IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v111y2020icp12-24.html

The stress-reducing effect of coworker support on turnover intentions: Moderation by political ineptness and despotic leadership

Author

Listed:
  • De Clercq, Dirk
  • Azeem, Muhammad Umer
  • Haq, Inam Ul
  • Bouckenooghe, Dave

Abstract

Grounded in conservation of resources theory, this study investigates the mediating role of job stress in the relationship between coworker support and employees’ turnover intentions, as well as the moderating roles of political ineptness and despotic leadership in this process. Time-lagged data collected from employees in Pakistan reveal that an important reason coworker support diminishes turnover intentions is the lower stress that employees experience while undertaking their job tasks. This influence of stress reduction is particularly salient to the extent that employees are equipped with less political skill and, contrary to expectations, are less exposed to despotic leadership. For organizations, this study accordingly pinpoints a key mechanism by which coworker support can diminish the tendency to leave the organization (stress containment), and it reveals that this mechanism varies according to both personal and leadership factors.

Suggested Citation

  • De Clercq, Dirk & Azeem, Muhammad Umer & Haq, Inam Ul & Bouckenooghe, Dave, 2020. "The stress-reducing effect of coworker support on turnover intentions: Moderation by political ineptness and despotic leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 12-24.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:111:y:2020:i:c:p:12-24
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014829632030076X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.064?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Iqra Saeed & Momina Waseem & Sidra Sikander & Muhammad Rizwan, 2014. "The relationship of Turnover intention with job satisfaction, job performance, Leader member exchange, Emotional intelligence and organizational commitment," International Journal of Learning and Development, Macrothink Institute, vol. 4(2), pages 242-256, June.
    2. Li‐Qun Wei & Flora F. T. Chiang & Long‐Zeng Wu, 2012. "Developing and Utilizing Network Resources: Roles of Political Skill," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 381-402, March.
    3. Choi, Byoung Kwon & Moon, Hyoung Koo & Nae, Eun Young & Ko, Wook, 2013. "Distributive justice, job stress, and turnover intention: Cross-level effects of empowerment climate in work groups," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 279-296, May.
    4. Marisa Salanova & Arnold Bakker & Susana Llorens, 2006. "Flow at Work: Evidence for an Upward Spiral of Personal and Organizational Resources," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Jie Li & Gong Sun & Zhiming Cheng, 2017. "The Influence of Political Skill on Salespersons’ Work Outcomes: A Resource Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 551-562, March.
    6. Karatepe, Osman M & Olugbade, Olusegun A, 2017. "The effects of work social support and career adaptability on career satisfaction and turnover intentions," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 337-355, May.
    7. Mohr, Alexander T. & Puck, Jonas F., 2007. "Role Conflict, General Manager Job Satisfaction and Stress and the Performance of IJVs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 25-35, February.
    8. Jones, Eli & Chonko, Lawrence & Rangarajan, Deva & Roberts, James, 2007. "The role of overload on job attitudes, turnover intentions, and salesperson performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 663-671, July.
    9. Luthans, Fred & Peterson, Suzanne J. & Ibrayeva, Elina, 1998. "The potential for the "dark side" of leadership in post communist countries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 185-201, July.
    10. Oi Siu & Francis Cheung & Steve Lui, 2015. "Linking Positive Emotions to Work Well-Being and Turnover Intention Among Hong Kong Police Officers: The Role of Psychological Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 367-380, April.
    11. Seulki Lee & Taesik Yun & Soo-Young Lee, 2015. "Moderating role of social support in the stressor-satisfaction relationship: evidence from police officers in Korea," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 102-116, January.
    12. Jay Mulki & Jorge Jaramillo & William Locander, 2008. "Effect of Ethical Climate on Turnover Intention: Linking Attitudinal- and Stress Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 78(4), pages 559-574, April.
