When does subordinate performance strengthen abusive supervision? A study of a three-way interaction in Korean military

Abstract: Drawing on the moral exclusion theory and resource allocation perspective, we examine the association between supervisor perception of subordinate performance and abusive supervision (AS), and the interaction effects of a supervisor’s need for achievement and second-level superiors’ close monitoring of first-line supervisors, as key boundary conditions for the performance-AS relationship. We conducted a time-lagged survey with 142 matched reports from supervisors and subordinates who had direct reporting relationships with the supervisors in the South Korea military. The results of this study indicate that subordinate performance, as rated by the supervisor, was negatively associated with AS. Furthermore, a supervisor’s need for achievement moderated the relationship between subordinate performance and AS, such that the relationship was more negative under a supervisor who had a higher need for achievement. In addition, second-level superiors’ close monitoring of first-line supervisors moderated the effect of the interaction of subordinate performance and a supervisor’s need for achievement on AS, such that the existing moderation effect of a supervisor’s need for achievement is more pronounced when supervisors are under high close monitoring by their superiors. Our investigation of antecedents of supervisor’s abusive behavior could help expand our previous knowledge regarding the mechanism of the performance-AS relationship.