The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Silence: Mediating Role
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CAPITAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ISLAMABAD The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Silence: Mediating Role of Justice Perception and Moderating Role of Equity Sensitivity by Erum Naz A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of Management & Social Sciences Department of Management Sciences 2018 i Copyright c 2018 by Ms. Erum Naz All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author. ii To my beloved parents CAPITAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ISLAMABAD CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Silence: Mediating Role of Justice Perception and Moderating Role of Equity Sensitivity by Erum Naz (MMS161002) THESIS EXAMINING COMMITTEE S. No. Examiner Name Organization (a) External Examiner (b) Internal Examiner (c) Supervisor Dr. Sajid Bashir CUST, Islamabad Dr. Sajid Bashir Thesis Supervisor January, 2018 Dr. Sajid Bashir Dr. Arshad Hassan Head Dean Dept. of Management Sciences Faculty of Management & Social Sciences January, 2018 January, 2018 iv Author's Declaration I, Erum Naz hereby state that my MS thesis titled \The Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Silence: Mediating Role of Justice Perception and Moderating Role of Equity Sensitivity" is my own work and has not been submitted previously by me for taking any degree from Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad or anywhere else in the country/abroad. At any time if my statement is found to be incorrect even after my graduation, the University has the right to withdraw my MS Degree. (Erum Naz) Registration No: MMS161002 v Plagiarism Undertaking I solemnly declare that research work presented in this thesis titled \The Ef- fect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Silence: Mediating Role of Justice Perception and Moderating Role of Equity Sensitivity" is solely my research work with no significant contribution from any other person. Small contribution/help wherever taken has been dully acknowledged and that complete thesis has been written by me. I understand the zero tolerance policy of the HEC and Capital University of Science and Technology towards plagiarism. Therefore, I as an author of the above titled thesis declare that no portion of my thesis has been plagiarized and any material used as reference is properly referred/cited. I undertake that if I am found guilty of any formal plagiarism in the above titled thesis even after award of MS Degree, the University reserves the right to with- draw/revoke my MS degree and that HEC and the University have the right to publish my name on the HEC/University website on which names of students are placed who submitted plagiarized work. (Erum Naz) Registration No: MMS161002 vi Acknowledgements This is a pleasant movement because writing the acknowledgment means my thesis is completed. It is a moment of reflection of my years in university, and thinking about all the people that who have directly or indirectly contributed in completion of this endeavor. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Sajid Bashir for his continuous guidance and encouragement. I have been extremely lucky to have him as my supervisor: he has always shown great concern about my work, and provided his guidance whenever needed. I would like to thank also all the teachers, mentors and administrators at the department who facilitated me with this thesis and course work of my MS studies. I am thankful to my seniors for their support in data collection and analysis of data. Their willingness to provide feedback made the completion of this research a pleasant experience. I take this opportunity to thank my husband for his continuous support and encouragements throughout my MS studies. Without his continuous and loving support, it would have never been possible for me to take this work to completion. Last but not least, I would like to acknowledgment my parents for their endless love and care, and sincere prayers which always give me great strength and motivation to grow personally as well as professionally. vii Abstract The purpose of the study is to explore the impact of abusive supervision on em- ployee silence. This study is based on the Conservation of Resource (COR) theory, and the main objective is to expand our knowledge on the destructive impacts of abusive supervision. Abusive supervision is defined as the subordinate's percep- tions that their manager is involve in the continuous display of aggressive verbal and nonverbal behavior. The COR theory discusses the sensitivity of employees being emotionally over extended by their work and it is expressed by both physical exhaustion and psychologically and emotionally tired. The data for the present study were collected from a sample of 274 respondents from the private sector organizations of Pakistan which includes banks (MCB, Alied Bank, Habib Bank, Soneri Bank), telecommunication sector (Mobilink, Ufone), housing societies (Behria town, Fasial residencia). Outcomes of this study indicate that there is a positive relationship between abusive supervision and em- ployee silence, and justice perception mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and employee silence. We further observe that the equity sensitivity moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and employee silence, such that if the equity sensitivity is high than the (positive) relationship between the abusive supervision and employee silence would be stronger. Present study is a significant contribution in the area of management sciences and it has further multiple implications at managerial level and academic level. In future, it would interesting to explore if the present research, for example, is applicable in the cross cultural contexts. Keywords: Abusive supervision, Employee silence, Justice perception, Equity sensitivity. Contents Author's Declaration iv Plagiarism Undertakingv Acknowledgements vi Abstract vii List of Figuresx List of Tables xi 1 Introduction1 1.1 Background...............................1 1.2 Gap Analysis..............................5 1.3 Problem Statement...........................6 1.4 Research Questions...........................7 1.5 Research Objectives...........................7 1.6 Significance of the Study........................8 1.7 Supporting Theory...........................8 2 Literature Review 10 2.1 Abusive Supervision.......................... 10 2.2 Employee Silence............................ 12 2.3 Abusive Supervision and Employee Silence.............. 14 2.4 Perceptions of Organizational Justice and Justice Perception Theory 17 2.5 Mediating Effects of Justice Perception between Abusive Supervi- sion and Employee Silence....................... 19 2.6 Equity Sensitivity and its Moderating Role.............. 21 2.7 Research Model............................. 23 2.8 Research Hypothesis.......................... 23 3 Research Methodology 25 3.1 Type of Study.............................. 25 3.2 Research Philosophy and Quantitative Research........... 26 viii ix 3.3 Unit of Analysis............................. 26 3.4 Population and Sample......................... 26 3.4.1 Population............................ 26 3.4.2 Sample and Sampling Technique................ 27 3.5 Sample Characteristics......................... 28 3.6 Instrumentation............................. 31 3.6.1 Measures............................ 31 3.6.2 Abusive Supervision...................... 32 3.6.3 Employee Silence........................ 32 3.6.4 Justice Perception....................... 32 3.6.5 Equity Sensitivity........................ 33 3.7 Statistical Tool............................. 33 3.8 Pilot Testing............................... 34 3.9 Reliability Analysis of Scales Used................... 34 3.10 Data Analysis Technique........................ 35 4 Results 37 4.1 Correlation Analysis.......................... 37 4.2 Regression Analysis........................... 38 4.3 Mediation Analysis........................... 39 4.4 Moderation Analysis.......................... 39 4.5 Summary of Accepted/Rejected Hypothesis............. 40 5 Discussion and Conclusions 42 5.1 Discussion................................ 42 5.1.1 Hypothesis H1.......................... 43 5.1.2 Hypothesis H2.......................... 43 5.1.3 Hypothesis H3.......................... 45 5.2 Theoretical Implications........................ 46 5.3 Practical Implications.......................... 47 5.4 Limitations of Research......................... 47 5.5 Future Research Directions....................... 48 5.6 Conclusions............................... 49 Bibliography 51 Appendix A 66 List of Figures 2.1 Research model for the impact of abusive supervision on employee silence: mediating role of justice perception and moderating role of equity sensitivity............................. 23 x List of Tables 3.1 Frequency by Age............................ 29 3.2 Frequency by Experience........................ 29 3.3 Frequency by Gender.......................... 30 3.4 Frequency by Qualification....................... 30 3.5 Instruments................................ 33 3.6 Scale Reliabilities............................. 35 4.1 Correlations................................ 38 4.2 Regression Analysis for Direct Effect of Abusive Supervision on Em- ployee Silence..............................