Organizational correlates of workplace bullying in small- and medium-sized enterprises

Over recent decades, a broad range of studies have investigated organizational antecedents of workplace bullying, predominantly in large organizations. Exploring this topic within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is however important: SMEs differ from large organizations in cultural, struc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International small business journal 2011-12, Vol.29 (6), p.610-625
Main Authors: Baillien, Elfi, Neyens, Inge, De Witte, Hans
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belgium
Bullying
Correlation analysis
Labour relations
Occupational health
Organizational behavior
Organizational change
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Small and medium sized enterprises
Studies
Work place
Work standards
Workers' representation
Working conditions
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Summary:Over recent decades, a broad range of studies have investigated organizational antecedents of workplace bullying, predominantly in large organizations. Exploring this topic within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is however important: SMEs differ from large organizations in cultural, structural and strategic ways. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate organizational correlates of bullying in SMEs based on the Three Way Model as a theoretical framework. Data were gathered from 358 employees in 39 Flemish (Belgian) SMEs with maximum 100 employees. The organizational characteristics explained 29 per cent of the variance of bullying. Regression analyses revealed statistically significant associations between bullying, on the one hand, and organizational change, a people-oriented culture, an (known) anti-bullying policy, working in a family business, on the other hand. In sum, our results suggest that SMEs experiencing organizational change need to be extra vigilant against workplace bullying. Based on our results, bullying also seems more prevalent in SMEs without a people-oriented culture and in family businesses. Finally, the results suggest that the presence of an anti-bullying policy buffers bullying in SMEs.
ISSN:0266-2426
1741-2870
DOI:10.1177/0266242610375774