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How the supervisor's Machiavellianism results in abusive supervision: understanding the role of the supervisor's competitive worldviews and subordinate's performance

Abdul Karim Khan (College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates)
Imran Hameed (Faculty of Business Administration, Lahore School of Economics, Lahore, Pakistan)
Samina Quratulain (College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)
Ghulam Ali Arain (Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan)
Alexander Newman (Deakin Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia)

Personnel Review

ISSN: 0048-3486

Article publication date: 31 March 2022

Issue publication date: 15 May 2023

580

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the dual process model of ideology and prejudice, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether, how and when a supervisor's Machiavellianism leads to subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision. In doing so, the authors also explore the mediating role of the supervisor's competitive world views and the moderating role of subordinates' performance on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model was tested using three sources of data from supervisors, their subordinates and the organization. Hierarchical linear model analysis was run on supervisor and subordinate dyadic data for testing whether subordinates' performance moderated the mediated relationships or not.

Findings

The results suggest that the supervisors' competitive worldviews explain the positive link between their Machiavellianism and subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision. The results highlight that the mediation effect of supervisors' competitive worldviews on the link between their Machiavellianism and their subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision is more pronounced when subordinates' performance is low than when it is high.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the authors’ knowledge of the link between supervisors' Machiavellianism and abusive supervision, and how the toxic influence of their Machiavellianism is mediated by supervisors' competitive worldviews.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature on abusive supervision and personality by studying the role of personality as an antecedent of abusive supervision. Further, this study used subordinates' performance as a contextual variable for understanding abusive supervision.

Keywords

Citation

Khan, A.K., Hameed, I., Quratulain, S., Arain, G.A. and Newman, A. (2023), "How the supervisor's Machiavellianism results in abusive supervision: understanding the role of the supervisor's competitive worldviews and subordinate's performance", Personnel Review, Vol. 52 No. 4, pp. 992-1009. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-03-2021-0176

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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