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Impact of abusive supervision on
counterproductive work behaviors of nurses
Yoke May Low Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Murali Sambasivan Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia; Thiagarajar School of
Management, India
Jo Ann Ho Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
The objectives of this research are to address the two fundamental research questions: 1) What are
the antecedents that lead to counterproductive work behavior (CWB) of nurses in public hospitals?
2) How effective are the moderating roles of power distance orientation (a cultural factor) and locus
of control (an individual factor) in impacting CWB? The antecedents addressed are abusive super-
vision and nurses’ perception of injustice. A questionnaire-based study was conducted among 337
nurses working in six public hospitals in different departments in Malaysia. The data were analyzed
using structural equation modeling. The main findings are:1) nurses perceive injustice when sub-
jected to abusive supervision and indulge in CWB; 2) nurses with a high level of power distance ori-
entation are less likely to perceive abusive supervision as injustice; and 3) nurses with an internal
locus of control are less likely to engage in CWB. The contributions of the study are discussed.
Keywords: abusive supervision, counter-productive work behavior, perception of injustice, per-
sonality factors
Key points
1 Abusive supervision does have impact on CWB.
2 Perception of injustice leads to CWB.
3 Abusive supervision directly and indirectly (through perception of injustice) leads
to CWB.
4 Power distance orientation of nurses moderates the relationship between abusive
supervision and perception of injustice.
5 Locus of control of nurses moderates the relationship between perception of injus-
tice and CWB.
Correspondence: Murali Sambasivan, Faculty of Business and Law, Taylor’s University Lakeside
Campus, Subang Jaya, Malaysia; e-mail: sambasivan@hotmail.com
Accepted for publication 1 May 2019.
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (2021) 59, 250–278 doi:10.1111/1744-7941.12234
©2019 Australian HR Institute
Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) is not uncommon in the present, and it has
sparked interest among many organizational researchers due to its pervasiveness over the
past two decades (e.g. Berry, Ones and Sackett 2007; Burton and Hoobler 2011; Mitchell
and Ambrose 2012; Penney and Spector 2002; Tepper 2000, 2007; Tepper et al. 2006;
Wang et al. 2012). CWB is defined ‘as the volitional behaviors by employees that harm
organizations and/or its members in the organization including peers, supervisors, cus-
tomers and clients’ (Spector and Fox 2005, 151), and it emerges as one of the most severe
problems faced by organizations in many nations (Chappell and Di Martino 2006).
Researchers have found that 95% of employees have engaged in some form of CWB at
least once (Penney and Spector 2002). Apart from the financial loss to businesses, numer-
ous studies in the literature (e.g. Bennett and Robinson 2000; Bowling and Beehr 2006;
Griffin and O’Leary-Kelly 2004; Ivancevich et al. 2003; LePine, Erez and Johnson 2002;
Levine 2010; Podsakoff et al. 2009; Raman, Sambasivan and Kumar 2016) have suggested
that the links people have with their supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates have a
strong impact upon their personal well-being and success, including organizational mor-
ale and productivity.
Due to the disastrous effects of CWB, considerable research has been conducted to
determine the antecedents of CWB (i.e. Bolin and Heatherly 2001; Marcus and Schuler
2004; Tepper 2007). One of the important antecedents of CWB is abusive supervision,
which suggests that abused employees respond negatively to their supervisors by engaging
in CWB (Inness, Barling and Turner 2005; Mitchell and Ambrose 2007; Tepper 2000).
Abusive supervisors have been found to use their power and authority oppressively and
vindictively towards their subordinates (Ashforth 1997). In addition, they ridicule and
humiliate their subordinates publicly (Mitchell and Ambrose 2007). Such behavior can
evoke negative reactions from the employees (Tepper 2007).
Although abusive supervision has been given a great deal of attention, to the best of
our knowledge there is a dearth of empirical research exploring how abusive supervision
leads to CWB among nurses. Tepper (2000) has conducted research based on the justice
model linking abusive supervision and organizational outcomes and has found that abu-
sive supervision is a violation of supervisory justice. There are only a handful of studies
that have examined the mediating effect of perception of injustice between abusive super-
vision and CWB (e.g. Burton and Hoobler 2011; Wang et al. 2012). Nurses’ perceptions
of injustice reflects the nurses’ perception of fair treatment on the job (Colquitt, Greenberg
and Zapata-Phelan 2005). When abused employees experience abusive supervision, they
believe that they have received lesser outcomes than they deserve in comparison to their
target referents (Martin 1981). Abused nurses may find themselves in a less advantageous
situation compared to their peers when their supervisors spend more time criticizing them
than mentoring them for advancement. Equity theory and social exchange theory have
emphasized the importance of social comparison in evaluating outcomes. For example,
when someone receives favorable treatment, he/she will respond favorably (i.e. positive
reciprocity), whereas one who receives unfavorable treatment will respond unfavorably
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Yoke May Low et al.
(i.e. negative reciprocity). Thus, CWB surfaces when an employee modifies his or her
input to restore equity as a reaction to the perceived injustice of abusive supervision
(Greenberg and Scott 1996). Therefore, when nurses are dissatisfied with the valuation of
outcome fairness (e.g. being mistreated or abused), they will change their behavior to even
the score and restore equity.
Despite extensive research on the antecedents and consequences of CWB, very little
research has investigated the contingencies affecting nurses’ perception of injustice and
nurses’ decision to engage in CWB when subjected to abusive supervision. Prior
researchers have shown that abusive supervision leads to CWB, but not everyone who
experiences abusive supervision engages in CWB (Thau et al. 2009). The dissimilarities in
values and characteristics among individuals may prompt them to act inversely towards
abusive supervision. The process leading to nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB when
subjected to abusive supervision is predicted to be determined by their own personalities
and values. Accordingly, studies concerning abusive supervision and CWB with non-US
samples have received attention from many international scholars (Martinko et al. 2013).
However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, these cultural values have yet to be
studied in Malaysia, chiefly in the nursing context. The moderating role of power distance
orientation and locus of control has been included in this study, as they are the most
relevant cultural values in the current research context. The motivation to consider these
constructs as moderators comes from recommendations by Tepper (2007) and Spector
(2011). Since abusive supervision has been found to occur more commonly in high power
distance countries, Tepper (2007) has called for greater concern for the impact of cultural
values in studies regarding abusive supervision. Malaysia scores very high on the power
distance dimension (score of 100) (‘Malaysia tops global power distance index’ 2014;
Hofstede 2001). Hence, it has been predicted that power distance orientation moderates
the relationship between abusive supervision and perception of injustice among nurses.
Spector (2011) has claimed that it is wise and crucial to include variables of individual
differences, such as locus of control in situations of injustice, for instance, as these
constructs have been considered to be socially-learned and self-developed life behaviors.
Hence, it has been predicted that locus of control moderates the relationship between
abusive supervision and perception of injustice among nurses.
Numerous studies found in the literature (e.g. LePine, Erez and Johnson 2002;
Podsakoff et al. 2009) have suggested that the links people have with their supervisors, co-
workers and subordinates exhibit a strong impact on their personal well-being and
success, including organizational morale and productivity. Although studies pertaining to
violence (e.g. Hockley 2002; Mayhew and Chappell 2001), aggression (e.g. Edward et al.
