19836: Abusive Supervision Dispersion and Team Resilience: The Moderating Role of Team-Member Exchange (session 25627)

In this study, we explore the idea of abusive supervision dispersion (ASD), which refers to the variability in team members’ perceptions of supervisory abuse, and its implications for team performance and cohesion. While past researchers have mainly adopted a compositional perspective to study abusive supervision, treating it as a uniform experience, we employed a dispersion lens to highlight the heterogeneity within teams. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET), which emphasizes the importance of reciprocity and fairness in relationships, we argue that ASD disrupts these relational norms, eroding team trust and cohesion. Using multi-source, multi-level data from 62 work teams across diverse industries, we found that ASD has significant negative effects on team outcomes, including reduced performance and diminished morale. These effects, however, are not uniform and are moderated by team-member exchange (TMX)—the quality of interpersonal relationships within the team. Specifically, in high-TMX teams, the detrimental effects of ASD are mitigated as strong social bonds provide a buffering effect, promoting resilience and cohesion despite discrepancies in supervisory experiences. Conversely, in low-TMX teams, the negative effects of ASD are amplified, leading to greater dysfunction, conflict, and reduced productivity. These findings advance leadership research by challenging traditional assumptions of homogeneity in abusive supervision experiences and underscore the role of contextual factors like TMX in shaping team dynamics. Practically, fostering high TMX through team-building activities and reducing inconsistencies in supervisory behavior are critical organizational strategies.

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