Is abusive supervision always harmful toward creativity? Managing workplace stressors by promoting distributive and procedural justice

Bibliographic Data

ID21620137
AuthorsZubair Akram (0000-0002-8373-2092, Zhejiang Gongshang University), Saima Ahmad (0000-0002-4713-1791, RMIT University), Umair Akram (0000-0002-9980-6164, Jiangsu University), Muhammad Asghar (0000-0002-9373-7188, Yanshan University), Tao Jiang (0000-0001-5221-2951, Zhejiang Gongshang University)
Year2022
Volume33
Issue3
Pages385-407
Publication date2022-05-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Conflict Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1044-4068 • E-ISSN: 1758-8545
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/ijcma-03-2021-0036
OpenAlexW4200592271
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited94

Purpose This paper aims to answer the question of how, why and when abusive supervision affects employee creativity. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this paper examines the direct and indirect (via psychological distress) effects of abusive supervision on employee creativity. It further investigates the boundary conditions imposed by employees’ perceived distributive and procedural justice in the relationships between abusive supervision, psychological distress and employee creativity. Design/methodology/approach The study uses multi-sourced and time-lagged data collected in three waves from a survey of employees-supervisor dyads working in the Chinese manufacturing sector. In the first wave, the authors received data from 347 employees on perceived abusive supervision and perceived distributive and procedural justice. In the second wave, 320 employees shared their perceptions of psychological distress at work. In the third wave, the authors received ratings for employee creativity from the direct supervisors of 300 employees. The data were analyzed using bootstrapped moderated mediation procedures. Findings The findings revealed a significant negative influence of abusive supervision on employee creativity both directly and indirectly in the presence of perceived psychological distress. However, distributive and procedural justice was found to mitigate the negative impact of abusive supervision on employee creativity. Practical implications Abusive supervision has adverse consequences for employees’ creativity because it affects their psychological health. HR and top management should prioritize addressing abusive supervision first and foremost to boost employee creativity in the workplace. Managers should give employees opportunities for participation and foster a climate of fairness in the organization to mitigate the harmful consequences of abusive supervision. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study that examines the psychological distress-based mechanism in the relationship between abusive supervision and creativity while considering the interactive effects of distributive and procedural justice. It addresses an important research gap in the literature by proposing that organizational perceived distributive and procedural justice can mitigate the detrimental effects of abusive supervision

Abusive supervision · Creativity · Distributive justice · Economic Justice · Organizational commitment · Perceived organizational support · Perception · Political science · Procedural justice · Applied Psychology · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology · Workaholism, burnout, and well-being · Workplace Spirituality and Leadership

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