A multistudy analysis of abusive supervision and social network service addiction on employee's job engagement and innovative work behaviour

Abstract

Almost every organization aspires to gain a competitive advantage through innovation and creativity. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the factors that foster or inhibit innovative work behaviour (IWB) and employee engagement. In this study, we used the conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine the influence of abusive supervision on employee job engagement and IWB via a mediator, namely, social network service (SNS). We also investigated the moderating effect of organizational support in this study. Our hypothesized model is supported by multisampling field data sets. We conducted two independent studies to carry out this research. Data were collected from information technology (IT) firms in Study 1 and consultancy companies in Study 2. Multisampling field data sets provided support for our hypothesized model. We found that abusive supervision harms employee job engagement and IWB, both directly and indirectly through SNS addiction (Study 1). In Study 2, we used time‐lag data to replicate the findings of Study 1. We also found in Study 2 that organizational support reduced the positive relationship between abusive supervision and SNS addiction. The indirect link between abusive supervision and employee work outcomes is significantly influenced by organizational support. Implications and future research directions are also discussed.