Workplace Mobbing as a Form of Serious Workplace Conflict: A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies from 1990 to 2024

Abstract

Mobbing is a significant problem that has devastating effects on victims in the workplace. Studies mainly focus on the antecedents, consequences, and methods of combating mobbing. However, based on global mobbing research, there is a need to see current research trends and conduct a comprehensive review. This study aimed to identify the main research gaps and future directions of relevant publications on workplace mobbing through bibliometric analysis. The study examined 600 scientific studies from approximately 35 years between 1990 and 2024, scanned in the Scopus database. Biblioshiny and VOSviewer programs were used in the bibliometric analysis. The findings revealed seven clusters in determining mobbing calls and priorities in combating mobbing. The results obtained show that not only vertical mobbing originating from managers but also horizontal mobbing has become widespread. The highest exposure is among women, nurses, employees in higher education institutions, and teachers. Italy, Turkey, and Spain lead the studies as the most productive countries. Trending topics of recent times are reliability, validity, nurses, incivility, abusive supervision, burnout, teachers, and leadership. Work stress, working conditions, teachers, victims, nurses, social support, naq-r, and sexual harassment are the most frequently used co-occurrence keywords by authors in recent years. The results showed that the most significant risk factors are diversity factors such as gender, sector, profession, and culture, and that bystander support should be improved. Anticipating mobbing calls on a global and organizational level can draw a new path for the solution of mobbing. In the fight against mobbing, current best practices should be determined within the framework of ethical standards, and more comprehensive strategies should be developed that include the support of the bystanders.