An institutional perspective on workplace incivility: case studies from academia

Abstract

PurposeThis research study looks at issues such as why does incivility occur, dynamics responsible for incivility with an emphasis on causes stimulated by the general context and its influence on the behavior of individuals, groups and organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides a fresh perspective on workplace incivility by integrating institutional theory with empirical data from two case studies from academic institutions located in different continents to understand incivility in organizations. A comparative case analysis across two different geographical regions is used to validate the argument that institutional antecedents can influence micro-level organizational events such as employee incivility despite variance in geographical locations and cultural dimensions.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that academic institutions are subject to uncivil behaviors, which could be a direct offshoot of the historical and cultural beliefs of the society. The general context of the studied cases led to workplace incivility mainly in the form of racial prejudices and sectarianism transferred to the organizational day-to-day practice. The paper suggests a pragmatic view for possible interventions to humanize workplaces where it is better not to adopt a “one size fits all” recipe to deal with such a complex phenomenon.Originality/valueThis paper provides a macro-level analysis of workplace incivility by assuming an institutional perspective to explore the relationships if any between incivility experienced by employees within an organization and the wider political and historical structuration of the society.