Abstract
Building on the social distance theory of power, this study proposed the positive and negative mechanisms of power and their impacts on abusive supervision from the competitive perspectives of psychological distance and self-control. The boundary effects of independent self-construal were also analyzed. The hypotheses of this study were tested through questionnaires and an experimental study design. The Study 1 data were collected from 422 supervisors and subordinates from five private enterprises and one state-owned enterprise in Eastern China. Study 2, on the other hand, was conducted through a scenario-based experiment in which 180 part-time master of business administration (MBA) students from a university in Eastern China participated. All data were tested using polynomial regression analysis and a bootstrapping appraisal. The results revealed that (1) the relationship between power and abusive supervision is not significant; (2) psychological distance mediates the relationship between power and abusive supervision, with high power leading to higher psychological distance, which, in turn, strengthens abusive supervision; (3) self-control mediates the relationship between power and abusive supervision, with high power leading to higher self-control, which, in turn, weakens abusive supervision; (4) the mediating effect of psychological distance is stronger, and the mediating effect of self-control is weaker when independent self-construal is high rather than low. At the end of this study, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, research into abusive supervision has been prolific
This study proposed that leaders respond to their power using abusive supervision through psychological distance or selfcontrol mechanisms depending on their level of independent self-construal
Psychological distance and self-control were found to mediate the relationship between the power of leaders and their abusive supervision, respectively
Summary
Over the past two decades, research into abusive supervision has been prolific. Abusive supervision, defined as “a subordinate’s perception of the extent to which supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviors, excluding physical contact” The negative consequences of abusive supervision are well-known, its antecedents received less attention from researchers (Martinko et al, 2013; Zhang and Bednall, 2016). Yu et al (2021) found that, to date, only three articles have investigated the antecedents of abusive supervision in the hospitality industry. It is important to explore the nature of the existence of abusive supervision and understand how organizations can minimize or at least curb its occurrence
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