ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ABUSIVE SUPERVISION BEHAVIOR AND TURNOVER INTENTION: THE ROLE OF OBSERVERS OF ABUSE AND COWORKER SUPPORT

Abstract

Drawing on the theory of deontic justice, this study examines the effect of abusive supervision behavior on turnover intention through the mediating role of observers of abuse and coworker support as a moderator. The study collected 379 valid responses from frontline employees in Ghana’s hospitality sector. Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to validate the developed hypotheses. The findings show that abusive supervision behavior positively influences turnover intention. Also, observers of abuse partially mediated abusive supervision behavior and turnover intention relationship. Furthermore, coworker support negatively moderated the relationship between observers of abuse and turnover intention. This finding is indicative that the fear and anxiety abusive supervisors propagate lessen coworkers’ support. The theoretical and practical contributions are also discussed.