Paul Harvey

Promoting Authentic Behavior in Organizations: An Attributional Perspective

Building on recent theories of authentic leadership, we introduce an attributional framework for understanding authenticity. It is proposed that authenticity implies an accurate and balanced attribution style - a relationship that we argue has been overlooked in past research on authentic leadership. We also suggest that organizations can take an active role in the development of authentic leaders by making leaders aware of the factors that might promote inaccurate attributions. Several techniques for accomplishing this goal are described along with suggestions for future research on the construct of authenticity.

A Test of Competing Models of the Relationships Among Perceptions of Organizational Politics, Perceived Organizational Support, and Individual Outcomes

The authors aimed to distinguish between perceptions of organizational politics (POPs) and perceived organizational support (POS). Previous research has shown that these two constructs are related, and whereas some researchers have suggested that POS mediates the relationships between POPs and outcomes (e.g., M. C. Andrews & K. M. Kacmar, 2001; R. Cropanzano, J. C. Howes, A. A. Grandey, & P. Toth, 1997), others have claimed that POPs mediate the relationships between POS and outcomes (e.g., G. R. Ferris, G. S. Russ, & P. M. Fandt, 1989). The authors investigated these competing models in an organizational sample of 418 employees from a water-management-district office. Results showed that POPs and POS were related to each other and to 5 outcomes: (a) job satisfaction, (b) pay satisfaction, (c) job strains, (d) role conflicts, and (e) turnover intentions. Results also indicated that POS fully mediated 3 of the 5 relationships between POPs and outcomes and partially mediated the other 2.

Frustration-based outcomes of entitlement and the influence of supervisor communication

Psychological entitlement is a relatively stable tendency toward inflated self-perceptions and unrealistic expectations concerning praise and rewards. This study investigates two behavioral outcomes of entitlement — political behavior and co-worker abuse — and the mediating role of job-related frustration. We also examine the impact of supervisor communication (i.e. evaluative and informative communication) on the relationship between psychological entitlement and frustration. Results of a study of 223 employees suggested that entitlement was positively associated with both political behavior and co-worker abuse, and that frustration partially or fully mediated both relationships. Additionally, results suggested that relatively high levels of supervisor communication reduced job frustration for less-entitled employees but exacerbated the frustration reported by those with stronger entitlement perceptions.

An Investigation of Abusive Supervision, Vicarious Abusive Supervision, and Their Joint Impacts

ABSTRACT Recent work has begun to look at the impact of abusive supervision, a dysfunctional workplace behavior, on employee outcomes. This study extends this line of research by examining vicarious abusive supervision (abuse not directly experienced, but rumors about it or hearing about it, that is “experienced vicariously”). In particular, this research effort investigates whether vicarious abuse has effects above and beyond those accounted for by personally experienced abusive supervision on the outcomes of job frustration, coworker abuse, and perceived organizational support. Our sample is composed of 233 workers from a large variety of organizations. Results reveal that both personally experienced and vicarious abuse have negative impacts and these effects are heightened when both forms of abusive supervision are present. Practical and theoretical implications, as well as directions for future research, are offered.

Causal reasoning in dysfunctional leader‐member interactions

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model predicting the influence of biased causal explanations for subordinate behaviors and outcomes on a leaders functionality and the quality of leader‐member relationships.Design/methodology/approach – Attribution theory is used to analyze the effect of leader perceptions and emotions on the functionality of leader‐member relationships. It is predicted that the negative emotions and expectancies stemming from biased leader attributions will promote dysfunctional leader behaviors. These dysfunctional behaviors, in turn, are believed to reduce the quality of leader‐member relationships.Research limitations/implications – Although much of the proposed model is based on empirical evidence, it is acknowledged that some key relationships have not been tested directly in past research. It is suggested that future research can seek to validate these aspects of the model. It is also suggested that future research explore the role of subordinate, a...

Who Abuses Their Coworkers? An Examination of Personality and Situational Variables

ABSTRACT This study examines predictors of abusive employee behavior toward coworkers. We examined two personality variables, negative affectivity and political skill, and two situational relationship variables—team member exchange and coworker relationship conflict. We tested our hypotheses with data obtained from a sample of 232 working employees. We found that political skill and team member exchange were negatively related to coworker abuse, whereas negative affectivity and relationship conflict were positively related. Additionally, we found statistical support for the negative affectivity-relationship conflict, political skill-team member exchange, and political skill-relationship conflict interactions. Practical implications and directions for future research are provided.

Accountability, entitlement, tenure, and satisfaction in Generation Y

Purpose – Given the entitlement and job mobility associated with Generation Y, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and tenure on the felt accountability-job satisfaction relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from a sample of resident assistants were examined using hierarchical moderated regression analysis. Findings – Entitled employees responded to accountability favorably, demonstrating lower job satisfaction than non-entitled employees when accountability was low, but nearly equal levels when accountability was high. All participants reported higher job satisfaction when job tenure was lower, but entitlement-driven satisfaction differences were observed only when accountability was low. Research limitations/implications – Cross-sectional data warrants longitudinal replication to establish causation and to give insight into how much time must pass before accountability begins to reduce the negative effects of entitlement. Prac...

The Relationships Between Attribution Styles, LMX, and Perceptions of Abusive Supervision

Prior abusive supervision research focuses on subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervision. Recent research suggests that a variety of factors may be related to these perceptions, including subordinates’ self-esteem, personality traits, and negative affectivity, as well as supervisors’ perceptions of justice and breaches of psychological contracts. In this article, the authors propose and argue that a significant proportion of the variance in members’ perceptions of abuse by their leaders can be explained by the interactions of leaders’ and members’ attribution styles and that abuse perceptions may be considered to be a subset of subordinates’ perceptions of the quality of their leader–member exchange relationships. The authors also make the case that attribution styles affect the likelihood of abusive supervisory behavior as well as the perception of such behaviors.

The Mediating Role of Perceptions of Abusive Supervision in the Relationship Between Personality and Aggression

This study examines whether subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervision mediate the relationship between subordinate personality and aggression. Results from a cross-organizational sample of 411 working adults suggest that subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervision account for some of the variance in the relationships between subordinate Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and subordinate aggression. This study suggests that social-information processing and perceptions of control found within subordinates’ personality influences whether they are more or less likely to perceive supervisory abuse. Perceptions of supervisory abuse were associated with aggression.

The Impact of Political Skill on Employees’ Perceptions of Ethical Leadership

We investigate whether leader political skill (LPS) increases employees’ perceptions of ethical leadership, even among leaders who acknowledge engaging in deviant behaviors. Study 1 indicated a positive relationship between LPS and ethical leadership perceptions, resulting in improved commitment and reduced stress levels among employees. Study 2 indicated that politically skilled leaders who engaged in deviant behaviors were perceived to be more ethical than deviant leaders with low political skill. Study 2 also suggested that LPS was negatively associated with employee deviance. These results suggest that political skill promotes ethical employee behaviors and other beneficial outcomes but might also help leaders disguise deviant intentions.