TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze cross-national and cross-cultural similarities and differences in perceptions and conceptualizations of workplace bullying among human resource professionals (HRPs). Particular emphasis was given to what kind of behaviors are considered as bullying in different countries and what criteria interviewees use to decide whether a particular behavior is bullying or not.Design/methodology/approach HRPs in 13 different countries/regions (n=199), spanning all continents and all GLOBE cultural clusters (House et al., 2004), were interviewed and a qualitative content analysis was carried out.Findings Whereas interviewees across the different countries largely saw personal harassment and physical intimidation as bullying, work-related negative acts and social exclusion were construed very differently in the different countries. Repetition, negative effects on the target, intention to harm, and lack of a business case were decision criteria typically used by interviewees across the globe – other criteria varied by country.Practical implications The results help HRPs working in multinational organizations understand different perceptions of negative acts.Originality/value The findings point to the importance of cultural factors, such as power distance and performance orientation, and other contextual factors, such as economy and legislation for understanding varying conceptualizations of bullying.
VL  - 48
IS  - 1
SN  - 0048-3486
DO  - 10.1108/PR-03-2017-0092
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-03-2017-0092
AU  - Salin Denise
AU  - Cowan Renee
AU  - Adewumi Oluwakemi
AU  - Apospori Eleni
AU  - Bochantin Jaime
AU  - D’Cruz Premilla
AU  - Djurkovic Nikola
AU  - Durniat Katarzyna
AU  - Escartín Jordi
AU  - Guo Jing
AU  - Išik Idil
AU  - Koeszegi Sabine T.
AU  - McCormack Darcy
AU  - Monserrat Silvia Inés
AU  - Zedlacher Eva
PY  - 2018
Y1  - 2018/01/01
TI  - Workplace bullying across the globe: a cross-cultural comparison
T2  - Personnel Review
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 204
EP  - 219
Y2  - 2024/05/07
ER  -