Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Employment Contract Type

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Extant literature has documented mixed findings concerning the relationship between abusive supervision and employee performance. While most studies show a negative relationship, others reveal that abusive supervision can be motivating and performance-enhancing, and still others find no effect. To advance our understanding of this relationship, the present study examines employees’ objective and quantifiable key performance indicators (KPIs) as an outcome, while investigating employment contract type as a critical boundary condition. This study also explores an alternative outcome of abusive supervision by examining whether its effects extend to employees’ behavior towards customers, specifically in the form of customer-directed sabotage. A two-wave multi-source field study was conducted with 1,331 customer service representatives from 139 call-center teams. Findings suggest an alarming phenomenon: for probationary employees, an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between abusive supervision and employees’ KPIs, such that low to moderate levels of abusive supervision increase, but moderate to high levels of abusive supervision decrease, their job performance. For permanent employees, KPIs are less affected by abusive supervision. However, abusive supervision is positively related to employees’ customer-directed sabotage behavior, and this effect is stronger for permanent (vs. probationary) employees. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings for leadership and business ethics are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alzola, M. (2018). Decent work: The moral status of labor in human resource management. Journal of Business Ethics, 147, 835–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aryee, S., Chen, Z. X., Sun, L.-Y., & Debrah, Y. A. (2007). Antecedents and outcomes of abusive supervision: Test of a trickle-down model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 191–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, M., & Oldham, G. R. (2006). The curvilinear relation between experienced creative time pressure and creativity: Moderating effects of openness to experience and support for creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 963–970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. P., & Berenbaum, H. (2007). Emotional approach and problem-focused coping: A comparison of potentially adaptive strategies. Cognition and Emotion, 21(1), 95–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamberger, P. A., & Bacharach, S. B. (2006). Abusive supervision and subordinate problem drinking: Taking resistance, stress and subordinate personality into account. Human Relations, 59(6), 723–752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beard, K. M., & Edwards, J. R. (1995). Employees at risk: Contingent work and the psychological experience of contingent workers. In C. I. Cooper & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), Trends in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 109–126). John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bies, R. J., Tripp, T. M., & Shapiro, D. L. (2016). Abusive leaders or master motivators? “Abusive” is in the eye of the beholder. In N. M. Ashkanasy, R. J. Bennett, & M. J. Martinko (Eds.), Understanding the High-Performance Workplace: The Line Between Motivation and Abuse (pp. 252–276). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bliese, P. D., Maltarich, M. A., & Hendricks, J. L. (2018). Back to basics with mixed-effects models: Nine take-away points. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(1), 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boddy, C. R. (2011). Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(3), 367–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bommer, W. H., Johnson, J. L., Rich, G. A., Podsakoff, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B. (1995). On the interchangeability of objective and subjective measures of employee performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 48(3), 587–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowling, N. A., & Beehr, T. A. (2006). Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: A theoretical model and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 998–1012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braga, B. M., de Camargo Oliva, E., de Miranda Kubo, E. K., McKenna, S., Richardson, J., & Wales, T. (2021). An institutional approach to ethical human resource management practice: Comparing Brazil, Colombia and the UK. Journal of Business Ethics, 169, 57–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brislin, R. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written materials. In H. C. Triandis & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology (Vol. 2), 389–444. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

  • Brockner, J., Spreitzer, G., Mishra, A., Hochwarter, W., Pepper, L., & Weinberg, J. (2004). Perceived control as an antidote to the negative effects of layoffs on survivors’ organizational commitment and job performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 49(1), 76–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, W. S. (2005). The new employment contract and the “at risk” worker. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(1), 195–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, G., Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D., & Rosen, B. (2007). A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 331–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comaford, C. (2016). 75% of workers are affected by bullying–Here’s what to do about it. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2016/08/27/the-enormous-toll-workplace-bullying-takes-on-your-bottom-line/#7f7c38b5595e.