    13. Bouckenooghe, Dave & Raja, Usman & Butt, Arif Nazir & Abbas, Muhammad & Bilgrami, Sabahat, 2017. "Unpacking the curvilinear relationship between negative affectivity, performance, and turnover intentions: The moderating effect of time-related work stress," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 373-391, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sitar-Tăut, Dan-Andrei & Mican, Daniel & Moisescu, Ovidiu-Ioan, 2024. "To be (online) or not to be? The antecedents of online study propensity and e-learning-dependent dropout intention in higher education," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    2. Shaifa Nazir Rangrez & Faseeh Amin & Sweta Dixit, 2022. "Influence of Role Stressors and Job Insecurity on Turnover Intentions in Start-ups: Mediating Role of Job Stress," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 47(2), pages 199-215, May.
    3. Maheena Mushtaq & Nazir Ahmad Nazir, 2026. "Exploring Despotic Leadership: An ADO-TCM-Based Systematic Review," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 1-29, March.
    4. Hyunah Chung & Wei Quan & Bonhak Koo & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Alejandro Vega-Muñoz & Gabriele Giorgi & Heesup Han, 2021. "A Threat of Customer Incivility and Job Stress to Hotel Employee Retention: Do Supervisor and Co-Worker Supports Reduce Turnover Rates?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Heesup Han & Wei Quan & Amr Al-Ansi & Hyunah Chung & Abdul Hafaz Ngah & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Alejandro Vega-Muñoz, 2020. "A Theoretical Framework Development for Hotel Employee Turnover: Linking Trust in Supports, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Reduced Personal Accomplishment at Workplace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Seung Yeon Son & Jongwook Pak, 2024. "Enough is enough! The impact of core self-evaluation on the relationship between despotic leadership and individual outcomes," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 777-798, March.
    7. Dirk De Clercq & Eugene Kaciak & Narongsak (Tek) Thongpapanl, 2023. "Full circle support: unpacking the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ family-to-work support and work interference with family," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 343-367, March.
    8. Clifford Bennet Essel & Augustine Osei Boakye & Christopher Dick-Sagoe, 2025. "Linking despotic leadership to employee lateness and early departure: the mediating role of affective commitment," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 5(9), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Muhammad Naeem Sharif & Li Zhang & Ali Raza & Kashif Akram & Anna Ivolga, 2025. "Leadership Gone Wrong: Investigating the Effects of Despotic Leadership on Employee Success Through Job Insecurity and Emotional Exhaustion," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(4), pages 15316-15341, October.
    10. Muhammad Umer Azeem & Inam Ul Haq & Ghulam Murtaza & Hina Jaffery, 2023. "Challenge–Hindrance Stressors, Helping Behavior and Job Performance: Double-Edged Sword of Religiousness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 687-699, May.
    11. Kazi Omar Siddiqi & Md. Hasanur Rahman, 2026. "Effect of Perceived Supervisor Support, Perceived Co-worker Support, and Technostress on Turnover Intention Among the Nurses in Bangladesh," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(1), pages 2125-2152, February.
    12. Kashif Muhammad & Petrovskaya Irina & Samad Sarminah & Wijenayake Shanika, 2021. "Leaving in Mascot of Silence: Organizational Determinants of Employee Turnover Intentions in Mediating and Moderating Roles of Quiescent Silence and Coworker Support in a Russian Context," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(2), pages 121-146, June.
    13. Yang, Yihao & Chi, Ming & Bi, Xinhua & Xu, Yongshun, 2025. "Dark sides of algorithmic control in app-based gig work: An objectification perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    14. Allal-Chérif, Oihab & Guijarro-García, María & Ballester-Miquel, José Carlos & Carrilero-Castillo, Agustín, 2021. "Being an ethical leader during the apocalypse: Lessons from the walking dead to face the COVID-19 crisis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 354-364.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ashill, Nicholas J. & Rod, Michel, 2011. "Burnout processes in non-clinical health service encounters," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1116-1127, October.
    2. Georgiadou, Andri & Amari, Amina & Swalhi, Abdelaziz & Hofaidhllaoui, Mahrane, 2024. "How does perceived organizational support improve expatriates' outcomes during global crises? The mediating role of the ethical organizational climate in global organizations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    3. Jie Li & Wangshuai Wang & Gong Sun & Zhou Jiang & Zhiming Cheng, 2018. "Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi and Job Satisfaction Among Migrant Workers in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 293-307, August.
