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How Do Employees Understand Negative Leadership? The Non-linear Relationship Between Abusive Supervision and Employee
Kuo-Shu Yuan1, Tung Ng2, Tung-Ju Wu3
1Department of Human Resources Management, School of Business, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 5, 2022
Summary
Abusive supervision has a non-linear effect on employee innovation. Job performance moderates this, showing U-shaped or inverted U-shaped relationships, suggesting managers should carefully manage supervision levels.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Management Studies
- Industrial Psychology
Background:
- Abusive supervision is a significant workplace stressor impacting employee outcomes.
- Understanding the nuanced relationship between leadership behaviors and innovation is crucial for organizational success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the non-linear association between abusive supervision and employee innovation behavior.
- To examine the moderating role of job performance in the abusive supervision-innovation relationship.
Main Methods:
- Survey data collected from 276 employees across restaurant, tourism, and financial services in China.
- Longitudinal study design with data collected at two time points.
- Curve regression analysis employed to assess non-linear relationships and moderation effects.
Main Results:
- A significant non-linear relationship was found between abusive supervision and employee innovation behavior.
- Job performance moderates the relationship: a U-shaped curve for high performers and an inverted U-shaped curve for low performers.
- For low performers, moderate abusive supervision initially promoted innovation, but excessive levels inhibited it.
Conclusions:
- The impact of abusive supervision on innovation is contingent upon employee job performance.
- Managers must strategically calibrate the level of abusive supervision to foster innovation, avoiding extremes.
- Findings highlight the complex interplay between leadership, performance, and creativity in the workplace.
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