2014; Farrell, Bobrowski and Bobrowski 2006) and bullying (e.g. Hockley 2002;
Hutchinson et al. 2006; Murray 2009) are abundantly available, only a handful of studies
have looked into CWB in the nursing context. Additionally, most studies on CWB have
primarily focused on nurse-to-nurse violence and aggression (e.g. Edward et al. 2014;
Hockley 2002) instead of abusive supervision. Therefore, there is a need to study the
impact of abusive supervision towards CWB among nurses.
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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 59
Prior studies have linked abusive supervision to CWB among nurses, whereby nurses
who experience abusive supervision display a tendency to engage in CWB (Farrell,
Bobrowski and Bobrowski 2006; Rosenstein and O’Daniel 2005). As a result, CWB dis-
played by nurses as a form of retribution towards abusive supervisors may negatively
affect the level of satisfaction among patients and jeopardize patient care, as nurses have
the most contact with patients in hospitals (Farrell, Bobrowski and Bobrowski 2006;
Rosenstein and O’Daniel 2005). Hence, it is essential to have a safe and supportive work-
ing environment in the healthcare industry in order to increase the nursing workforce and
to retain them within the healthcare system (Pillay 2017).
The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we argue that abusive super-
vision translates into CWB by nurses through the nurses’ perceptions of injustice. The
empirical examination of nurses’ perception of injustice as a mediator may aid in compre-
hending the underlying mechanism responsible for the relationship between abusive
supervision and CWB among nurses. Therefore, this study offers further evidence con-
cerning nurses’ perception of injustice as a mediator between abusive supervision and
CWB. Second, we have studied the moderating roles of 1) power distance orientation
between abusive supervision and nurses’ perception of injustice and 2) locus of control
between nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB. Although mistreatment or injustice
elicits retribution from those affected, not all abused employees engage in negative behav-
iors. Hence, the model developed in this study discusses and argues for various individual
differences (values and personalities) that could affect nurses’ decisions to engage in
CWB. The impacts of power distance orientation and locus of control as moderators have
not been considered in earlier studies related to nursing and the current study addresses
this gap.
Literature review and hypotheses development
Counterproductive behaviors in the workplace have been investigated by many
researchers under diverse headings, including workplace deviance (Martinko, Gund-
lach and Douglas 2002), organizational delinquency (Hogan and Hogan 1989), organi-
zation-motivated aggression (O’Leary-Kelly, Griffin and Glew 1996), bullying/
mobbing (Knorz and Zapf 1996), antisocial behaviour in organizations (Giacalone
and Greenberg 1997), organizational retaliatory behaviour (Skarlicki, Folger and
Tesluk 1999), workplace aggression (Fox and Spector 1999) and revenge (Bies and
Tripp 1998).
The diverse terminologies used are due to the varied theoretical perspectives under-
taken by assorted researchers. For instance, Hogan and Hogan (1989) have based their
work on criminological literature, and have compared incarcerated delinquents with a
general college population in order to distinguish the characteristics of individuals who
engage in acts they term organizational delinquency. In a similar manner, Bennett and
Robinson (2000) have adopted the deviance approach, which involves violation of organi-
zational norms and rules; O’Leary-Kelly, Griffin and Glew (1996) have based their work
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Yoke May Low et al.
from the social psychological aggression literature; Skarlicki, Folger and Tesluk (1999)
have employed the organizational justice approach in viewing CWB as a cognition-based
response to experienced injustice; and Spector and colleagues (Fox and Spector 1999;
Storms and Spector 1987) have portrayed CWB as an emotion-based response to stressful
organizational environments. Bies and Tripp (1996) have proposed that certain organiza-
tional events lead to negative emotions and cognition and eventually lead to vengeful acts,
some of which could be CWB acts. These behavioral constructs describe similar aspects,
despite being assigned different terms. According to Spector and Fox (2005), the common
threads among the aforementioned research are: 1) these behaviors are executed by
employees of an organization; 2) these behaviors are volitional as opposed to accidental;
and 3) these behaviors harm or have the potential to harm an organization or its
members.
Many studies have been implemented to contribute to a better understanding of the
essential antecedents of CWB (Hershcovis and Barling 2007; Marcus and Schuler 2004;
Raman, Sambasivan and Kumar 2016). Researchers studying CWB have generally
acknowledged individual difference variables as well as situational/organizational factors
in determining the significant antecedents of CWB. For instance, an individual employ-
ee’s characteristics are comprised of personal characteristics, which include but are not
limited to affective traits, locus of control, narcissism, trait anger and trait anxiety, envy
and the Big Five Personality traits (Mount, Ilies and Johnson 2006; Raman, Sambasivan
and Kumar 2016). Organizational theorists favor research that portrays incidences and
frequency of CWB in the light of situational factors (Robinson and Greenberg 1998;
Spector and Fox 2010). These situational and organizational determinants include role
conflict, role ambiguity, injustice, excessive workload, perceived control, interpersonal
conflict, poor relations with peers and supervisors and abusive supervision (e.g. Tepper
2000, 2007). Despite a plethora of factors impacting CWB, the fundamental questions that
remain to be addressed are: 1)What are the antecedents that lead to counterproductive
work behavior (CWB) of nurses in public hospitals? and 2) How effective are the moder-
ating roles of power distance orientation (a cultural factor) and locus of control (an indi-
vidual factor) in impacting CWB?
The purpose of this research is to enhance and to test a theoretical model of CWB
associated with abusive supervision experienced at work, underscoring the psychological
process and including the investigation of moderators. Although mistreatment or injustice
elicits retribution from those affected, not all abused employees engage in negative behav-
iors. Hence, the model developed in this study is discussed and argued from the perspec-
tives of the various individual differences (values and personality) that could affect an
individual’s decision to engage in CWB. Some researchers (e.g. Bies and Tripp 2001;
Greenberg and Alge 1998) have argued that the motivation for revenge is often rooted in
the perception of undeserved harm and injustice. However, it is individual differences that
explain why certain employees, when subjected to the same poor treatment, engage in
negative behaviors while some do not. The conceptual framework of this study is given in
Figure 1.
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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 59
Abusive supervision vs CWB
Studies by Bies and Tripp (1996) and Bies (1999) suggest that threats made towards one’s
identity can often lead to counterproductive responses. Furthermore, employees who
perceive their supervisors to be a dominant source of interpersonal mistreatment (i.e.
abusive supervision) that evokes negative emotions may desire retribution against the
harm-doer (i.e. the supervisor) (Skarlicki, Folger and Tesluk 1999). Tepper (2000) has
indicated that those abused hold their employers responsible for the behavior of their
supervisors. Zellars, Tepper and Duffy (2002) have claimed that those abused withhold
their organizational citizenship behaviors and display a higher tendency to engage in
CWB (Detert et al. 2007). Moreover, Wei and Si (2013), who conducted research using
198 employees and their immediate supervisors from a multinational company in China,
discovered that abusive supervision results in increased levels of CWB (i.e. sabotage,
withdrawal, production deviance and theft).
