The Relationship Between Exploitative Leadership and Counterproductive Work Behavior
The Moderated Mediation Effect of Power Distance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16914723 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lingfeng Zhu (0009-0002-6124-8870, Gachon University), Xiu Jin (0000-0003-1232-3723, Gachon University, corresponding author), Won Jun Kwak (Soongsil University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/21582440251381247 |
| OpenAlex | W4414645857 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 53 |
Counterproductive work behavior significantly increase a firm’s operating costs and resource wastage, thus seriously impairing organizational performance. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the reasons why employees engage in counterproductive work behavior. This study uses Affective Event Theory (AET) as a theoretical framework to reveal how exploitative leadership further influences employees’ behavioral choices by affecting their emotions. Specifically, exploitative leadership influences employees’ behavioral decisions by triggering their anger; employee anger plays a key mediating role between exploitative leadership and counterproductive work behavior, a finding that provides deeper theoretical support for the central role of emotions in organizational behavior. In addition, this study examines the moderating role of power distance. While traditional studies have focused on the direct effects of leadership behavior on employee outcomes, this study further reveals how power distance affects employees’ emotional intensity and behavioral response patterns, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of employees’ emotional and behavioral performance in the face of exploitative leadership. Data analysis of 294 Chinese SME employees revealed that exploitative leadership has a significant positive effect on employee anger and counterproductive work behavior; employee anger mediates the relationship between exploitative leadership and counterproductive work behavior, while power distance has a significant negative moderating effect in this relationship. Based on these findings, this study not only expands the scope of exploitative leadership research, but also provides new perspectives and ideas for understanding the role of power distance in leadership research. In addition, this study provides targeted practical recommendations for optimizing leadership styles, enhancing employee mental health support, and reducing counterproductive work behavior
Abusive supervision · Anger · Counterproductive work behavior · Leadership style · Mediation · Moderated mediation · Organizational Behavior · Transformational leadership · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
Latent Variable Models
Individual Power Distance Orientation and Follower Reactions to Transformational Leaders
Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) in Response to Job Stressors and Organizational Justice
Does Cultural Socialization Predict Multiple Bases and Foci of Commitment?
Investigating the Dimensionality of Counterproductive Work Behavior
Individual-Level Cultural Values as Moderators of Perceived Organizational Support–Employee Outcome Relationships in China
Abusive Supervision and Employee Well‐Being
Structural Equations with Latent Variables
How does exploitative leadership shape employee’s workplace venting
Abusive supervision, power distance, and creative process engagement
The effect of bricolage on negative emotions through resilience
The cross-level influence of authoritarian leadership on counterproductive work behavior
Effects of overqualification on employees' organizational citizenship behavior
The relationship between perceived overqualification and individual performance and mediating mechanisms
Job stress, incivility, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB)
Exploitative leadership and service sabotage
Excluded emotions
Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit
| Highly cited | No |
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