PhD defence B.A. (Benjamin) Korman

This dissertation advances our understanding of leader-subordinate relations and the diverse emotional and behavioral outcomes they can engender. In Chapter 2, we test whether both favorable upward social comparisons and unfavorable downward social comparisons relating to leader treatment (abusive supervision, specifically) can instill in subordinates a desire to withdraw from their organization. Our findings show that employees who perceive themselves as receiving more, or less, abusive supervision relative to their coworkers experience concerns that they will be socially excluded by their coworkers. These social exclusion concerns elicit feelings of shame which, in turn, increase employees’ intentions to find work elsewhere. In Chapter 3, we test whether downward social comparisons relating to leader treatment can drive employees to simultaneously help and hinder their coworkers. Our results demonstrate that employees who perceive themselves as having a better relationship with their leader relative to their coworkers’ relationships with the leader experience authentic and hubristic pride. Whereas authentic pride was found to motivate prosocial behavior towards coworkers, hubristic pride was found to motivate the social undermining of coworkers. Paradoxically, these motivations were found to occur in tandem. In Chapter 4, we explore 314 how the reaction of coworker victimized by an abusive supervisor’s negative treatment can affect observers’ emotional and behavioral reactions to the abusive incident. Our results indicate that victimized coworkers who stand up for themselves in the face of an abusive supervisor elevate employees observing the conflict; that is, these victimized coworkers inspire observers to become more virtuous people. On account of their feelings of elevation, observers are then motivated to act prosocially, helping both the victimized coworker and the abusive supervisor.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.