De Jonge and Peeters (2009) demonstrated that healthcare workers who are con-
fronted with low emotional resources (e.g., emotional support from supervisors) display
the tendency to exert CWB. In accordance with social exchange theory (Blau 1964), nurses
who experience abuse are likely to rectify such poor treatment by engaging in negative
behaviors in order to even the score. One can expect that supervisory mistreatment
encourages retaliatory behavior (Mitchell and Ambrose 2007; Skarlicki and Folger 1997).
So, when the nurses’ supervisors fail to treat them with respect or with justice, nurses then
seek to vent their frustration by acting counterproductively. Hence, consistent with prior
research, nurses abused by their supervisors are believed to have more tendencies to exert
CWB. Thus, it is hypothesized that:
Hypothesis 1: Abusive supervision has a positive relationship with nurses’ CWB.
Mediation effect of nurses’ perception of injustice between abusive supervision and
CWB
When one suffers from abusive supervision, an intervening psychological process leads to
behavioral reactions. The studies carried out by Martinko, Gundlach and Douglas (2002)
and Spector and Fox (2002) have shown that targets have diverse psychological reactions
(e.g. negative mood and perceptions of injustice) after being exposed to aversive stimuli.
Abusive
supervision
(AS)
Nurses’
perception
of injustice
(NPI)
Counterproductive
work behaviors
(CWB)
Locus of
control (LOC)
Power distance
orientation (PDO)
Figure 1 Research framework
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Yoke May Low et al.
The association between abusive supervision and CWB is mediated by a cognitive psycho-
logical process termed ‘nurses’ perception of injustice’. Generally, subordinates observe
injustice by comparing the fairness between their inputs to the organization and the out-
puts they gain from the organization. Past investigations have suggested that perceived
injustice is linked to CWB. For instance, Greenberg and Scott (1996) have confirmed that
counterproductive and withdrawal behaviors surface when an employee modifies his or
her input to restore equity as a reaction to perceived injustice.
This study proposes that when nurses perceive that their supervisors are being unfair
in resource allocation, they tend to harm their supervisors. Therefore, when these nurses
are dissatisfied with the valuation of outcome fairness (e.g. being mistreated or abused),
they will change their behavior to even the score and to restore equity. Perceived injustice
can eventually lead to resentment towards offenders and victims (i.e. CWB) (Ambrose,
Seabright and Schminke 2002; Skarlicki and Folger 1997). Hence, in agreement with
equity theory (Adams 1965) and other prior research, perception of injustice among
nurses leads to CWB. When nurses perceive injustice, they perceive that their supervisors
have failed to treat them with respect and to fulfill their personal needs at work. Thus, it is
hypothesized that:
Hypothesis 2: Nurses’ perception of injustice mediates the relationship between abusive treat-
ment by the supervisor and the nurses’ inclination to engage in CWB.
Moderating role of power distance orientation between abusive supervision and
nurses’ perception of injustice
Power distance is related to social inequality, as well as the amount of authority a person
has over others (Hofstede and Bond 1984). In other words, power distance refers to the
acceptance of unequal dispersal among members of institutions and organizations
(Hofstede 1980). Although Hofstede discovered that studies regarding cultural values are
meaningful only at the societal level, Kirkman and Shapiro (2001), as well as Clugston,
Howell and Dorfman (2000), have noted huge variation among individuals in societies in
each of Hofstede’s value dimensions, and these individual differences directly affect many
outcomes. Power distance at the individual level refers to ‘the extent to which an
individual accepts unequal power dissemination in institutions and organizations’
(Clugston, Howell and Dorfman 2000, 9). This variable of individual distinctions shapes a
person’s relationship with his or her authority figures. Managers from high power
distance countries are more task-oriented and less people-oriented, as they see the role of
a manager in a high power distance system as solely to initiate structure (Hofstede 1980).
According to Hofstede (1980), individuals from high power distance countries behave
submissively in the presence of managers. They feel intimidated or at least unwilling to go
against their superiors. They assent to inequality in power distribution and consider it
normal in their society (Nicholson and Stepina 1998). Hence, individuals with a high
power distance orientation are less likely to form links with their superiors, in comparison
to those with a low power distance orientation (Begley et al. 2002). This is because
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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 59
individuals with a higher power- distance orientation believe that they have less signifi-
cance in influencing the decision-making process made by their superiors, whereas those
with a low power distance orientation are expected to be involved in the decision-making
process (Begley et al. 2002; Lam, Schaubroeck and Aryee 2002). Lee, Pillutla and Law
(2000) and Lam, Schaubroeck and Aryee (2002) have asserted that subordinates with a
high power distance orientation are able to accept arbitrary treatment. Thus, they are less
likely to question the authority of superiors, mainly because they believe in power inequal-
ity between superiors and subordinates.
Nurses in a high power distance orientation are less sensitive to abuse and therefore
do not view abuse as abusive, in comparison to their lower power distance counterparts.
This may be due to their assumption that the behavior of supervisors is not harmful, as
they hold certain implicit beliefs regarding unequal power distribution. Hence, they are
less likely to perceive abusive supervision as unjust and are less likely to reciprocate
accordingly. They further believe that their supervisors possess higher power, and thus are
afraid or at least unwilling to disagree with their supervisors. In contrast, nurses with
lower power distance values are expected to be less likely to accept arbitrary treatment
from their supervisors, and hence will reciprocate by engaging in CWB because they have
the tendency to perceive abusive supervision as unfair. Thus, it has been hypothesized
that:
Hypothesis 3: Power distance orientation moderates the relationship between abusive supervi-
sion and nurses’ perception of injustice; nurses who have higher power distance are less likely
to perceive injustice when subjected to abusive supervision compared to those with low power
distance.
Moderating role of locus of control between nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB
Locus of control refers to one’s general beliefs about the controllability of events in one’s
life (Spector 1988). This personality factor represents an individual’s beliefs concerning
his or her control over the environment. Moreover, Rotter (1966) defines locus of control
as an individual’s generalized expectancy or belief pertaining to the nature of outcomes in
his or her life. Those who believe that they can control whatever happens to them (per-
sonal control) are said to possess an internal locus of control (self-control) (Rotter 1966).
Since they believe that they can control their lives, they accept responsibility for the events
that occur (Davis and Davis 1972). Conversely, individuals with an external locus of con-
trol orientation believe that results are generally beyond personal control and that their
fate is controlled by other powerful external forces, such as luck, chance and fate (Rotter
1966). Individuals with this personality type tend to blame their surrounding for failures
(Phares, Wilson and Klyver 1971).
Individuals who perceive that they have lower control engage in acts of destruction
under certain conditions. The act of destroying objects or parts of the physical environ-
ment increases an individual’s feeling of control. Researchers have determined that indi-
viduals with an external locus of control are more likely to use maladaptive coping
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Yoke May Low et al.
strategies. People with an internal locus of control are more resistant to social pressure,
and are less willing to hurt people, even when ordered to do so by an authority figure
(Quick and Nelson 2009). They are also more likely to act upon that which they think is
right and be responsible for their actions (Crooker, Smith and Tabak 2002).
