关键词: 越轨创新, 主管阻抑, 地位威胁感, 权威主义取向

Abstract: In organizational research, scholars concerned excessively with the overt, radical actions like abusive supervision, yet covert, incremental actions like supervisor undermining received far less research attention. Supervisor undermining refers to the behavior intended to hinder, over time, a subordinate’s ability to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships, work-related success, and favorable reputation. It can take a range of forms and may vary in the manner in which it damages a relationship or a reputation. For example, undermining may take the form of direct actions, such as intentionally spreading rumors about a person, rejecting someone absolutely, or scorning someone's ideas. In addition, undermining may also be accomplished through withholding, such as withholding some information or failing to defend someone. Empirical research has suggested that supervisor undermining may cause negative influence to organizations as well as employees. Therefore, many scholars have made a call for developing richer antecedent models of supervisor undermining To date, existing research suggested envy, relationship conflict, moral disengagement, and bottom-line mentality can evoke supervisor undermining, few have considered the importance role of subordinates’ behaviors in shaping supervisor undermining. To address this issue, this study aims to investigate the effects of subordinates’ creative deviance on supervisor undermining as long as its mediating mechanism and boundary condition. Specifically, we focused on testing the mediating role of hierarchy threat and the moderating role of authoritarianism. A field study was adopted to test hypotheses. Based on a sample 125 dyads of subordinates and their supervisors in China, we got four conclusions by using a series of regression analysis: 1) subordinates’ creative deviance was positively related to supervisor undermining. 2) such relationship was partially mediated by supervisor perceived hierarchy threat. 3) supervisors’ authoritarianism moderated the relationship between creative deviance and hierarchy threat, such that this relationship was only significant when supervisors’ authoritarianism was high. Our findings offer several important theoretical and practical implications. First, our research extends previous studies on the antecedents of supervisor undermining by examining the relationship between creative deviance and supervisor undermining, addressing the call “to develop richer antecedent models of mistreatment”. Second, through exploring the mediating role of hierarchy threat, this study advanced our understanding regarding the underlying mechanism that transmits the predictive effects of creative deviance to supervisor undermining. Third, we further test the moderating effect of authoritarianism, which reveal unique boundary conditions for creative deviance to influence hierarchy threat. This can contribute to our knowledge about when creative deviance may evoke supervisor undermining. Beyond the theoretical implications already highlighted, there are a number of practical strategies that employees and organizations can use to deal with supervisor undermining. On the one hand, subordinates are encouraged to put forward innovative ideas in the way which supervisors can be accepted readily. On the other hand, organizations can renew supervisors’ ideology, eliminate the notion of be promoted according to status, build the notion of equality of status of supervisors and subordinates to fit today’ radical change. Finally, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Key words: creative deviance, supervisor undermining, perceived threat to hierarchy, authoritarianism orientation