Determinants of Counterproductive Work Behavior: A Moderation and Mediation Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of employment stressors, specifically job insecurity (JI), interpersonal conflicts at work (ICW), and leader–member exchange (LMX), on counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). The stressor-emotion theory of CWB suggests that the connections between these factors could be influenced by emotional exhaustion (EE) and regulated by emotional intelligence (EI). A cross-sectional survey was undertaken online to gather data from 431 IT personnel in India. The model proposed, postulating relationships among the variables, underwent testing through structural equation modeling (SEM) utilizing the process macro in SPSS. The moderation analysis was conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS. The findings confirmed that all three job stressors have a significant impact on CWB. Additionally, EE partially mediated all three relationships. Similarly, EI moderated only the association between ICW and CWB, but not those of JI and LMX with CWB. It is highly imperative for organizations to comprehend the concept deeply and research further to determine the antecedents that impact CWB, to realize their goals.