Psychological Researches in Management

Psychological Researches in Management

Investigating the influencing mechanism of abusive supervision, counterproductive work behavior, and intrinsic motivation on the relationship between political skill and job performance

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammadali Shahande 1
Nahid Amrollahi Biuki 2
Mohammad Sadegh Sharifirad 2
Mohammad Shaker Ardakani 2
1 MA, Human Resource Management, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Management and Accounting, Ardakan University, Ardakan, Iran.
10.22034/jom.2024.2023390.1172
Abstract
Purpose: The achievements of employees in an organization depend on their level of motivation to work and their behavioral and performance tendencies, and this issue can be largely related to employees' perception of the behavior of their supervisors. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of employee political skill on job performance through the mediating role of abusive supervision, counterproductive work behavior, and intrinsic motivation.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The current research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of this research includes the contract staff of the public sector of Yazd province. Considering the rule of thumb of having 5 times the number of observations as the number of items in the questionnaire (51 items or questions), the sample size was determined to be 255. However, 264 questionnaires were completed and randomly selected. Data was collected using standardized questionnaires. From the questionnaires made by the researcher, Farh and Cheng's job performance (1997) consisting of 4 questions, Ferris et al.'s (2005) political skill consisting of 18 questions, Tepper's abusive supervision (2000) consisting of 15 questions, Spector and Fox 's counterproductive work behavior (2005) consisting of 17 questions, and finally, Jaramillo et al.'s intrinsic motivation (2007) consisting of 3 questions, were used as a data collection tool. The basis of the measuring scale was the five-choice Likert spectrum questions. To confirm the validity, three types of validity were checked. Content validity was obtained by survey professors, convergent was checked by calculating the average output variance (AVE) which should be more than 0.05, and divergent was checked by comparing the root of AVE with the correlation between the measured variables. To confirm the reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was checked, which was higher than (0.07).
Findings: The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed using AMOS software to test the hypotheses and the relationships specified in the conceptual model. The results indicate that political skills have a significant and negative effect on abusive supervision, while it has no significant relationship with job performance. Abusive supervision has no significant effect on job performance but has a positive effect on counterproductive work behaviors and a negative and significant effect on intrinsic motivation. Counterproductive work behaviors have a significant and negative effect on job performance, while intrinsic motivation has a positive and significant effect on job performance. Regarding mediator hypotheses, the results indicate that counterproductive work behaviors and intrinsic motivation play a mediating role in the relationship between abusive supervision and job performance. In addition, abusive supervision, counterproductive work behaviors, and abusive and intrinsic motivation play a mediating role in the relationship between employees' political skills and job performance.
Discussion and Conclusion: Senior managers should create positive perceptions and attitudes among employees and be aware of their needs and demands. In this study, the negative and significant impact of abusive supervision on job performance improvement was not confirmed. This may be due to the temporary nature of the employment. Contractual employees tolerate any inappropriate behavior due to job insecurity. If senior managers notice misconduct by their supervisors towards the employees, they should take various approaches to rectify their behavior. Moreover, if employees have a wrong perception of their supervisors' behavior, steps should be taken to eradicate misunderstandings to make the issue transparent to the employees. Performance evaluation should be carried out in a targeted manner, free from any discrimination, and official and contractual employees should not be treated differently. Appreciation, in verbal and non-verbal forms, and establishing a reward system in the performance evaluation system will instill a sense in employees that the organization values their efforts and contributions. In the event of any negative and nonproductive behavior, management should, before any hasty judgment and decision-making for employee punishment, delve into the reasons for such behaviors and take care to address them.
 
Keywords
Political skill
Abusive supervision
Counterproductive work behavior
Intrinsic motivation
Job performance

Subjects

  1. بامشادفر، سمانه، امرالهی بیوکی، ناهید، و شاکر اردکانی، محمد (1400). بررسی نقش میانجی تعهد سازمانی در ارتباط بین اخلاق کار اسلامی و شادی در محیط کار با عملکرد شغلی (مورد مطالعه: سازمان صنعت، معدن و تجارت استان یزد). پژوهش‏های روانشناختی در مدیریت، 7(1)، 112-144.‎ org/20.1001.1.24764833.1400.7.1.4.5