    4. Tsang Kai Hung & Mu Tian & Jie Wu, 2025. "Trickle-down politics: exploring the social learning process of supervisor political skill and its impact on subordinate," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(5), pages 742-771, November.
    5. Jaramillo, Fernando & Mulki, Jay Prakash & Boles, James S., 2013. "Bringing meaning to the sales job: The effect of ethical climate and customer demandingness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2301-2307.
    6. repec:bdu:oijodl:v:1:y:2016:i:1:p:58-75:id:283 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Rajesh Srivastava & Thomas Tang, 2015. "Coping Intelligence: Coping Strategies and Organizational Commitment Among Boundary Spanning Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 525-542, September.
    8. Lise A. Oortmerssen & Marjolein C. J. Caniëls & Marcel F. Assen, 2020. "Coping with Work Stressors and Paving the Way for Flow: Challenge and Hindrance Demands, Humor, and Cynicism," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 2257-2277, August.
    9. Jan Eichhorn, 2013. "Unemployment Needs Context: How Societal Differences between Countries Moderate the Loss in Life-Satisfaction for the Unemployed," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(6), pages 1657-1680, December.
    10. Robertson, Christopher J. & Gilley, K. Matthew & Street, Marc D., 2003. "The relationship between ethics and firm practices in Russia and the United States," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 375-384, November.
    11. Ozan Kalaycioglu & Arzu Sert-Ozen & Ahmet Yeşildağ, 2025. "To Stay or Leave? Consequences of Ethical Dilemma Experienced by Nurses in the Intensive Care Units," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 202(2), pages 401-416, November.
    12. Isidro Peña & Silvia María Andrade & Rosa María Muñoz & Virginia Barba-Sánchez, 2024. "Wellness Programs, Perceived Organizational Support, and Their Influence on Organizational Performance: An Analysis Within the Framework of Sustainable Human Resource Management," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440241, February.
    13. M. Guerci & Giovanni Radaelli & Elena Siletti & Stefano Cirella & A. Rami Shani, 2015. "The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices and Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Ethical Climates: An Employee Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 325-342, January.
    14. Hyo Sun Jung & Hye Hyun Yoon, 2017. "Error management culture and turnover intent among food and beverage employees in deluxe hotels: the mediating effect of job satisfaction," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 11(4), pages 785-802, December.
    15. Shuhua Sun, 2022. "Is Political Skill Always Beneficial? Why and When Politically Skilled Employees Become Targets of Coworker Social Undermining," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(3), pages 1142-1162, May.
    16. MD Mahamudul Hassan & Manimekalai Jambulingam & Elangkovan Narayanan Alagas & Md. Uzir Hossain Uzir & Hussam Al Halbusi, 2023. "Necessities and Ways of Combating Dissatisfactions at Workplaces Against the Job-Hopping Generation Y Employees," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 24(6), pages 1276-1301, December.
    17. Cathy Sheehan & Helen De Cieri & Brian K Cooper & Robert Brooks, 2016. "The impact of HR political skill in the HRM and organisational performance relationship," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(1), pages 161-181, February.
    18. Shubham Sharma & Vivek Tiwari, 2023. "Modelling the Impact of Emotional Intelligence, Career Success and Happiness on Turnover Intention Among Managerial-level Employees in the Information Technology Industry," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 12(3), pages 279-293, September.
    19. Guillermina Tormo-Carbó & Zeena Mardawi & Elies Seguí-Mas, 2024. "Should I Stay or Should I Go? Auditor Ethical Conflict and Turnover Intention," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 335-350, October.
    20. Daniel Qi Chen & Yanlin Zhang & Jinghua Xiao & Kang Xie, 2021. "Making Digital Innovation Happen: A Chief Information Officer Issue Selling Perspective," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 987-1008, September.
    21. Sait Gurbuz & Omer Turunc & Mazlum Celik, 2013. "The impact of perceived organizational support on work–family conflict: Does role overload have a mediating role?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 34(1), pages 145-160, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:111:y:2020:i:c:p:12-24. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.