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. 2025 Jul 4:16:1455658.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1455658. eCollection 2025.

The impact of abusive supervision on employee counterproductive work behavior: a moderated mediation analysis

Jingli Li  1 , Guangnuo Xu  1
Affiliations

The impact of abusive supervision on employee counterproductive work behavior: a moderated mediation analysis

Jingli Li et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: This study explores how abusive supervision impacts employee counterproductive work behavior (CWB), highlighting the mediating roles of emotional exhaustion and ingratiation behavior, and the moderating role of core self-evaluation.

Methods: Drawing on self-regulation theory and resource conservation theory, the paper tests a moderated mediation model using a three-wave survey of 198 employees.

Result and discussion: Results indicate that abusive supervision directly increases CWB, with emotional exhaustion serving as a positive mediator and ingratiation behavior serving as a negative mediator. Core self-evaluation moderates both mediation paths. These findings provide new insights into the dual psychological mechanisms underlying workplace deviance and suggest practical strategies for mitigating abusive leadership.

Keywords: abusive supervision; core self-evaluation; counterproductive work behavior; emotional exhaustion; ingratiation behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hypothesized model.
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