Goal Commitment Buffers the Negative Effects of Perceived Abusive Supervision

Abstract

The effects of abusive supervision may be more intricate than what reason would suggest. To examine why individuals may respond differently to perceptions of supervisor abusive, this study relies on goal-setting theory to present a model that accounts for the influence of abusive supervision on job performance and organizational deviance. To be precise, motivation control and self-defeating cognition are proposed to mediate the interaction of perceived abusive supervision with goal commitment in predicting organizational deviance and job performance. In particular, the extent to which goal commitment alleviates the deleterious effects of abusive supervision is examined such that when goal commitment is high, the indirect effects of perceived abusive supervision on job performance and organizational deviance via motivation control and self-defeating cognition were predicted to be weaker. The proposed model was supported by multisource and multiwave data. The understanding of when the deleterious effects of supervisor abuse as perceived by followers are likely might help the human resource personnel to adopt measures that buffer against such outcomes.

Keywords:

• Abusive supervision
• goal commitment
• self-regulation
• organizational deviance
• job performance

Additional information

Funding

The contribution of the second author was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Project nos. 71573123, 71772087 and 71872089) whereas that of the third author supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (Project nos. 71910107003, 71373251, 71871209, and 71422014).

Notes on contributors

Lincoln Jisuvei Sungu

Lincoln Jisuvei Sungu, PhD, is a postdoc fellow at School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He received his PhD from University of Science and Technology of China. His research interest focuses on emotional labor, leadership, personnel assessment and selection.

Enhua Hu

Enhua Hu, PhD, is a professor at School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He received his PhD from Nanjing University. His research interest mainly focuses on human resource management and labor relations.

Qingxiong (Derek) Weng

Qingxiong (Derek) Weng, PhD, is a professor at School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China and an associate editor of Journal of Vocational Behavior. He received his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and then worked as a postdoc fellow at Ghent University and University of Queensland. His research interest mainly focuses on vocational behavior and psychology, leadership, personnel assessment and selection.