Aspects Of Goals And Rewards Systems As Antecedents Of Abusive Supervision: The Mediating Effect Of Hinderance Stress

In this study, I draw on research on goal setting, stress, and aggression to examine contextual antecedents of abusive supervision. I suggest that a characteristic of the supervisors\u27 goals (viz., goal difficulty) can contribute to abusive supervisory behaviors through the effect it has on the supervisors\u27 level of hindrance stress. I also propose that this mediating process is moderated by two characteristics of the supervisors\u27 rewards (viz., goal-contingent reward and reward interdependence). Thus, I suggest a moderated mediation model predicting supervisors\u27 hindrance stress acts as a mediator of the relationship between supervisors\u27 difficult goals and abusive supervision. Moreover, I also posit that the mediation is stronger when the supervisors\u27 rewards are contingent on goal attainment and their subordinates\u27 performance. With a sample of 257 supervisor-subordinate dyads, I find that supervisors\u27 hindrance stress partially mediates the relationship between supervisors\u27 difficult goals and abusive supervision. However, the results revealed that this mediating effect is not moderated by the characteristics of the supervisors\u27 rewards that were examined. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are identified and future research is discussed