The link between nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB is predicted to be stronger
when the abused nurses have an external locus of control. Moreover, nurses with an external
locus of control believe that outcomes generally exceed their personal control and that their
fate is being controlled by other powerful external forces, such as luck. Accordingly, they tend
to blame their environment for failure. In this case, the frustrated external locus of control
nurses will automatically blame their supervisors for abusing them, and hence are more likely
to perceive injustice. In addition, as locus of control predicts sensitivity to injustice, nurses
with an external locus of control may attempt to modify their environment solely to increase
their feeling of control (Quick and Nelson 2009). Therefore, they defend themselves in a neg-
ative way by engaging in CWB as they perceive a lack of control over events and their own
inability to hinder unfortunate events. Thus, has been hypothesized that:
Hypothesis 4: Locus of control moderates the relationship between nurses’ perception of
injustice and CWB; nurses with an internal locus of control are less likely to react to perceived
injustices by resorting to CWB compared to those with an external locus of control.
Methods
Population, sampling and sample size
The research population incorporates nurses from hospitals in Malaysia. There are 153
public and 216 private hospitals in Malaysia. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH),
the number of beds in the public and private hospitals is 61 299 and public hospitals
account for 69% of beds. Klang Valley in Malaysia accounts for nearly 25% of the coun-
try’s population and major public hospitals are located in this area. Therefore, six large
public hospitals in Klang Valley were chosen for this study. Nurses from public hospitals
are state registered nurses (SRNs) with grade U29 and above, holding a valid Malaysian
Nursing Board License that allows them to practice nursing in public hospitals, with the
minimum qualification of a certificate or diploma in nursing. There are approximately
94 000 nurses in Malaysia, as reported by the MOH in health facts 2016. SRNs with grade
U29 and above handle patients and report directly to a nurse supervisor.
Based on the table provided by Krejcie and Morgan (1970), the required sample size is at
least n=384. Furthermore, since this study employed a self-administered questionnaire for
data collection, there was a concern regarding low response rate. Therefore, the sample size
was inflated by 50% (Bryman and Bell 2007), resulting in a total of 576. This figure was fur-
ther rounded up, and the sample size of 580 nurses was finally decided upon for this study.
Six hospitals from the Klang Valley were chosen due to the higher density of popula-
tion with more well-equipped hospitals concentrated in this area. The six hospitals
selected for this study have a total capacity of 5632 beds. The number of questionnaires
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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 59
distributed was based on the proportion of beds at each hospital. The data collection was
done after obtaining the necessary permission from the MOH. The questionnaires were
given to the head nurse at each hospital and the head nurse distributed them to the nurses
at various departments. A pilot study was conducted with 35 nurses from different hospi-
tals. The pilot study indicated that the sampled nurses did not raise any concerns about
the items in the questionnaire.
Measures
Abusive supervision was measured by using Tepper’s (2000) 15-item abusive supervision
measure to assess perceptions given by respondents towards abusive behaviors exerted by
their supervisors. For example, some of the items included in this construct are:
‘supervisor tells me my thoughts or feelings are stupid’; ‘ridicules me’; and ‘invades my
privacy’. In order to gather data, the respondents were asked to indicate the frequency of
experiencing abusive behaviors from their supervisors with each item, using a five-point
Likert scale labelled ‘never’ (1), ‘less than 5 times a year’ (2), ‘more than 5 times a year’
(3), ‘once a month’ (4), and ‘once a week or more’ (5). This construct was treated as a
formative construct (Tepper 2000).
Nurses’ perception of injustice was measured by using Colquitt’s (2001) 20-item scale.
It was adapted in this study to measure the perceptions of injustice among subordinates
about their current job. This construct had three dimensions: procedural injustice (seven
items), distributive injustice (four items) and interactional injustice (nine items). For
example, some of the items included in this construct are: 1) ‘Have you been able to
express your views and feelings during those procedures?’ 2) ‘Does your outcome reflect
the effort you have put into your work?’ and 3) ‘Has he/she treated you in a polite man-
ner?’ This measure asks the respondents to determine their agreement or otherwise with
each item in relation to their current job on a five-point Likert scale labelled ‘strongly dis-
agree’ (1), ‘disagree’ (2), ‘neutral’ (3), ‘agree’ (4), and ‘strongly agree’ (5). This construct
was treated as a reflective-formative higher order construct (Colquitt 2001).
CWB was measured by using a 24-item measure adapted from Mitchell and Ambrose
(2007) and Bennett and Robinson (2000). The CWB construct consisted of three dimen-
sions: supervisor-directed (10 items), customer-directed (four items) and organization-
directed (10 items). For example, some of the items included in this construct are: 1)
‘made fun of my supervisor’, 2) ‘argued or fought with a customer’ and 3) ‘called in sick
when not’. These measures, on a five-point Likert scale, had the respondents indicate the
frequency of engagement in the behaviour described in the previous year (targeting their
supervisor, customers and the organization for which they had been working), ranging
from ‘never’ (1), ‘once a year’ (2), ‘several times a year’ (3), ‘weekly’ (4), and ‘daily’ (5).
This construct was treated as a formative-formative higher order construct (Mitchell and
Ambrose 2007).
Power distance orientation was measured by using a six-item scale developed by
Dorfman and Howell (1988) and Farh, Hackett and Liang (2007). For example, some of
the items included in this construct are: 1) ‘Managers should make most decisions
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Yoke May Low et al.
without consulting subordinates’; and 2) ‘Employees should not disagree with manage-
ment decisions. The respondents were asked to indicate their response for each of the
behaviours using a five-point Likert scale, labelled ‘strongly disagree’ (1), ‘disagree’ (2),
‘neutral’ (3), ‘agree’ (4), and ‘strongly agree’ (5). This construct was treated as a reflective
construct (Farh, Hackett and Liang 2007).
Locus of control was measured using a 16-item Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS)
adopted from Spector (1988). According to Spector (1988, 1), locus of control is defined
as a generalized expectancy that rewards, reinforcements or outcomes in life are controlled
either by one’s own actions (internal locus of control) or by other forces (external locus of
control). For example, some of the items included in this construct are: 1) ‘A job is what
you make of it, 2) ‘Making money is primarily a matter of good luck’ and 3) ‘People who
perform their jobs well generally get rewarded’. The respondents were asked to indicate
their beliefs about their job in general using a five-point Likert scale, labelled ‘strongly dis-
agree’ (1), ‘disagree’ (2), ‘neutral’ (3), ‘agree’ (4), and ‘strongly agree’ (5). The low mean
score represents an internal locus of control and a high mean score represents an external
locus of control. This construct was treated as a formative construct (Spector 1988).
Questionnaire response rate
Out of the 580 distributed questionnaires, a total of 337 responses were deemed usable,
thus yielding a response rate of 58.10%.
