Consequences of abusive supervision on Indian service sector professionals: a PLS-SEM-based approach

Abstract

PurposeThe present study aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationship between abusive supervision (AS) and employees’ intention to quit (ITQ) and employee misconduct (EM). Though the direct relationship was investigated in past studies; however, the indirect effect of the said relationships via workplace ostracism (WO) and the interaction effect of resilience on the direct relationship based on the conservation of resource theory and social exchange theory were hardly explored.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected through a cross-sectional survey using standardized measures. In the current study, the responses from 575 respondents were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe study’s findings stressed that AS positively affects an employee’s ITQ and EM. WO was found to be a significant mediator and resilience as a significant moderator for AS, ITQ and EM relationships.Originality/valueThe study is one of the few studies in the Indian context linking AS to ITQ and EM in the presence of WO as a mediator and resilience as a moderator.