To act out, to withdraw, or to constructively resist? Employee reactions to supervisor abuse of customers and the moderating role of employee moral identity

• Published in: Human relations (New York) 2013-07, Vol.66 (7), p.925-950
• Main Authors: Greenbaum, Rebecca L, Mawritz, Mary Bardes, Mayer, David M, Priesemuth, Manuela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Customer relations; Customers; Deviance; Economic behaviour; Employees; Justice; Morality; Morals; Organizational behavior; Organizational behaviour; Professional misconduct; Resistance; Social identity; Studies; Turnover
• ISSN: 0018-7267; 1741-282X
• DOI: 10.1177/0018726713482992

We extend the deontic model of justice (Folger, 1998, 2001) by arguing that not all employees respond to third-party injustices by experiencing an eye-for-an-eye retributive response; rather, some employees respond in ways that are higher in moral acceptance (e.g. increasing turnover intentions, engaging in constructive resistance). We predict that the positive relationship between supervisor abuse of customers and organizational deviance is weaker when employees are high in moral identity. In contrast, we hypothesize that the relationships between supervisor abuse of customers and turnover intentions and constructive resistance are more strongly positive when employees are high in moral identity. Regression results from two field studies (N = 222 and N = 199, respectively) provide general support for our theoretical model.