When and why organizational cynicism leads to CWBs

Abstract

PurposeUsing conservation of resources theory (COR), the authors test the combined effects of cynicism and psychological capital on counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) mediated through emotional exhaustion.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a time-lagged independent source sample (N = 181) consisting of employee–peer dyads from service industry in Pakistan.FindingsModerated mediated regression analyses indicated that emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between organizational cynicism and counterproductive work behaviors. Psychological capital moderates the relationship between organizational cynicism and emotional exhaustion such that organizational cynicism is positively related to exhaustion when psychological capital is low. Furthermore, conditional indirect effects show that emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between organizational cynicism and counterproductive work behaviors only when employees' psychological capital is low.Originality/valueThe study suggests new mechanisms and boundary conditions through which cynicism triggers CWBs. The authors discuss the implications of the study’s findings and suggest possible directions for future research.

Interpersonal conflict and counterproductive work behavior: the moderating roles of emotional intelligence and gender

“…On the other hand, CWB directed toward individuals (CWB-I) includes psychologically or psychically harming coworker, ignoring others and gossiping about peers (Bennett and Robinson, 2000). In the present study, we examine the effects of interpersonal conflict on CWB-O and CWB-I, rather than on CWB alone, given that previous research suggests that using CWB as an aggregate obscures its relationship with probable antecedents (Naseer et al , 2020). Additionally, researchers argued that both CWB-O and CWB-I contain a set of overlapping behaviors that are detrimental to the organization, with the nature and target of these behaviors being different (Spector and Fox, 2002).…”

Examining the Mediating Role of Organisational Support on the Relationship Between Organisational Cynicism and Turnover Intention in Technology Firms in Istanbul

“…Having reviewed the literature, turnover intention emerges as one of the most studied effects of cynicism. While cynicism and turnover intentions illustrate internal states of employees, there are personal and workplace factors that can affect the relationship between cynicism and turnover intention (Naseer et al, 2020). It is also argued that turnover is a costly process for businesses (O'Connell and Kung, 2007;Gim and Ramayah, 2020) and that certain factors, such as occupational stress, burnout and organisational cynicism, can fuel it significantly; others, e.g., job satisfaction, quality work-life and organisational support, however, effectively mitigate it.…”

The role of cynicism in follower championing behavior: the moderating effect of empowering leadership

“…Empowering leadership makes employees feel confident and secure in the organization by supporting them to work independently and to build capacity (Jung et al. , 2020; Naseer et al. , 2020).…”

“…, 2020). Moreover, Naseer et al. (2020) stated that CAOC causes counter-productive work behavior and cynical subordinates will engage in less organizational citizenship behavior (Scott and Zweig, 2020).…”

“…Thus, uncertainly can become a major source of followers' reluctance to participate in the associated changes (Bovey and Hede, 2001;Islam et al, 2020). Moreover, Naseer et al (2020) stated that CAOC causes counter-productive work behavior and cynical subordinates will engage in less organizational citizenship behavior (Scott and Zweig, 2020).…”