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The Relationship of Downward Mobbing with Leadership Style and Organizational Attitudes

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Abstract

The present study investigates (1) the relationship of different leadership styles (transactional, transformational, authoritarian, paternalistic) with mobbing behaviors of superiors (i.e., downward mobbing) and (2) organizational attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention) of mobbing victims. Data were collected from 251 white-collar employees. Path analysis findings showed that transformational and transactional leadership decreased the likelihood of mobbing, whereas authoritarian leadership increased it. Paternalistic leadership was mildly and negatively associated with mobbing. Regarding the consequences of mobbing for employees’ organizational attitudes, the same analyses suggested that higher perceptions of downward mobbing was significantly associated with lower job satisfaction, lower affective commitment, higher continuous commitment, and higher turnover intention.

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  1. Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Aysegul Ertureten, Zeynep Cemalcilar & Zeynep Aycan

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  1. Aysegul Ertureten
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  2. Zeynep Cemalcilar
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  3. Zeynep Aycan
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Correspondence to Zeynep Cemalcilar.

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This research was conducted as part of the first author’s Master’s thesis at Koç University, under the supervision of the second and the third authors.

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Ertureten, A., Cemalcilar, Z. & Aycan, Z. The Relationship of Downward Mobbing with Leadership Style and Organizational Attitudes. J Bus Ethics 116, 205–216 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1468-2

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