Reliability of constructs
A reliability test is essential in determining the goodness of the data gathered. Cronbach’s
Alpha (a) is the reliability coefficient that indicates the positive correlation of one item to
another in a set (Sekaran 2000). The closer the value of Cronbach’s alpha (a) to 1.000, the
higher the reliability of the research instruments (Sekaran 2000). In addition, Sekaran
(2003) claims that value of reliability with Cronbach’s alpha less than 0.600 is considered
poor, while those in the range of 0.700 are acceptable, and those over 0.800 are considered
good. The alpha reliability for abusive supervision, nurses’ perception of injustice, CWB,
power distance orientation and locus of control were 0.870, 0.920, 0.810, 0.810 and 0.850,
respectively.
Handling common method bias
Since the data were captured from one source (nurses), common method variance
(CMV) was carried out using Harman’s Single Factor technique in order to capture
any common method bias present in the data set (Jarvis, MacKenzie and Podsakoff
2003; Podsakoff et al. 2003). Initially, all the measurement items were entered to
perform a factor analysis using SPSS software program. The results obtained showed
that the largest variance explained by the first factor is 10.33% of the total variance.
Furthermore, the factor analysis did not display any new general factor from the data
set. Hence, it is suggested that the common method bias is insignificant in the data
set obtained for this study.
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Measurement and structural model analyses tool
According to Hair et al. (2014), structural equation modeling (SEM) is a second genera-
tion multivariate data analysis method. There are two approaches available in estimating
the correlations in SEM; covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) and variance-based SEM
(PLS-SEM). In the context of this research, we used Partial Least Squares-Structural
Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) 3.0 to run the measurement and structural models for
several reasons. First, the purpose of this research is exploratory. We seek to explain why
abused nurses engage in CWB. Abusive supervision has been examined to determine if it
exerted any effect upon nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB. In addition, this study
tests if power distance orientation has any influence on the relationship between abusive
supervision and nurses’ perception of injustice. The effect of locus of control has been
examined in the relationship between nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB. Second,
the structural model of this research consists of four formative measured constructs. Abu-
sive supervision and locus of control are formative measured constructs. On the other
hand, nurses’ perception of injustice has been measured in a reflective-formative higher
order construct, while CWB has been measured as a formative-formative higher order
construct. According to Becker, Klein and Wetzels (2012) and Hair et al. (2014), PLS-
SEM is the preferred tool when a structural model has formative and reflective constructs.
The terms formative and reflective are used as a method of analysis by PLS-SEM users.
A formative measurement model (also known as composite factor model) is a type of
measurement model setup in which the direction of the arrows is from the indicator
variable to the construct, indicating the assumption that the indicator variables cause the
measurement of the construct (Hair et al. 2014). A reflective measurement model (also
known as common factor model) on the other hand is a type of measurement model
setup in which the direction of the arrows is from the construct to the indicator variables,
indicating the assumption that the construct causes the measurement (covariation) of the
indicator variables (Hair et al. 2014). Reflective-formative constructs and formative-
formative constructs refer to the use of hierarchical latent variable models of PLS-SEM in
more advanced and complex models (Becker, Klein and Wetzels 2012).
Results
Profile of the respondents
A total of 337 nurses returned the questionnaire (response rate =58%). About 94% of the
respondents were female, and 95% of the respondents were less than 39 years of age.
About 82% of the nurses had fewer than 9 years of experience. The nurses came from
different departments such as outpatient, surgery, pediatrics, orthopedics, emergency,
psychiatry, and gynecology.
Descriptive statistics and correlation
A useful statistic that emerged from this study is the list of activities that constitute abusive
supervision and CWB in Malaysian public hospitals. Table 1 provides a list of the top 10
©2019 Australian HR Institute 261
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Table 2 Descriptive statistics for all constructs (N= 337)
Construct Sub-dimensions Reliability Mean (min/max) Std. deviation
Abusive Supervision .870 3.00 (2.00/3.93) .40
Nurses’ Perception
of Injustice
Nurses’ Perception of
Procedural Injustice
.920 3.26 (2.00/4.57) .42
Nurses’ Perception of
Distributive Injustice
3.50 (1.50/5.00) .57
Nurses’ Perception of
Interactional Injustice
3.42 (2.00/5.00) .53
Overall 3.40 (2.00/4.45) .39
Counterproductive
Work Behaviors
CWB targeted at
Supervisor
.810 2.47 (1.60/3.50) .38
CWB targeted at
Organization
2.63 (1.60/3.50) .33
CWB targeted at
Patients
3.14 (1.75/4.25) .51
Overall 2.65 (1.75/3.42) .28
Power distance
orientation
.810 2.56 (1.00/4.67) 1.02
Locus of control .850 2.52 (1.44/3.75) .43
Table 1 Top 10 cases of abusive supervision and CWB in Malaysian Public Hospitals
Abusive supervision incidents % CWB incidents %
Gives me the silent treatment. 59.30 Swore at my supervisor. 54.90
Does not give me credit for jobs
requiring a lot of effort.
56.60 Called in sick when not. 54.00
Ridicules me. 56.60 Endangered customers by not
following safety procedures.
50.70
Does not allow me to interact with
my peers.
56.40 Argued or fought with customers. 48.40
Invades my privacy. 52.00 Came in late to work without
permission.
47.50
Is rude to me. 52.00 Physically attacked a customer
(pushing/hitting).
46.90
Makes negative comments about
me to others.
50.70 Made an ethnic, religious or racial
remark against my supervisor.
46.90
Lies to me. 50.10 Publicly embarrassed my
supervisor.
46.60
Break promises he/she makes. 50.00 Littered my work environment. 44.20
Tells me my thoughts or feelings are
stupid.
36.80 Made an obscene comment or
gesture towards my supervisor.
38.60
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activities and the percentage of nurses experiencing them. Table 2 provides the mean,
minimum and maximum scores, standard deviation, skewness score, and kurtosis score
for each construct used in the study. The mean score for abusive supervision (3.00), with
a minimum score of 2.00 and a maximum score of 3.93, indicates that the nurses perceive
that their supervisors have engaged in abusive behaviors towards them (e.g. ridiculing
them, silent treatment, invading their privacy) at least five times annually on an average.
The mean scores for the different dimensions of nurses’ perception of injustice and an
overall mean score of 3.40, with a minimum score of 2.00 and a maximum score of 4.45,
indicate a moderate level of perception of injustice at the workplace. The mean scores for
dimensions of CWB and an overall mean score of 2.65, with a minimum score of 1.75 and
a maximum score of 3.42, indicate that the nurses have engaged in CWB, few times a year.
A low mean score on the locus of control (2.52), with a minimum score of 1.00 and a
maximum score of 4.67, indicate that the locus of control of nurses varies between internal
and external. A mean score of 2.56, with a minimum score of 1.44 and a maximum score
of 3.75, indicate the existence of low to moderate levels of power distance orientation in
public hospitals in Malaysia. Table 3 provides the correlation between the constructs.
