Exploring a Two-Factor Model of Abusive Supervision: An Investigation of Disparate Outcomes of Active-Aggressive and Passive-Aggressive Components

Abstract

Scholarly interest in abusive supervision continues to grow after two decades of conceptual discussion and empirical examination. However, discord exists within the literature stream because our understanding of why abusive supervision’s relationships with key correlates differ across active-aggressive and passive-aggressive dimensions of abusive supervision is incomplete, threatening to thwart this valuable research stream. Drawing on the two-dimensional model of social exchange theory, my dissertation explores why and how hedonic value (i.e., positive or negative tone) and activity level (i.e., active or passive events) predict followers’ responses to abusive supervision. Using a meta-analytic database of primary studies that examine abusive supervision, my research examines the factor structure of abusive supervision and tests theory-based hypotheses about its relationships with follower outcomes (i.e., counterproductive work behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, turnover intention, and job satisfaction). Ultimately, my dissertation deepens our conceptual and empirical knowledge of abusive supervision, adds nuance to our understanding of why and how active-aggressive and passive-aggressive abusive supervision relate to key follower outcomes, and meaningfully tests and extends the two-dimensional model of social exchange theory.