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Creating facades of conformity in the face of abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion: the boundary role of self-enhancement motives

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Abstract

This study investigates the role of creating facades of conformity (FOC) in the face of abusive supervision. We theorize FOC as a response to the resource depletion that occurs due to experiencing abusive supervision (AS). We additionally examine the effect of creating FOC on employee emotional exhaustion (EE) and discover that creating FOC impacts employee EE. We investigate the role self-enhancement motives (SEM) play in accentuating the display of FOC and their impact on the indirect relationship between AS and EE. Using a three-wave study design with data collected from 321 service sector employees in Pakistan, we found that AS led to the use of FOC and these were positively linked to EE. SEM accentuated the association between FOC and abusive supervision. Employees with high SEM were more likely to create FOC. We therefore contribute to theory on AS through a constructive replication of the AS-EE relationship. Additionally, we highlight that FOC paradoxically leads to EE. We shed light on an important boundary condition of the AS-FOC relationship and the overall indirect relationship between AS and EE. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 21BGL047). This support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Liaoning University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Waheed Akhtar & Chunhui Huo

  2. Department of Management & Marketing, Cork University Business School, Cork, Ireland

    Thomas Garavan

  3. Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Sahiwal Campus, Pakistan

    Muhammad Asrar ul Haq

  4. School of Business, Management and Administrative Sciences, The Islamia University Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

    Muhammad Kashif Aslam

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  1. Muhammad Waheed Akhtar
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Correspondence to Chunhui Huo.

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Ethics committee approval

The COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Sahiwal Campus, constitutes campus-level ethics approval committees. This project has been reviewed by the Campus Research Ethics Board. The ethics committee comprises Deputy Dean, Department of Management Sciences (DMS) and Chairperson, Management Sciences.

The CUI Research Ethics Board reviewed the “Self-Motivation is the Best Motivation: A Facades of Conformity Perspective on Self-Enhancement Motives and Abusive Supervision influence on Emotional Exhaustion” research proposal and considered the procedures, as described by the applicant, to conform to the University’s ethical standards and CUI guidelines.

Additionally, participation (humans) in the survey was voluntary, and study participants were first explained the details of the project. They were assured that their responses would be kept in strict anonymity and would be reported as aggregate results. Moreover, the questionnaires contained a cover letter explaining the research objectives and a formal consent duly signed by the participant before filling out the instrument.

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Akhtar, M.W., Garavan, T., Huo, C. et al. Creating facades of conformity in the face of abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion: the boundary role of self-enhancement motives. Curr Psychol 42, 31824–31834 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04182-9

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