  • De Cuyper, N., De Jong, J., De Witte, H., Isaksson, K., Rigotti, T., & Schalk, R. (2008). Literature review of theory and research on the psychological impact of temporary employment: Towards a conceptual model. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(1), 25–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Cuyper, N., & De Witte, H. (2007). Job insecurity in temporary versus permanent workers: Associations with attitudes, well-being, and behaviour. Work & Stress, 21(1), 65–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jonge, J., Bosma, H., Peter, R., & Siegrist, J. (2000). Job strain, effort-reward imbalance and employee well-being: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Social Science & Medicine, 50(9), 1317–1327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detert, J. R., Trevino, L. K., Burris, E. R., & Andiappan, M. (2007). Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 993–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenbeiß, S. A., & Brodbeck, F. (2014). Ethical and unethical leadership: A cross-cultural and cross-sectoral analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 122, 343–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellingson, J. E., Gruys, M. L., & Sackett, P. R. (1998). Factors related to the satisfaction and performance of temporary employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(6), 913–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehn, T., & Schütz, A. (2021). What you get is what you see: Other-rated but not self-rated leaders’ narcissistic rivalry affects followers negatively. Journal of Business Ethics, 174, 549–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, G. R., Zinko, R., Brouer, R. L., Buckley, M. R., & Harvey, M. G. (2007). Strategic bullying as a supplementary, balanced perspective on destructive leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(3), 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, G. H., Harms, P. D., & Bai, Y. (2017). Nightmare bosses: The impact of abusive supervision on employees’ sleep, emotions, and creativity. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(1), 21–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, K. J., Kacmar, K. M., & Zivnuska, S. (2007). An investigation of abusive supervision as a predictor of performance and the meaning of work as a moderator of the relationship. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(3), 252–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, A., Summers, J., & Mennecke, B. (2018). The effects of the dark triad on unethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 153, 53–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J. (2010). Quantifying and testing indirect effects in simple mediation models when the constituent paths are nonlinear. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 45(4), 627–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurst, C., Simon, L., Jung, Y., & Pirouz, D. (2019). Are “bad” employees happier under bad bosses? Differing effects of abusive supervision on low and high primary psychopathy employees. Journal of Business Ethics, 158, 1149–1164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamal, M. (2007). Job stress and job performance controversy revisited: An empirical examination in two countries. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(2), 175–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janssen, O. (2001). Fairness perceptions as a moderator in the curvilinear relationships between job demands, and job performance and job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 44(5), 1039–1050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ju, D., Xu, M., Qin, X., & Spector, P. (2019). A multilevel study of abusive supervision, norms, and personal control on counterproductive work behavior: A theory of planned behavior approach. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26(2), 163–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R. A., Jr. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. L., Lee, S., & Yun, S. (2016). Abusive supervision, knowledge sharing, and individual factors: A conservation-of-resources perspective. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(6), 1106–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kluemper, D. H., Mossholder, K. W., Ispas, D., Bing, M. N., Iliescu, D., & Ilie, A. (2019). When core self-evaluations influence employees’ deviant reactions to abusive supervision: The moderating role of cognitive ability. Journal of Business Ethics, 159(2), 435–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krischer, M. M., Penney, L. M., & Hunter, E. M. (2010). Can counterproductive work behaviors be productive? CWB as emotion-focused coping. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(2), 154–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S., Yun, S., & Srivastava, A. (2013). Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between abusive supervision and creativity in South Korea. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(5), 724–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lian, H., Brown, D. J., Ferris, D. L., Liang, L. H., Keeping, L. M., & Morrison, R. (2014). Abusive supervision and retaliation: A self-control framework. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 116–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Z., Lee, H. W., Johnson, R. E., Song, Z., & Liu, Y. (2021). Seeing from a short-term perspective: When and why daily abusive supervisor behavior yields functional and dysfunctional consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(3), 377–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, B., Law, K. S., & Zhou, J. (2017). Why is underemployment related to creativity and OCB? A task-crafting explanation of the curvilinear moderated relations. Academy of Management Journal, 60(1), 156–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J., Kwong Kwan, H., Wu, L. Z., & Wu, W. (2010). Abusive supervision and subordinate supervisor-directed deviance: The moderating role of traditional values and the mediating role of revenge cognitions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 835–856.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loh, E. S. (1994). Employment probation as a sorting mechanism. ILR Review, 47(3), 471–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey, J. D., Frieder, R. E., Brees, J. R., & Martinko, M. J. (2017). Abusive supervision: A meta-analysis and empirical review. Journal of Management, 43(6), 1940–1965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey, J. D., Huang, L., & He, W. (2020). You abuse and I criticize: An ego depletion and leader–member exchange examination of abusive supervision and destructive voice. Journal of Business Ethics, 164, 579–591.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackey, J. D., McAllister, C. P., Maher, L. P., & Wang, G. (2019). Leaders and followers behaving badly: A meta-analytic examination of curvilinear relationships between destructive leadership and followers’ workplace behaviors. Personnel Psychology, 72(1), 3–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, M. S., & Ambrose, M. L. (2007). Abusive supervision and workplace deviance and the moderating effects of negative reciprocity beliefs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 1159–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palanski, M., Avey, J. B., & Jiraporn, N. (2014). The effects of ethical leadership and abusive supervision on job search behaviors in the turnover process. Journal of Business Ethics, 121, 135–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H., Hoobler, J. M., Wu, J., Liden, R. C., Hu, J., & Wilson, M. S. (2019). Abusive supervision and employee deviance: A multifoci justice perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 158(4), 1113–1131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. H., Carter, M. Z., DeFrank, R. S., & Deng, Q. (2018). Abusive supervision, psychological distress, and silence: The effects of gender dissimilarity between supervisors and subordinates. Journal of Business Ethics, 153, 775–792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, J., & Kim, H. J. (2019). How and when does abusive supervision affect hospitality employees’ service sabotage? