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The grapes are sour: An envier's attributional perspective of coworker impression management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2020

Sundas Azeem Open the ORCID record for Sundas Azeem [Opens in a new window] ,
Mueen Aizaz Zafar  and
Abdul Karim Khan
Sundas Azeem*
Affiliation:
Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
Mueen Aizaz Zafar
Affiliation:
Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
Abdul Karim Khan
Affiliation:
United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE
*
*Corresponding author. Email: sundas.azeem@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Arguing that it would serve scholars and practitioners better to view impression management (IM) from a coworker's perspective than from that of an actor's outcomes, this study demonstrates that IM by a coworker triggers a self-serving attributional process. The authors reason that denial of another's relative advantage leads the observing coworker to attribute this behavior to the actor's incompetence, consequently leading to counterproductive behavior toward them in efforts to reduce their own relative disadvantage. Data were collected at T1 and T2 from 142 service sector employees. Our results were consistent with our hypotheses. However, the moderated-mediation models for conditional effects of hostile attributional style were not supported. This study offers an integrated view of previously isolated domains of IM and attribution, suggesting future literature considers a similar perspective for more meaningful investigations.

Keywords

attributionscounterproductive work behaviorimpression management
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , March 2023 , pp. 287 - 303
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2020

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