and three years after the attack. Changes in the course of perceived leadership from predisaster to postdisaster were examined using bootstrapped t-tests and latent growth curve models. Furthermore, the general course of perceived leadership was compared with a nonexposed control sample of matched employees. Results showed that employees with high levels of posttraumatic stress perceived their immediate leader to be less supportive. However, overall perceptions of leadership were remarkably stable, which suggests that the effects of critical incidents on perceptions of leadership may be negligible.     

Followers' moral judgments and leaders' integrity-based transgressions: A synthesis of literatures

This paper reviews the state of knowledge about integrity-based transgressions with an emphasis on the leader-follower relationship. Our review highlighted many important contributions of this literature, but, it revealed several limitations that should be addressed within a followership paradigm. We then synthesized the integrity and trust literatures with a targeted review of moral experimental philosophy. Cushman's (2008) dual process model suggests that because followers simultaneously assess leaders' intentions and their causal nexus with negative outcomes, they might judge behavioral and moral integrity transgressions in different ways. Judgments of moral condemnation should primarily be a function of perceived intent while blame and punishment of the leader based on behavior should be jointly affected by cause and intent. This moral assessment is expected to influence followers' trust through its effect on moral identity. A framework is offered for guiding future studies of followers' interpretations of leaders' integrity-based transgressions.     

基于工作投入与核心自我评价视角的辱虐管理与员工主动行为研究

基于自我决定理论和行为弹性理论,深入研究了辱虐管理为何以及怎样影响员工的主动行为.研究结果表明,主管的辱虐管理对员工的主动行为具有显著的负向影响,而工作投入在辱虐管理与主动行为的关系中起着完全中介作用,即辱虐管理会降低员工在工作中的投入,继而减少了主动行为.同时,核心自我评价会削弱辱虐管理的直接效应和工作投入的间接效应,即相对于低核心自我评价的员工,高核心自我评价的员工较少因为主管的辱虐管理而降低其工作投入,进而较少减少主动行为.     

治理人监督与战略绩效信息偏误的情境依赖

将治理人、经理人以及制度环境多个要素纳入一个系统,以代理理论为基础,仿真模拟权力发展和惩罚力度两种环境因素对治理人监督与经理人操纵战略绩效信息行为间的交互过程的影响.研究发现,1)经理人处于权力累积阶段时,无论惩罚制度如何,治理人适合选择监督强度的小幅度变化,由此带来的战略绩效信息偏误程度最小;2)经理人处于权力稳定阶...     

The view over one's shoulder: The causes and consequences of leader's envy of followers

We propose a social comparison-based framework in which leaders' meta-perceptions of power relative to their followers can be a source of envy, which can then lead to varied behaviors. We provide a model summarizing the main points of this framework, and develop propositions discussing how and when these effects operate. We start by discussing why perceived power differentials between leader and follower are expected to cause envy in the leader-follower relationship, and the contingencies that might affect such relationships. We then discuss how the aversive character of envy can provoke different types of action on the part of leaders aimed at reducing or eliminating this emotion. Furthermore, we propose different conditions that can increase the likelihood that the leader would choose one of these courses of action over another. Finally, we end with a discussion of the implications of leader-follower social comparisons and envy for research in the leadership field and for practice.     

Top Managers' cognition facilitates organisational ambidexterity: The mediating role of cognitive processes

It is empirically founded and tested that top management team group processes facilitate ambidexterity, whereas the role of top managers' cognition has remained empirically largely neglected. This study contributes to the literature of top managers' cognition by theoretically developing the relationship between cognitive frames and organisational ambidexterity, and the mediating process of cognitive differentiation and integration. The study empirically tests the proposed model in cross-sectional design by employing a sample of 101 top managers, using partial least squares structural equation modelling.The study shows that top managers' paradoxical frames encourage the engagement in cognitive differentiation and integration, whereas top managers' paradoxical frames are not significantly related to organisational ambidexterity. Solely appreciating exploitation and exploration does not foster ambidexterity, but is an antecedent for top managers' cognitive differentiation and integration. Top managers' cognitive differentiation and integration mediate the relationship between top managers' paradoxical frames and organisational ambidexterity. Additionally, top managers' cognitive integration moderates the effect between top managers' cognitive differentiation and organisational ambidexterity, which stresses the pivotal role of top managers' cognitive integration.     

Predicting Cancer‐Prevention Behavior: Disentangling the Effects of Risk Aversion and Risk Perceptions

Experimental and survey research spanning the last two decades concludes that people who are more risk tolerant are more likely to engage in risky health activities such as smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, and are more likely to be obese. Subjective perceptions of the risk associated with different activities have also been found to be associated with health behaviors. While there are numerous studies that link risk perceptions with risky behavior, it is notable that none of these controls for risk aversion. Similarly, studies that control for risk aversion fail to control for risk misperceptions. We use a survey of 474 men and women to investigate the influence of risk aversion, risk misperceptions, and cognitive ability on the choice to engage in behaviors that either increase or mitigate cancer risk. We measure optimism in two dimensions: baseline optimists are those who inaccurately believe their cancer risk to be below its expert‐assessed level, while control optimists are those who believe they can reduce their risk of cancer (by changing their lifestyle choices) to a greater extent than is actually the case. Our results indicate that baseline optimism is significantly and negatively correlated with subjects′ tendencies to engage in cancer‐risk‐reducing behaviors, and positively correlated with risky behaviors. Subjects’ control misperceptions also appear to play a role in their tendency to engage in risky and prevention behaviors. When controlling for both of these types of risk misperception, risk aversion plays a much smaller role in determining health behaviors than found in past studies.