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 83, 190–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semmer, N. K., & Beehr, T. A. (2014). Job control and social aspects of work. In M. C. W. Peeters, J. de Jonge, & T. W. Taris (Eds.), An introduction to contemporary work psychology (pp. 171–195). Wiley Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D. P., Van Jaarsveld, D. D., & Walker, D. D. (2008). Getting even for customer mistreatment: The role of moral identity in the relationship between customer interpersonal injustice and employee sabotage. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(6), 1335–1347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tariq, H., & Ding, D. (2018). Why am I still doing this job? The examination of family motivation on employees’ work behaviors under abusive supervision. Personnel Review, 47(2), 378–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of Abusive Supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 178–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J., Moss, S. E., & Duffy, M. K. (2011). Predictors of abusive supervision: Supervisor perceptions of deep-level dissimilarity, relationship conflict, and subordinate performance. Academy of Management Journal, 54(2), 279–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J., Moss, S. E., Lockhart, D. E., & Carr, J. C. (2007). Abusive supervision, upward maintenance communication, and subordinates’ psychological distress. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 1169–1180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J., Simon, L., & Park, H. M. (2017). Abusive supervision. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 123–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoroughgood, C. N., Sawyer, K. B., Padilla, A., & Lunsford, L. (2018). Destructive leadership: A critique of leader-centric perspectives and toward a more holistic definition. Journal of Business Ethics, 151, 627–649.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuten, T. L., & Neidermeyer, P. E. (2004). Performance, satisfaction and turnover in call centers: The effects of stress and optimism. Journal of Business Research, 57(1), 26–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, R. M., Mitchell, M. S., Tepper, B. J., Restubog, S. L., Hu, C., Hua, W., & Huang, J. C. (2015). A cross-cultural examination of subordinates’ perceptions of and reactions to abusive supervision. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(5), 720–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, F., Lam, C. K., van der Vegt, G. S., Huang, X., & Miao, Q. (2015). Abusive supervision and subordinate performance: Instrumentality considerations in the emergence and consequences of abusive supervision. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1056–1072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei, F., & Si, S. (2013). Tit for tat? Abusive supervision and counterproductive work behaviors: The moderating effects of locus of control and perceived mobility. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 30(1), 281–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, T. Y., & Hu, C. (2009). Abusive supervision and employee emotional exhaustion: Dispositional antecedents and boundaries. Group & Organization Management, 34(2), 143–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, Q., Zhang, G., & Chan, A. (2019). Abusive supervision and subordinate proactive behavior: Joint moderating roles of organizational identification and positive affectivity. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(3), 829–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J., Liu, Y., Stackhouse, M., & Wang, W. (2020). Forgiveness and attribution: When abusive supervision enhances performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 35(7–8), 575–587.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Z., Jaramillo, F., Liu, Y., Ye, W., & Huang, R. (2021). Abusive supervision in retailing: The mediating role of customer orientation and the moderating roles of contingent reward and contingent punishment. European Journal of Marketing, 55(2), 543–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, L., & Duffy, M. K. (2021). The whiplash effect: The (moderating) role of attributed motives in emotional and behavioral reactions to abusive supervision. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(5), 754–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, X., Xu, Y., & Li, Y. (2020). Resource depletion perspective on the link between abusive supervision and safety behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 162(1), 213–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., & Liu, J. (2018). Is abusive supervision an absolute devil? Literature review and research agenda. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 35(3), 719–744.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, J., & Zhang, B. (2019). The double-edged sword effect of abusive supervision on subordinates’ innovative behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (72172017, 72272148, 72132009), Humanities and Social Science Fund of Ministry of Education of China (21YJC630170, 21YJA630018), Beijing Municipal Social Science Foundation (21DTR053), Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation (Grant 9222023), Discipline Construction Project (Enterprises Administration) of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yonghong Liu and Chen Zhao contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 516 Stirling Street, Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA

    Yonghong Liu

  2. School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Chen Zhao

  3. Department of Marketing, Farmer School of Business, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    Zhiyong Yang

  4. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Industrial Economics, Beijing, China

    Zhonghua Gao

Authors
  1. Yonghong Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chen Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhiyong Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhonghua Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yonghong Liu or Chen Zhao.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Research Involves Human and Animal Rights Participants

This research involves human participants and the collection of data was reviewed and approved by the School of Economics and Management at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in China.

Consent to Participate

Participation was voluntary and participants provided the consent by completing the survey.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Y., Zhao, C., Yang, Z. et al. The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Employment Contract Type. J Bus Ethics (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05580-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05580-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation