The Influence of Abusive Supervisors on Followers' Organizational Citizenship Behaviours: The Hidden Costs of Abusive Supervision

Alannah E. Rafferty, Simon Lloyd D. Restubog

British Journal of Management · 2010 · 224 citations · 60 references

Concepts

TL;DR

Abusive supervision carries hidden costs for organizations by undermining employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors. The study aims to identify mediators—interactional justice, organizational‑based self‑esteem, and work meaning—that link abusive supervision to prosocial silence and prosocial voice. Using data from 175 employee–supervisor dyads in the Philippines, the authors examined these mediators. Structural equation modeling showed that abusive supervision reduces interactional justice, which in turn lowers prosocial voice, and also diminishes meaningful work and organizational‑based self‑esteem, leading to reduced prosocial silence.

Abstract

In this paper, we identified an expanded array of mediators including interactional justice, organizational-based self-esteem, and the meaning of work, which link abusive supervision to two organizational citizenship behaviours – prosocial silence and prosocial voice. Data from 175 employee–supervisor dyads in the Philippines were collected. Results of structural equation modelling revealed that abusive supervision was significantly negatively associated with followers' perceptions of interactional justice, which in turn was negatively associated with supervisor-rated prosocial voice behaviours. In addition, abusive supervision was negatively associated with followers' beliefs that they are engaged in meaningful work and with organizational-based self-esteem, which in turn negatively influenced self-rated prosocial silence. The discussion focuses on the implications of the hidden costs of abusive supervision in organizations.

References

60