References

  1. Andrews, M.C., Kacmar, K.M., & Harris, K.J. (2009). Got political skill? The impact of justice on the importance of political skill for job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6), 1427–1437. org/10.1037/a0017154
  2. Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands‐resources model: State of the art. Journal of managerial psychology, 22(3), 309-328. org/10.1108/02683940710733115
  3. Bamshadfar, S., Amrolahi Biuki, N., & Shaker Ardakani, M. (2021). Investigating the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between Islamic work ethic, happiness in the workplace and job performance (Case study: Yazd Province Industry, Mining and Trade Organization). Psychological Researches In Management, 7(1), 112-144. org/20.1001.1.24764833.1400.7.1.4.5 (In Persian)
  4. Bandura, A., & Walters, R.H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Prentice Hall: Englewood cliffs.
  5. Carlson, D.S., Ferguson, M., Perrewé, P.L., & Whitten, D. (2011). The fallout from abusive supervision: An examination of subordinates and their partners. Personnel Psychology, 64(4), 937-961. org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01232.x
  6. Bies, R.J., & Moag, J.F. (1986). Interactional Justice: Communication Criteria of Fairness. In: R.J. Lewicki, B.H. Sheppard, & M.H. Bazerman, (Eds.). Research on Negotiations in Organizations, 1, JAI Press, Greenwich, 43-55.
  7. Dalal, R.S., Lam, H., Weiss, H.M., Welch, E.R., & Hulin, C.L. (2009). A within-person approach to work behavior and performance: Concurrent and lagged citizenship-counterproductivity associations, and dynamic relationships with affect and overall job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 52(5), 1051-1066. org/10.5465/AMJ.2009.44636148
  8. Davidescu, A.A., Apostu, S.A., Paul, A., & Casuneanu, I. (2020). Work flexibility, job satisfaction, and job performance among Romanian employees—Implications for sustainable human resource management. Sustainability, 12(15), 1-53. org/10.3390/su12156086
  9. Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2013). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer Science & Business Media. doi 1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.05613-3
  10. Farh, J.-L., & Cheng, B.-S. (1997). Modesty bias in self-rating in Taiwan: impact of item wording, modesty value, and self-esteem. Chinese Journal of Psychology, 39(2), 103-118. org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1993.tb00878.x
  11. Ferris, G.R., Treadway, D.C., Perrewé, P.L., Brouer, R.L., Douglas, C., & Lux, S. (2005). Political skill in organizations. Journal of Management, 31(4), 571-587. org/10.1177/0149206307300813
  12. Ferris, G.R., Blickle, G., Schneider, P.B., Kramer, J., Zettler, I., Solga, J., & Meurs, J.A. (2008). Political skill construct and criterion-related validation: a two-study investigation. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(7), 744-771. org/10.1108/02683940810896321
  13. Spector, P. E., & Fox, S. (2005). The Stressor-Emotion Model of Counterproductive Work Behavior. In S. Fox & P.E. Spector (Eds.), Counterproductive work behavior: Investigations of actors and targets (pp. 151–174). American Psychological Association. doi.org/10.1037/10893-007
  14. García-Chas, R., Neira-Fontela, E., Varela-Neira, C., & Curto-Rodríguez, E. (2019). The Effect of Political Skill on Work Role Performance and Intention to Leave: A Moderated Mediation Model. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26(1), 98–110. org/10.1177/1548051818774547
  15. Ghani, U., Teo, T., Li, Y., Usman, M., Islam, Z.U., Gul, H., Naeem, R.M., Bahadar, H., Yuan, J., & Zhai, X. (2020). Tit for Tat: Abusive Supervision and Knowledge Hiding-The Role of Psychological Contract Breach and Psychological Ownership.  Journal of Environmnet Resesource and Public Health, 17(1240), 1-16. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041240
  16. Grandey, A.A. (2000). Emotional regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of occupational health psychology, 5(1), 95. org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.95
  17. Grant, A.M. (2008). Does intrinsic motivation fuel the prosocial fire? Motivational synergy in predicting persistence, performance, and productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 48-58. org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.48
  18. Grosser, T.J., Obstfeld, D., Choi, E.W., Woehler, M., Lopez-Kidwell, V., Labianca, G., & Borgatti, S.P. (2018). A sociopolitical perspective on employee innovativeness and job performance: The role of political skill and network structure. Organization Science, 29(4), 612-632. org/10.1287/orsc.2017.1201
  19. Gagné, M., & Deci, E.L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362. org/10.1002/job.322
  20. Harris, K.J., Harvey, P., Harris, R.B., & Cast, M. (2013). An investigation of abusive supervision, vicarious abusive supervision, and their joint impacts. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153(1), 38-50. org/10.1080/00224545.2012.703709
  21. Hobfoll, S.E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337-370. org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062
  22. Hobman, E.V., Restubog, S.L.D., Bordia, P., & Tang, R.L. (2009). Abusive supervision in advising relationships: Investigating the role of social support. Applied Psychology, 58(2), 233-256. org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00330.x
  23. Hoobler, J.M., & Brass, D.J. (2006). Abusive supervision and family undermining as displaced aggression. Journal of Applied psychology, 91(5), 1125. org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.1125
  24. Hoobler, J. M., & Hu, J. (2013). A model of injustice, abusive supervision, and negative affect. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(1), 256–269. org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.11.005
  25. Hussain, S., Xuetong, W., & Hussain, T. (2020). Impact of skilled and unskilled labor on project performance using structural equation modeling approach. Sage Open, 10(1). org/10.1177/2158244020914590
  26. Jaramillo, F., Locander, W.B., Spector, P.E., & Harris, E.G. (2007). Getting the job done: The moderating role of initiative on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and adaptive selling. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 27(1), 59-74.org/10.2753/PSS0885-3134270104
