Who uses abusive supervision to punish deviant employees? An integration of identity threat and self-regulation perspectives

Abstract

Subordinates' counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) have been demonstrated as a critical precursor to their supervisors' abusive supervision. However, prior research has mainly taken a victim precipitation paradigm and focused on exploring subordinate characteristics that may diminish or amplify this relationship. The important role of supervisor characteristics has been rather overlooked. Integrating self-regulation and identity threat theories, the current study extends the prior literature by focusing on supervisor characteristics, specifically, supervisors' sleep quantity, sleep quality, and narcissism, as moderators of the relationship between subordinates' CWB and supervisors' abusive supervision. The study utilized a time-lagged design with a sample of 292 employees and 50 supervisors at a Chinese hospital. Results showed that subordinates' CWB at Time 1 was positively related to their supervisors' abusive supervision at Time 2. Supervisors' sleep quality was found to mitigate the relationship between subordinates' CWB and supervisors' abusive supervision; however, the moderating effect of supervisors' sleep quantity was not significant. Moreover, supervisors' narcissism exacerbated the relationship between subordinates' CWB and supervisors' abusive supervision. This study contributes to the abusive supervision literature by shifting away from the victim precipitation paradigm and placing supervisors, those in positions of power, at the forefront. Findings from the study provide insights into the design and implementation of supervisor training aimed at mitigating abusive behaviors in the workplace.