Abusive Supervision and Supervisor-Directed Deviance: A Social Network Approach Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Supervisor-directed deviance is a well-established consequence of abusive supervision. However, prior accounts of the abusedeviance relationship have overlooked the role played by power embedded in subordinates informal social context. To address this gap, we draw on power-dependence theory and use a social network approach to explain the link between abusive supervision and supervisor-directed deviance. In doing so, we propose a three-way interaction in which the abusedeviance relationship is impacted by two components of informal power: subordinate social network centrality and subordinate influence. In particular, we propose that the relationship will be the strongest when subordinates have high betweenness centrality and high influence. We gathered full social network data, as well as self-report surveys from 272 primary school teachers and government contract workers in Northern China. Our results provide support for the notion that supervisor-directed deviance emerges most strongly as a consequence of abusive supervision for employees who wield informal power in their organization.

published proceedings

  • JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP & ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES

author list (cited authors)

  • Hanig, S., Yang, S. W., Liang, L. H., Brown, D. J., & Lian, H.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Hanig, Samuel||Yang, Seong W||Liang, Lindie H||Brown, Douglas J||Lian, Huiwen

publication date

  • November 2021