  27. 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. org/10.1177/1548051818806289
  28. Kacmar, K.M., Witt, L.A., Zivnuska, S., & Gully, S.M. (2003). The interactive effect of leader-member exchange and communication frequency on performance ratings. Journal of applied psychology, 88(4), 764. org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.764
  29. Koopman, J., Lanaj, K., & Scott, B.A. (2016). Integrating the bright and dark sides of OCB: A daily investigation of the benefits and costs of helping others. Academy of Management Journal, 59(2), 414-435. doi.org/1037/0021-9010.88.4.764
  30. Lian, H., Ferris, D.L., & Brown, D.J. (2012). Does taking the good with the bad make things worse? How abusive supervision and leader-member exchange interact to impact need satisfaction and organizational deviance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117(1), 41-52. org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.10.003
  31. Liang, L.H., Brown, D.J., Lian, H., Hanig, S., Ferris, D.L., & Keeping, L.M. (2018). Righting a wrong: Retaliation on a voodoo doll symbolizing an abusive supervisor restores justice. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(4), 443–456. org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.01.004
  32. Liu, Y., Hau, K.‐, Liu, H., Wu, J., Wang, X., & Zheng, X. (2020). Multiplicative effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on academic performance: A longitudinal study of Chinese students. Journal of Personality, 88(3), 584-595. doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12512
  33. Low, Y.M., Sambasivan, M., & Ho, J. (2021). Impact of abusive supervision on counterproductive work behaviors of nurses. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 59, 250–278. org/10.1111/1744-7941.12234
  34. Macovei, C.M. (2016). Counterproductive behaviors and work performance in military organization. In International conference knowledge-based organization (Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 444-450). org/10.1515/kbo-2016-0076
  35. Martinko, M.J., Harvey, P., & Douglas, S.C. (2007). The role, function, and contribution of attribution theory to leadership: A review. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(6), 561-585. org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.09.004
  36. 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. org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.4.1159
  37. Osei, H.V., Asiedu-Appiah, F., & Anyimaduah Amoah, P.A. (2020). The fish rots from the head down: a test of the trickle-down model of abusive supervision. Organization Management Journal, 11(1), 1-25. org/10.1108/OMJ-11-2018-0635
  38. Qian, J., & Li, X. (2016). Supervisory mentoring and employee feedback seeking: the moderating effects of power distance and political skill. Current Psychology, 35(3), 486-494. org/10.1007/s12144-015-9317-y
  39. Rizvi, F., & Azam, A. (2020). Impact of employee's political skill on abusive supervision: does gender matter? South Asian Journal of Studies,10(1), 109-127. org/10.1108/SAJBS-08-2019-0144
  40. Ronen, S., & Donia, M.B.L. (2020). Stifling my fire: The impact of abusive supervision on employees’ motivation and ensuing outcomes at work. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 36(3), 205-214. org/10.5093/jwop2020a203
  41. Sambung, R. (2019). Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance; Counterproductive Work Behavior and Organizational Citizenship Behavior as Mediations. International Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 7(3), 50-56. org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20190703.12
  42. Song, Y. (2019). The Relationship Between Customer Experience Values and Customer Loyalty in Virtual Brand Community. Thesis of Graduate School, Siam University, Bangkok.
  43. 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. org/10.1108/PR-07-2016-0162
  44. Tepper, B.J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of management journal, 43(2), 178-190. org/10.2307/1556375
  45. Tepper, B.J. (2007). Abusive supervision in work organizations: review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Management, 33(3), 261-89. org/10.1177/0149206307300812
  46. Tepper, B.J., Simon, L., & Park, H.M. (2017). Abusive supervision. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 123-152. org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062539
  47. Wang, X., & Zhou, F. (2021). Managing the uncertainties inherent in prohibitive voice: how leadership interacts with employee political skill. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.702964
  48. Treadway, D.C., Ferris, G.R., Duke, A.B., Adams, G.L. & Thatcher, J.B. (2007). The moderating role of subordinate political skill on supervisors’ impressions of subordinate ingratiation and ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92 (3): 848-855. org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.3.848
  49. Wheeler, A.R., Halbesleben, J.R.B., & Whitman, M.V. (2013). The interactive effects of abusive supervision and entitlement on emotional exhaustion and co-worker abuse. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86(4), 477-496. org/10.1111/joop.12034
  50. Wu, C.H., Parker, S.K., Wu, L.Z., & Lee, C. (2018). When and why people engage in different forms of proactive behavior: Interactive effects of self-construals and work characteristics. Academy of Management Journal, 61(1), 293-323. org/10.5465/amj.2013.1064
  51. Xu, E., Huang, X., Lam, C.K., & Miao, Q. (2012). Abusive supervision and work behaviors: The mediating role of LMX. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(4), 531-543. org/10.1002/job.768
  52. Xue, Y., Li, X., Wang, H., & Zhang, Q. (2020). How Employee’s Leadership Potential Leads to Leadership Ostracism Behavior: The Mediating Role of Envy, and the Moderating Role of Political Skills. International Journal of Environmental Resource and Public Health, 17(9), 1-15. org/10.3390/ijerph17093080
  53. Zhao, H., Peng, Z., Han, Y., & Zhang, L. (2018). The effect of abusive supervision on employees’ behavior: A moderated mediation model. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 46(1), 147-157. org/10.3390/ijerph182212124