Reliability and validity (based on the measurement model)
In the framework, there are two reflective constructs: nurses’ perception of injustice and
power distance orientation. Based on the measurement model, the indicators that had factor
loading less than 0.708 (Hair et al. 2014) were removed from further analysis. Accordingly,
two items were removed from nurses’ perception of injustice (out of a total of 20 items) and
power distance orientation (out of a total of six items). As shown in Table 4, the composite
reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) of these two constructs are 1) 0.903
and 0.547 (nurses’ perception of injustice) and 2) 0.979 and 0.920 (power distance orien-
tation). These values meet the guidelines recommended by Hair et al. (2014) (≥0.700 for CR
and ≥0.500 for AVE). For checking the discriminant validity, Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of
Correlations (HTMT) criteria was used. From Table 5, the HTMT score of 0.219 is within
the range (1<HTMT <1) recommended by Henseler, Ringle and Sarstedt (2015).
Table 3 Correlations between Abusive Supervision, Nurses’ Perception of Injustice, Counterpro-
ductive Work Behaviors (CWB), Power Distance Orientation, and Locus of Control
Constructs AS NPI CWB PDO LOC
AS 1
NPI .298* 1
CWB .338** .454** 1
PDO .161** .175** .171** 1
LOC .003 .105* .009 .020 1
**p<0.010, *p<0.050.
AS =abusive supervision; CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; LOC =locus of control;
NPI =nurses’ perception of injustice; PDO =power distance orientation.
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According to Bollen (2011), validity makes little sense for formative indicators. There-
fore, all the formative indicators were retained for further analysis, as omitting formative
indicators may to some extent omit some of the constructs’ content (Hair et al. 2014).
Table 5 Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of Correlations (HTMT) Criterion Analysis for discriminant
validity
NPI PDO
NPI
PDO .219
HTMT
inference
(1.000 <HTMT <1.000) (Henseler, Ringle and Sarstedt 2015).
NPI =nurses’ perception of injustice; PDO =power distance orientation.
Table 4 Summary of results for reflective constructs
Construct Indicators Scale Indicator
reliability
(loadings)
Composite
reliability
AVE Convergent
validity
(AVE >0.5)
Discriminant
validity
Nurses
Perception
of Injustice
(NPI)
NPJ3 Reflective .622 0.903 0.547 Yes Yes
NPJ4 .829
NPJ5 .763
NPJ6 .755
NPJ7 .539
NDJ1 .761
NDJ2 .760
NDJ3 .819
NDJ4 .798
NIJ1 .529
NIJ2 .591
NIJ3 .794
NIJ4 .613
NIJ5 .719
NIJ6 .839
NIJ7 .873
NIJ8 .813
NIJ9 .767
Power
Distance
Orientation
(PDO)
PDO1 Reflective .952 .979 .920 Yes Yes
PDO2 .964
PDO3 .969
PDO5 .950
Indicator Reliability 0.700 or higher is preferred. If exploratory research, 0.400 or higher is accept-
able (Hulland, 1999).
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Table 6 Formative constructs significance testing results
Constructs Indicators Scale Weights VIF t-value Weights
AS AS1 Formative .072 1.602 .442
AS2 .083 1.472 .643
AS3 .415 1.119 3.948**
AS4 .271 1.678 1.941
AS5 .025 1.319 .061
AS6 .044 1.435 .306
AS7 .158 2.176 .964
AS8 .097 1.955 .614
AS9 .542 1.973 3.731**
AS10 .157 1.966 1.004
AS11 .457 1.592 3.790**
AS12 .239 1.880 1.540
AS13 .057 1.965 .326
AS14 .211 1.753 1.463
AS15 .320 1.712 2.134*
LOC LOC1 Formative .693 2.011 2.225*
LOC2 .723 2.048 2.696**
LOC3 .296 1.803 1.592
LOC4 .182 1.659 .253
LOC5 .566 4.629 .368
LOC6 .088 1.268 1.047
LOC7 .122 1.521 1.037
LOC8 .243 10.157 DELETED
LOC9 .065 4.515 .187
LOC10 .544 4.048 .097
LOC11 .246 1.606 1.232
LOC12 .248 1.359 2.194*
LOC13 .308 4.232 1.016
LOC14 .145 1.593 .610
LOC15 .064 1.404 .470
LOC16 .775 7.915 DELETED
NPI NPJ Second Order Formative .262 1.309 7.859**
NDJ .280 1.556 14.051**
NIJ .691 1.408 22.584**
CWB CWBS1 Formative .023 1.304 1.042
CWBS2 .114 1.197 .208
CWBS3 .451 1.613 1.516
CWBS4 .292 1.798 2.710**
CWBS5 .047 1.266 .788
CWBS6 .026 1.166 1.379
CWBS7 .275 1.262 1.320
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Table 6 provides information on the outer weights and VIF for each item of formative
constructs. As indicated in the table, there were three items (two items of locus of control
and one item of CWB) that had VIF greater than the recommended value (VIF >5.000)
and they were removed (Hair et al. 2014).
Structural model results
We followed the five-step procedure recommended by Hair et al. (2014). The five steps
involve assessment of 1) collinearity issues, 2) path coefficients, 3) R
2
values, 4) effect size
and 5) predictive relevance, Q
2
. Table 7 provides information on the collinearity assess-
ment. Since the VIF <5.000, there is no collinearity problem in this model. Tables 8 and
9 give the path coefficients of all the paths and it can be seen that all the path coefficients
are significant. Table 10 indicates the R
2
values for nurses’ perception of injustice
(R
2
=0.148 –moderate) and CWB (R
2
=0.310 –substantial). The effect sizes and their
interpretation are given in Table 10.
The assessment of predictive relevance Q
2
accurately forecasts the relative predictive
relevance of an exogenous construct on an endogenous construct (Hair et al. 2014). As
well, Hair et al. (2014) have recommended that the rule of thumb be that for Q
2
values
greater than zero for a particular reflective endogenous latent variable. However, this
Table 6 (continued)
Constructs Indicators Scale Weights VIF t-value Weights
CWBS8 .359 1.959 3.230**
CWBS9 .185 1.733 1.514
CWBS10 .076 1.200 .132
CWBO1 .348 1.916 3.054**
CWBO2 .365 1.627 2.517*
CWBO3 .270 1.661 2.436*
CWBO4 .259 1.417 2.124*
CWBO5 .319 1.788 2.001*
CWBO6 .077 1.835 .676
CWBO7 .774 7.827 DELETED
CWBO8 .186 1.223 .939
CWBO9 .067 1.176 .515
CWBO10 .038 1.314 .107
CWBP1 .263 1.228 3.459**
CWBP2 .385 1.947 2.653**
CWBP3 .125 2.372 1.857
CWBP4 .586 1.771 4.487**
VIF ≤5.000 (Hair et al., 2014), **p<0.010, *p<0.050.
AS =abusive supervision; CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; LOC =locus of control;
NPI =nurses’ perception of injustice.
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assessment is not applicable in this study, as all the endogenous constructs are formative
in nature (Hair et al. 2014). Hence, the procedure is omitted in this study.
