Authoritarian leadership supervisor support and workers’ compulsory citizenship behavior

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on uncertainty management theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose that experiencing the authoritarian leadership (AL) will weaken followers’ self-efficacy, which induces their compulsory citizenship behaviors (CCBs), defined as workers’ unwilling prosocial behaviors in helping colleagues.Design/methodology/approachSurvey/regression: data collected from Taiwanese workers supports the proposal.FindingsThe results not only support the proposal but also show that supervisor support will exacerbate the negative effect of AL with workers’ self-efficacy. Further, workers’ political skill will attenuate the above relationship.Originality/valueThis study complements scholarly knowledge about how AL, supervisor support, and political skill together influence workers’ self-efficacy, which then induces CCBs. The findings also remind supervisors not to offer support while at the same time demonstrating an AL style.