Supervisory consequences of abusive supervision: An investigation of sense of power, managerial self-efficacy, and task-oriented leadership behavior

Abstract

While a large number of studies have shown the detrimental effects of abusive supervision on subordinates’ work attitudes and outcomes, little is known about how abusive supervision impacts supervisors themselves. Drawing upon self-perception theory and power-dependence theory, we take a unique actor-focused approach to examine how and when engaging in abusive supervisory behavior may benefit actors (i.e., supervisors). Specifically, we propose that abusive supervisory behavior is positively related to supervisors’ state sense of power, which in turn positively relates to their managerial self-efficacy and task-oriented leadership behavior. Furthermore, the relationship between abusive supervisory behavior and state sense of power and the positive indirect effect of abusive supervisory behavior on managerial self-efficacy via state sense of power are stronger for supervisors with low, rather than high, levels of chronic sense of power. Our hypotheses are substantially supported by a multi-wave field diary study (Study 1) conducted across 10 consecutive workdays and three experiments (Studies 2a, 2b, and 3). Moreover, supplementary analyses showed that abusive supervisory behavior was positively related to sense of power and managerial self-efficacy only in the short term (i.e., these relationships turned negative after one week). Our findings contribute to the abusive supervision literature by delineating a nuanced view of the supervisory outcomes of abusive supervision.