The mediation test was carried out using the approach introduced by Preacher and
Hayes (2008), which incorporated bootstrapping the sampling distribution of the indirect
effect. This approach is most relevant for PLS-SEM method because bootstrapping does
not make any assumption regarding the sampling distribution of the statistics, and more-
over it is applicable to smaller sample sizes with higher confidence (Hair et al. 2014).The
result indicates that nurses’ perception of injustice mediates the relationship between abu-
sive supervision and CWB (b=0.181, t-value =5.232, p-value =0.000). Hair et al.
Table 7 Collinearity Assessment
AS NPI CWB
AS 1.224 1.000
NPI 1.475
CWB
VIF ≤5.000 (Hair et al., 2014).
AS =abusive supervision, CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; NPI =nurses’ perception of
injustice.
Table 8 Path co-efficient assessment (N= 337)
Hypothesis Relationship Direct effect, bStandard deviation (STDEV) t-Value p-Value
H
1
AS ?CWB .167 .071 2.364* .009
H
2
AS ?NPI .385 .047 8.235** .000
H
3
NPI ?CWB .471 .057 8.222** .000
**p<0.010, *p<0.050.
AS =abusive supervision; CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; NPI =nurses’ perception of
injustice.
Table 9 Mediation result
Hypothesis Relationship Beta Bootstrapped
Confidence
Interval
Indirect
effect a*b
Standard
error
t-Value p-Value Result 95%
LL
95%
UL
H
4
AS ?NPI
?CWB
.181 .035 5.232** .000 Significant .136
.284
**p<0.010, *p<0.050.
AS =abusive supervision; CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; NPI =nurses’ perception of
injustice.
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Yoke May Low et al.
(2014) have suggested that the extent to which the variance of CWB is directly explained
by abusive supervision and the variance of the target construct can be explained via
indirect relationship, where nurses’ perception of injustice can be assessed by using vari-
ance accounted for (VAF). As such, VAF can be calculated using the following formulae:
VAF ¼ðabÞ=c
where a*bindirect effect; ctotal effect (indirect effect +direct effect).
In this framework, direct effect indicates the direct relationship between abusive
supervision and CWB without any intervention; indirect effect indicates the relationship
between abusive supervision and CWB through nurses’ perception of injustice (mediating
effect). The calculated VAF score for Hypothesis is 52%, signifying partial mediation (Hair
et al. 2014). Hence, the relationship between abusive supervision and CWB had been par-
tially mediated by nurses’ perception of injustice.
The moderating effect of power distance orientation (Hypothesis 3) between abusive
supervision and nurses’ perception of injustice is significant (b=0.319, t-value =3.475,
p-value =0.000). Figure 2 shows the moderation relationship. The results show that nurses
with a higher level of power distance orientation are less likely to perceive abusive super-
vision as injustice. On the contrary, nurses are more likely to perceive injustice when sub-
jected to abusive supervision when there is a low level of power distance orientation.
The moderating effect of locus of control (Hypothesis 4) between nurses’ perception
of injustice and CWB is significant (b=0.176, t-value =1.771, p-value =0.039).
Figure 3 shows the moderation relationship. The results show that the nurses with an
external locus of control are more likely to engage in CWB when faced with injustice
compared to those with an internal locus of control.
Discussion
This study serves as an extension to the literature concerning CWB by not only proposing,
but also testing, a comprehensive model of the contingencies that influence the
Table 10 The determination of co-efficient (R
2
) and effect size (f
2
)(N= 337)
Co-efficient of determination Effect size (f
2
)
R
2
NPI Effect size CWB Effect size
AS –.006 Small effect .034 Small effect
NPI .148 –.274 Medium effect
CWB .310 ––
Note. 1) Effect size f
2
interpretation: Cohen (1988) suggested 0.020 as small effect, 0.150 as medium
effect, and 0.350 as large effect (Hair et al. 2014); 2) R
2
values interpretation: Cohen (1988) sug-
gested 0.020 as weak, 0.130 as moderate, and 0.260 as substantial.
AS =abusive supervision; CWB =counterproductive work behaviors; NPI =nurses’ perception of
injustice.
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perceptions among nurses about injustice when subjected to abusive supervision, as well
as the contingencies that affect their decision to engage in CWB after perceiving injustice.
Furthermore, the mediating role of nurses’ perception of injustice has been examined
between abusive supervision and CWB, as well as moderators, power distance orientation
and locus of control.
5
4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
4
3
2
1
NPI
Low AS Hi
g
h AS
Low PDO
High PDO
Figure 2 Moderation effect of power distance orientation on the relationship between abusive
supervision and nurses’ perception of injustice
Low LC
High LC
Low NPI Hi
g
h NPI
CWB
5
4.5
3.5
2.5
1.5
4
3
2
1
Figure 3 Moderation effect of locus of control on the relationship between nurses’ perception of
injustice and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB)
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Yoke May Low et al.
This empirical study has provided supporting evidence linking abusive supervision and
CWB among nurses in public hospitals. Although Tepper (2007) has mentioned that the
healthcare industry appears to be particularly prone to abusive behaviors, the impact of
abusive supervision on nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB has yet to be acknowledged
and studied extensively within this group of nurses. This study has filled this gap.
The findings of this study show that abusive supervision is an important determinant
of CWB. Based on previous studies, abusive supervision is related to intention to quit
(Schat, Frone and Kelloway 2006; Tepper 2000), deviance (Schaubhut, Adams and Jex
2004; Tepper 2007), supervisor directed aggression (Dupre et al. 2006; Inness, Barling and
Turner 2005), as well as retaliatory behaviors (Mitchell and Ambrose 2007; Skarlicki,
Folger and Tesluk 1999). This supervisory mistreatment has been found to promote vari-
ous negative behaviors among subordinates, giving them leeway to seek redress for their
poor treatment. Moreover, as outlined by social exchange theory, the exchanges that take
place are largely seen as interdependent and contingent on rewarding reactions from
others in the social relationship, and thus generate obligations (Blau 1964). From a differ-
ent perspective, CWB reflects social behavior as a result of a process that involves verbal
transactions or exchanges (i.e. abusive supervision). This dictates that the process mani-
fested in social exchange theory furthers our understanding of the reasons for an employee
to engage in CWB solely due to abusive supervision. Hence, one can say that the present
study has contributed to the body of knowledge by adding evidence of the predictive
validity of abusive supervision on CWB. The descriptive statistics show that abusive super-
vision is experienced by nurses in public hospitals, and consequently these abused nurses
are likely to engage in CWB.
