Examining workplace bullying-outcomes relationships among Indian managers. Psychological contract violation as mediator and workplace friendship as moderator

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2017-0031
Date01 October 2018
Published date01 October 2018
Pages1015-1035
AuthorArpana Rai,Upasna A. Agarwal
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law
Examining workplace bullying-
outcomes relationships among
Indian managers
Psychological contract violation as mediator
and workplace friendship as moderator
Arpana Rai and Upasna A. Agarwal
National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, India
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between workplace bullying and
employee outcomes (intention to quit (ITQ), job satisfaction and work engagement) with psychological
contract violation (PCV) as mediator and workplace friendship as moderator.
Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 835 full-time Indian managerial employees
working in different Indian organizations.
Findings Results revealed that PCV mediated bullying-outcomes (ITQ, job satisfaction and work
engagement) relationship and effects of workplace bullying on proposed outcomes were weaker in the
presence of high workplace friendship.
Research limitations/implications A cross-sectional design and use of self-reported questionnaire data
are a limitation of this study. As the study did not cover all sectors, the results of this study should be
interpreted with caution.
Originality/value To the best of the authorsknowledge, this study is rare attempts to examine the
mediating role of PCV and the moderating role of workplace friendship in bullying-outcomes relationships.
This study also contributes in terms of its context and sample.
Keywords Workplace friendship, Job satisfaction, Work engagement, Workplace bullying,
Psychological contract violation, ITQ
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In the past two and half decades, workplace bullying has attracted considerable academic
and practitioner interest because of its increased prevalence and severe negative impacts on
employees and organizations (Einarsen et al., 2016; Nielsen and Einarsen, 2012). A form of
interpersonal misconduct/mistreatment (Namie, 2007), bullying involves repeated
demeaning or destructive behaviors directed toward one or more employees, mainly by
someone at a supervisory position (Einarsen et al., 2003; Lutgen-Sandvik et al., 2007). Known
to occur on a regular basis at workplaces, studies estimated prevalence rates of bullying at
1118 percent (Nielsen et al., 2010). However, more recent reports and surveys indicate that
the frequency of workplace bullying is as high as 27 percent (Workplace Bullying Institute,
2014). These statistics are worrying, given the range of undesirable outcomes associated
with workplace bullying such as high intention to quit (ITQ), job dissatisfaction, low
performance, low commitment, disengagement, poor psychological and physical health, and
psychological distress (Nielsen and Einarsen, 2012; Samnani and Singh, 2012).
Among the undesirable outcomes of workplace bullying, ITQ, job satisfaction and work
engagement are the most studied (Glambek et al., 2014; Park and Ono, 2016; Rodríguez-Muñoz
et al., 2009). However, most of these studies have investigated the direct relationships between
bullying and its outcomes; few have attempted to explore the underlying and intervening
mechanisms in these relationships (Park and Ono, 2016; Tuckey and Neall, 2014). Consequently,
not much is known about why and how workplace bullying has the effects that it does and
Employee Relations
Vol. 40 No. 6, 2018
pp. 1015-1035
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-02-2017-0031
Received 13 February 2017
Revised 1 August 2017
9 February 2018
Accepted 16 February 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
1015
Workplace
bullying-
outcomes
relationships
what factors are capable of mitigating or intensifying them (Rai and Agarwal, 2016). Drawing
on the conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 2001), this study endeavors to
address this gap by examining the mechanisms underlying and intervening in bullying and its
outcomes (ITQ, job satisfaction and work engagement).
Affectivestates are central to the understandingof the underlying mechanisms in bullying
(Glasø et al., 2010; Glasø and Notelaers, 2012). A critical measure of an employeesaffective
state is psychological contract violation (PCV; Conway and Briner, 2005; Freese et al., 2011).
PCV, an establishedmediator between negative workplace situations and employee outcomes
(Callea et al., 2016; Tekleab et al., 2005), has not been thoroughly examined in the context of
workplace bullying (Rai and Agarwal, 2017a; Salin and Notelaers, 2017). Using the COR
theory, we argue thata loss of valued intrinsic resourcesbecause of workplace bullying may
be perceived as PCV by employees (Priesemuth and Taylor, 2016), and subsequently lead to
undesirable outcomes. An emerging body of research suggests that employee reactions to
workplace situations vary depending on the resources available to them (Hobfoll, 1989;
Lam et al., 2010). Drawingon the COR theory, we argue that workplace friendship, which has
been conceptualized as an important workplace resource (Halbesleben, 2006), may help
employees overcome the negative impacts of bullying.
The extant cross-cultural research on workplace bullying suggests that bullying is a
socially constructed phenomenon (Lewis, 2003), and cognitive schemas, represented in
cultural orientations, may shape bullying perceptions, sources and outcomes differently
( Jacobson et al., 2013; Power et al., 2013; Sidle, 2010). However, much of our understanding of
bullying is informed by studies conducted in western countries (Giorgi et al., 2015),
characterized by individualistic cultures and low power distance (Hofstede, 1980). The lack
of research findings on workplace bullying across diverse cultures not only limits ones
understanding of the phenomenon but also impedes the development of a comprehensive
theoretical framework. Addressing this limitation, we focus on workplace bullying and its
outcomes among Indian managerial employees. A growing body of research, especially
qualitative inquiries,has explored several aspects of workplace bullying in Indian
organizations (e.g. target and bystandersexperiences; process of bullying; depersonalized
bullying; antecedents, outcomes, underlying and intervening mechanisms of bullying,
Ciby and Raya, 2014; DCruz and Noronha, 2010, 2011, 2012; DCruz, 2015; DCruz et al., 2016;
Rai and Agarwal, 2017b). However, limited quantitative dataexist on workplace bullying
in the Indian context (DCruz and Rayner, 2013; Gupta et al., 2017; Rai and Agarwal, 2017a).
The present study contributes to workplace bullying literature in many ways. While the
COR theory has been applied extensively to organizational behavior research, this study is
among the few (e.g. Maidaniuc-Chirila and Treadway, 2016; Naseer and Raja, 2016,
Rodríguez-Muñoz et al., 2015; Tuckey and Neall, 2014; Wheeler et al., 2010) to use this
theoretical lens to study workplace bullying. Second, this study examines the underlying
and intervening mechanisms in bullyingoutcome relationshipsan area that has
not received much research attention. Third, this study is a step toward extending
western-centric literature to an Indian (Asian) context.
Hypotheses development
The COR theory
Frequently cited in the organizational behavior literature, the COR theory (Hobfoll, 1989,
2001; Halbesleben et al., 2014) provides an overarching framework for explaining the stress
process and its outcomes (Hobfoll, 2001). This theory is based on the assumption that much
of human behavior is organized around the acquisition and preservation of valued
resources, which are in the form of conditions, personal characteristics, objects and energies
(Hobfoll, 2001). It suggests that resource loss has a motivational element: loss or the threat of
loss motivates individuals to engage in efforts to conserve their remaining resources.
1016
ER
40,6

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