How management style moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance: An uncertainty management theory perspective

Abstract

Based on uncertainty management theory [Lind, E. A., & Van den Bos, K., (2002). When fairness works: Toward a general theory of uncertainty management. In Staw, B. M., & Kramer, R. M. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 24, pp. 181–223). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.], two studies tested whether a management style depicting situational uncertainty moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance. Study 1, using survey data from 379 subordinates of various industries, found that the positive relationship between abusive supervision and organizational deviance was stronger when authoritarian management style was low (high situational uncertainty) rather than high (low situational uncertainty). No significant interaction effect was found on interpersonal deviance. Study 2, using survey data from 1477 subordinates of various industries, found that the positive relationship between abusive supervision and supervisor-directed and organizational deviance was stronger when employees’ perceptions of their organization’s management style reflected high rather than low situational uncertainty.