Three Motives for Abusive Supervision: The Mitigating Effect of Subordinates Attributed Motives on Abusive Supervision’s Negative Outcomes

Abstract

We have learned a great deal about the negative consequences of abusive supervision, but little attention has been paid to supervisors’ motives for engaging in abusive behavior. This is an important gap in the literature because the consequences of abusive supervision are likely to differ depending on its attributed motive. The current study extends the literature on abusive supervision by refining the attributed motives of abusive supervision and by examining how the attributed motives influence the negative effects of abusive supervision on leader–member exchange (LMX) and withdrawal behaviors (work withdrawal and job withdrawal). Specifically, we develop a conditional process model of abusive supervision which suggests that the negative relationship between abusive supervision and LMX is moderated by the attributed motives of abusive supervision (three motives: injury initiation, performance pressure, and personal disposition to abuse). Our results also suggest that lowered LMX resulting from abusive supervision increases victims’ work withdrawal and job withdrawal behaviors as moderated by organizational tenure. Using quantitative and qualitative data from 139 victims of abuse, we test the proposed model.