The role of organizational structure and deviant status in employees’ reactions to and acceptance of workplace deviance
International Journal of Conflict Management
ISSN: 1044-4068
Article publication date: 30 September 2020
Issue publication date: 6 April 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of deviant status (lower vs higher rank) and organizational structure (vertical vs horizontal) on individuals’ responses to workplace deviance.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies (N = 472) were designed to examine the role of deviant status and organizational structure in responses to workplace deviance. Study 1 (N = 272) manipulated deviant status and organizational structure. Study 2 (N = 200) also manipulated deviant status but focused on participants’ subjective evaluations of the organizational structure of their workplace.
Findings
Study 1 found that participants reported lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and higher turnover intentions when they imagined being confronted with deviant behaviors displayed by a manager (vs by a subordinate), regardless of the type of organizational structure. Study 2 extended this finding by showing that the indirect effect of organizational structure (vertical vs horizontal) on turnover intention via job satisfaction and organizational commitment was moderated by deviant status: when the deviant’s status was higher, working in a vertical (vs horizontal) organization was associated with decreased job satisfaction and commitment, which, in turn, was associated with a higher level of turnover intentions.
Originality/value
The findings broaden our understanding of how individuals respond to deviance at the workplace, by simultaneously considering the effects of organizational structure (vertical vs horizontal) and deviant status (upward vs downward directions of deviance).
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Ethics Statement: This study was approved by the School of Psychology Ethical Board, University of Kent.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Erratum: It has come to the attention of the publisher that the article Moon, C., Morais, C., Randsley de Moura, G. and Uskul, A.K. (2020), “The role of organizational structure and deviant status in employees’ reactions to and acceptance of workplace deviance”, International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-03-2020-0036 contained an error in Figure 4. This error was introduced in the editorial process and has now been corrected in the online version. The publisher sincerely apologises for this error and for any inconvenience caused.
Citation
Moon, C., Morais, C., Randsley de Moura, G. and Uskul, A.K. (2021), "The role of organizational structure and deviant status in employees’ reactions to and acceptance of workplace deviance", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 315-339. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-03-2020-0036
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited