Domingo Verano Tacoronte

Do current anti‐cyberloafing disciplinary practices have a replica in research findings?: A study of the effects of coercive strategies on workplace Internet misuse

Purpose – This study aims to test the extent to which current coercive control strategies receive research support in controlling deviant workplace Internet behavior, also called cyberloafing. Consequently, it examines the relationship between cyberloafing and three classic coercive variables: perceived organizational control (POC), fear of formal punishment (FFP) and physical leadership proximity (LPP) as sensed by the employee. The model tested suggests that perceptions of leader physical proximity (LPP) antecede both the organizational amount of control (POC) and FFP and these both ones, in turn, affect cyberloafing. Additionally, the model suggests that POC increases FFP.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 147 (19.4 percent) of the 758 non‐teaching staff at a Spanish public university. Accessibility of individual e‐mail accounts was similar for all employees. E‐mails asking for collaboration were sent in two phases. A questionnaire was posted on the university intranet and could be ...