Self-gain or self-regulation impairment? Tests of competing explanations of the supervisor abuse and employee deviance relationship through perceptions of distributive justice.
- 1 January 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Applied Psychology
- Vol. 95 (6), 1009-1031
- https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020540
Abstract
Two competing explanations for deviant employee responses to supervisor abuse are tested. A self-gain view is compared with a self-regulation impairment view. The self-gain view suggests that distributive justice (DJ) will weaken the abusive supervision employee deviance relationship, as perceptions of fair rewards offset costs of abuse. Conversely, the self-regulation impairment. view suggests that DJ will strengthen the relationship, as experiencing abuse drains self-resources needed to maintain appropriate behavior, and this effect intensifies when employees receive inconsistent information about their organizational membership (fair outcomes). Three field studies using different samples, measures, and designs support the self-regulation impairment view. Two studies found that the Abusive Supervision x DJ interaction was mediated by self-regulation impairment variables (ego depletion and intrusive thoughts). Implications for theory and research are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 69 references indexed in Scilit:
- Abusive supervision, intentions to quit, and employees’ workplace deviance: A power/dependence analysisOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2009
- Organizational supports and organizational deviance: The mediating role of organization-based self-esteemOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2009
- How management style moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance: An uncertainty management theory perspectiveOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2009
- The Case for Inductive Theory Building†Journal of Management, 2007
- The social context of undermining behavior at workOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2006
- Antecedents of Counterproductive Behavior at Work: A General Perspective.Journal of Applied Psychology, 2004
- Identity threat and antisocial behavior in organizations: The moderating effects of individual differences, aggressive modeling, and hierarchical statusOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2003
- Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations.Psychological Methods, 2002
- The Role of Justice in Organizations: A Meta-AnalysisOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2001
- Self-Regulation Failure: An OverviewPsychological Inquiry, 1996