Peer abusive supervision and third-party employee creativity from a social exchange theory perspective

Abstract

We used social exchange theory to construct a theoretical framework of peer abusive supervision, third-party perception of organizational support, third-party employee creativity, and third-party perception of supervisory organizational embodiment. We then empirically tested the theoretical model with 367 supervisor–employee paired dyads from five large real estate companies in China. The results show that peer abusive supervision had a negative impact on third-party employee creativity, and third-party perception of organizational support played a mediating role in this relationship. Further, third-party perception of supervisory organizational embodiment positively moderated the impact of peer abusive supervision on third-party perception of organizational support. Our results, which show the spillover effect and boundary conditions of abusive supervision on third-party employee creativity, are significant for the enhancement of employee creativity in corporate management practice.