The results obtained from the current study are consistent with those of previous
studies, that abusive supervision leads to perceived injustice among abused individuals
(Aryee et al. 2007; Tepper 2000). As well, it has been found that the abusive supervision
experienced by nurses in public hospitals is admittedly an unjust act that influences their
perception of justice towards their supervisors. Hence, it is evident that the degree to
which supervisors engage in abusive behavior does affect the perceptions the nurses have
towards injustice. Moreover, supervisors who frequently act abusively towards their
nurses instill a certain feeling of discrimination in them. Such a feeling will in turn
influence their decisions to respond and react to such acts of abusive supervision. Thus,
when a sense of discrimination surfaces, these abused nurses may have a strong tendency
to engage in a counterproductive act in order to restore justice. In general, the result of
the current study is in line with those of prior scholars who have asserted that perception
of injustice mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and various
organizational outcomes (Bies and Tripp 2001; Eisenberger et al. 2004; Greenberg and
Alge 1998; Skarlicki, Folger and Tesluk 1999; Tepper 2000). This further justifies the result
of the current study regarding the engagement in CWB of abused nurses in public
hospitals. The result also portrays that abused nurses only engage in CWB when they
perceive injustice. The perceived injustices resulting from abusive supervision therefore
prompt an abused nurse to seek a restoration of justice. As a result, nurses will reciprocate
©2019 Australian HR Institute270
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by engaging in CWB in order to even the score. This is also consistent with Adam’s (1963)
equity theory, which explains that the sense of fairness is dependent on the comparison a
subordinate makes between his or her reward with that received by others in a similar
situation. Hence, abused nurses begin comparing themselves with their peers when they
are abused by their supervisors in order to make justice judgments. When a sense of
discrimination arises, these abused nurses might have a strong tendency to engage in
counterproductive acts in order to restore justice. This implies that nurses’ perception of
injustice plays a mediating role in the relationship between abusive supervision and CWB
among nurses from public hospitals.
Our study has shown that if the power distance orientation is high, abusive super-
vision may not translate to the perception of injustice among nurses. The characteristics
of the nurses who participated in this study indicate that nurses employed in public hospi-
tals have a ‘moderate’ level of power distance orientation (mean score =2.56). This sug-
gests that abusive supervision may translate to a moderate level of perception of injustice
among nurses. Thus, this study has successfully shown that power distance orientation
has a moderating effect upon the relationship between abusive supervision and perception
generated by nurses from public hospitals towards injustice, which parallels the findings
reported by Wang et al. (2012). The result shows that the relationship between abusive
supervision and nurses’ perception of injustice can be further exacerbated by power dis-
tance orientation among nurses from public hospitals. Nurses with low power distance
orientation have a greater tendency to react negatively to abusive supervision, as they are
less willing to accept the unequal distribution of power rendered by their supervisors. In
contrast, nurses with higher power distance orientation are less likely to perceive the abu-
sive act as unjust, because they are more dependent on their leaders for resources and
guidance (Wang et al. 2012).
Our study has also shown that nurses with an internal locus of control are less
likely to engage in CWB, even if they perceive injustice in the way they are being
abused. The nurses employed in public hospitals have an internal locus of control
(mean score =2.52). The cumulative effect of these moderators indicates that nurses
in public hospitals do engage in CWB to ‘some’ extent. In general, the results obtained
from the current study are consistent with the findings retrieved from prior studies,
which showed that individuals with an external locus of control have more tendencies
to increase the likelihood of negative behavior (Spector and Fox 2002; Wei and Si
2013). Hence, one can rationalize that nurses in public hospitals with an external locus
of control are likely to respond to injustice when subjected to abusive supervision by
engaging in CWB, as they have no control over the unpleasant incidents and have no
ability to influence discriminatory acts. Therefore, nurses with an external locus of
control, especially those who are disgruntled (i.e. perceive injustice) in their work
environment (i.e. experiencing abusive supervision), are more likely to act counterpro-
ductively. The descriptive statistics on CWB indicate that the nurses have engaged in
CWB a few times a year. Our study has demonstrated that the impact of abusive
supervision on CWB can be clearly articulated if the moderators (power distance
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Yoke May Low et al.
orientation and locus of control) and mediator (nurses’ perception of injustice) are
accounted for.
The findings obtained from this study provide insights into nurse managers and
organizations as to how abusive supervision can affect a nurse’s decision to engage in CWB.
Additionally, since abusive supervision and CWB are prevalent in public hospitals, motivational
or stress seminars can be provided to all staff to help them cope with stress. The occurrences of
abusive behavior are usually due to a stressful work environment, which has been proven to be
harmful to both the organization and its members. Furthermore, the findings generated from
this study signify that abused nurses who perceive abusive supervision as mistreatment are
more motivated to engage in CWB. The hospital management thus needs to take the necessary
actions to eliminate all forms of abusive supervisory behaviors. Training should be provided to
immediate nurse supervisors in order to create an awareness of the harmful effects of abusive
supervision on nurses. It is vital to eliminate all forms of abusive supervision, as nurses may fail
to cope with the excessive stress in the workplace caused by high workload and mistreatment.
The evidence of the significant moderators for the relationships between abusive supervision,
nurses’ perception of injustice and CWB suggests that supervisory-focused training tailored to
the needs of individual nurses can help supervisors understand why nurses engage in CWB, in
a way that accommodates the nurses colorful palette of values and personalities. For instance,
nurse supervisors should manage their subordinates based on individual cultural orientation, as
people present with a varied set of individual cultural values as opposed to the culture of a
certain nation. Spector (2011) also has raised awareness of the potentially useful association
between personality and CWB by supervisors, as leadership practices can be customized based
on the needs of individual employees via supervisory-focused training to understand why
employees engage in CWB. Finally, the results also suggest that hospitals should consider the
roles of power distance orientation and locus of control in selecting nurses for employment.
Hiring nurses with high power distance orientation and internal locus of control can help
diminish the perception of injustice and occurrences of CWB due to mistreatment/abusive
supervision, to which those in the healthcare industry are especially vulnerable (Tepper 2007).
Public hospital administrators should execute training programs for nurses to overcome both
abusive treatment and environments, as well as providing a grievance system where they can
express themselves and so mitigate any CWB.
Conclusions, limitations, and directions for future research
This study reveals the significant associations between abusive supervision, nurses’ percep-
tion of injustice, power distance orientation, locus of control and CWB. The results of this
study (among nurses in public hospitals) indicate that nurses who are subjected to abusive
supervision are more likely to engage in CWB. The nurses perceive injustice when sub-
jected to abusive supervision and this perception leads to their behavioral outcomes. This
study has shown that nurses with a high level of power distance orientation are less likely
to perceive abusive supervision as injustice, while those with an internal locus of control
are less likely to engage in CWB.
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This study is not without limitations. First, the data for this study were collected from
a single source at a single point in time. Furthermore, since the data were collected from a
single source, this could cause a common variance bias (Podsakoff et al. 2003). Second,
the cross-sectional research design adopted in this study did not permit causal relation-
ships to be discussed in detail. Longitudinal data gathered from multiple sources should
be able to address this limitation. Third, the sample respondents (nurses) were from pub-
lic hospitals. The situation in private hospitals could be different. Future research can con-
sider 1) longitudinal study, 2) inclusion of nurses from private hospitals, and 3) collection
of data from multiple sources.
Yoke May Low completed her PhD at Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017. Her area of interest is
Human Resources and OB.
Murali Sambasivan is a Professor of Management Science at Faculty of Business and Law at
Taylor’s University, Lakeside Campus, Malaysia and an Adjunct Professor at Thiagarajar School of
Management, Madurai, India. He has a PhD from University of Alabama, USA. He has published
in many international journals of repute.
Jo Ann Ho is an Associate Professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia. She has a PhD from Cardiff Busi-
ness School. Her areas of interest are CSR, HR and OB.
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