Abstract:

Abusive supervision refers to subordinates' perceptions of the extent to which leaders engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding physical contacts. On one hand, the characteristics of the supervisor, subordinate, context and the superior-subordinate relationship are important antecedent variables of abusive supervision; On the other hand, abusive supervision usually results in a series of negative consequences at the individual, organizational, and interpersonal levels. Moreover, the interaction of cognitive and emotional factors explains the mechanism of abusive supervision and negative outcomes. It should further discuss the interactive effect of the characteristic factors on abusive supervision and carry out studies on the cross-level and dual effect of abusive supervision in future. It also should further discuss the practical consequences and mechanism of abusive supervision in Chinese context.

Key words: abusive supervision, organizational citizenship behavior, emotional exhaustion, spillovers