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The purpose of this paper is to examine hostility as a mediator of the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics (POP) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB).

The authors’ examined the mediation model using a sample of 171 full-time employees studying in an evening MBA program. The authors’ collected the data for this study in three waves.

The findings supported all of the hypotheses. POP was positively related to both hostility and CWB. Moreover, hostility mediated the relationships between POP and both organizational and interpersonal CWB.

Given that individuals high in emotional intelligence (EI) are better at regulating their negative emotions, EI training may be a powerful tool for reducing the hostility elicited among organizational members in response to POP, and consequently, their engagement in CWB.

The current study uncovered the emotional mechanism that underlies the POP-CWB relationship. The findings have intriguing implications in terms of potential moderators that can be developed through interventions in an attempt to reduce the hostility and CWB that result from POP.