How Organizational Hypocrisy Cultivates Abusive Supervision Whereas Supervisor Resilience Impedes It: Frustration Aggression Vs Resource Building Approach

Abstract

This study adds to the research of business ethics by exploring how organizational hypocrisy affects abusive supervision positively, through the mediating role of cynicism of supervisors and when supervisor resilience can temper down abusive supervision. This is the first study to use frustration aggression theory to explain the studied mechanism and further contributes to the literature of theory by proposing that frustration may lead to broadening of scope of cognitive processes thereby developing new positive goals. Using a quantitative design multisource data were collected in three waves through survey method. Results of the data analysis confirmed the entire hypotheses of the study in proposed directions. This study highlights a dangerous pathway that may generate vicious cycles of negativity and undermine long term viability of organizations but at the same time gives a unique solution to organizations to decrease the effects of hypocritical policies. The study can have far reaching organizational and social implications. Organizations can benefit from this research by reviewing their management philosophies and HR practitioners can focus on developing pools of resilient employees to make organizations and society green. At the end limitations of the study are discussed and future research directions are suggested