IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v206y2026ics0148296326000135.html

CEOs’ abusive behaviors and firm performance: The roles of TMT behavioral integration and task interdependence

Author

Listed:
  • Huai, Mingyun
  • Zhang, Xiaomeng
  • Kwan, Ho Kwong
  • Lee, Cynthia
  • Wang, Tao

Abstract

Drawing upon a structural contingency perspective, our research investigates how and under what conditions chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) abusive behaviors influence firm performance. Using four-wave, multi-source data from 131 small and medium-sized firms in various industries in China, we theorize and find that top management team (TMT) behavioral integration mediates the negative relationship between CEOs’ abusive behaviors and firm performance. More importantly, TMT task interdependence serves as an essential structural condition. Specifically, the negative indirect effect of CEOs’ abusive behaviors on firm performance through diminished TMT behavioral integration becomes stronger under higher levels of TMT task interdependence. Our research advances upper echelons theory by incorporating structural design of organizations into the study of destructive leadership at the top echelon. It also extends the abusive supervision literature by reinforcing evidence of CEOs’ detrimental behaviors at the organizational level and specifying when such harm is more pronounced.

Suggested Citation

  • Huai, Mingyun & Zhang, Xiaomeng & Kwan, Ho Kwong & Lee, Cynthia & Wang, Tao, 2026. "CEOs’ abusive behaviors and firm performance: The roles of TMT behavioral integration and task interdependence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:206:y:2026:i:c:s0148296326000135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.115979
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296326000135
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.115979?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. Xiaomeng Zhang & Ho Kwong Kwan, 2019. "Team behavioral integration links team interdependence with team performance: an empirical investigation in R&D teams," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Joon Hyung Park & Min Z. Carter & Richard S. DeFrank & Qianwen Deng, 2018. "Abusive Supervision, Psychological Distress, and Silence: The Effects of Gender Dissimilarity Between Supervisors and Subordinates," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 775-792, December.
    3. Donald C. Hambrick & Stephen E. Humphrey & Abhinav Gupta, 2015. "Structural interdependence within top management teams: A key moderator of upper echelons predictions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 449-461, March.
    4. Gregory G. Dess & Richard B. Robinson, 1984. "Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately‐held firm and conglomerate business unit," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 265-273, July.
    5. Brown, Michael E. & Trevino, Linda K. & Harrison, David A., 2005. "Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 117-134, July.
    6. Shenghui Ma & Yasemin Y. Kor & David Seidl, 2022. "Top management team role structure: A vantage point for advancing upper echelons research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1-28, August.
    7. Andreas Klein & Helfried Moosbrugger, 2000. "Maximum likelihood estimation of latent interaction effects with the LMS method," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 65(4), pages 457-474, December.
    8. Brown, Michael E. & Mitchell, Marie S., 2010. "Ethical and Unethical Leadership: Exploring New Avenues for Future Research," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 583-616, October.
    9. Yan Ling & Zeki Simsek & Michael Lubatkin & John F. Velga, 2008. "Transformational Leadership's Role in Promoting Corporate Entrepreneurship : Examining the CEO - TMT Interface," Post-Print hal-02276697, HAL.
    10. Singh, Anjali & Lim, Weng Marc & Jha, Sumi & Kumar, Satish & Ciasullo, Maria Vincenza, 2023. "The state of the art of strategic leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    11. Enno Siemsen & Aleda V. Roth & Sridhar Balasubramanian & Gopesh Anand, 2009. "The Influence of Psychological Safety and Confidence in Knowledge on Employee Knowledge Sharing," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 11(3), pages 429-447, April.
    12. Moses Acquaah, 2012. "Social networking relationships, firm‐specific managerial experience and firm performance in a transition economy: A comparative analysis of family owned and nonfamily firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(10), pages 1215-1228, October.
    13. Li-Qun Wei & Longzeng Wu, 2013. "What a Diverse Top Management Team Means: Testing an Integrated Model," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 389-412, May.
    14. Srikanth, Peruvemba B. & Thakur, Munish & Dust, Scott B., 2022. "The curvilinear relationship between abusive supervision and performance: The moderating role of conscientiousness and the mediating role of attentiveness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 663-675.
    15. Zeki Simsek & John F. Veiga & Michael Lubatkin & Richard N. Dino, 2005. "Modeling the Multilevel Determinants of Top management Team Behavorial Integration," Post-Print hal-02311805, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Wei, Li-Qun & Ling, Yan & Kellermanns, Franz W. & Zhang, Yuli, 2025. "Strategic consensus at founding and product innovation performance in high-tech ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Foss, Nicolai J. & Mazzelli, Ambra, 2025. "Bringing managers and management back into strategy: Interfaces and dynamic managerial capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    3. Yan Ling & Michelle Hammond & Li-Qun Wei, 2022. "Ethical leadership and ambidexterity in young firms: examining the CEO-TMT Interface," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 25-48, March.
    4. Emil Viduranga Mogård & Ole Bendik Rørstad & Henning Bang, 2022. "The Relationship between Psychological Safety and Management Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Behavioral Integration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. S. Hansen & Bradley Alge & Michael Brown & Christine Jackson & Benjamin Dunford, 2013. "Ethical Leadership: Assessing the Value of a Multifoci Social Exchange Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 435-449, July.
    6. Tran Quang Bao Phuc & Khalida Parveen & Duyen Thi Truc Tran & Dao Thi Anh Nguyen, 2021. "The linkage between ethical leadership and lecturer job satisfaction at a private higher education institution in Vietnam," Journal of Social Sciences Advancement, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 2(2), pages 39-50.
    7. Samuel Hunter, 2012. "(Un)Ethical Leadership and Identity: What Did We Learn and Where Do We Go from Here?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 79-87, April.
    8. Zhang, Yingying & Chen, Haixiao & Hu, Zhonghui & Kwan, Ho Kwong, 2025. "Lose no time! We have lost too much already: Firm adversity and CEO temporal leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    9. Shenjiang Mo & Junqi Shi, 2017. "Linking Ethical Leadership to Employee Burnout, Workplace Deviance and Performance: Testing the Mediating Roles of Trust in Leader and Surface Acting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 293-303, August.
    10. Manal Mohammed Hamoudah & Zaleha Othman & Rashidah Abdul Rahman & Nor Azila Mohd Noor & May Alamoudi, 2021. "Ethical Leadership, Ethical Climate and Integrity Violation: A Comparative Study in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, April.
    11. Nida Kamal & Hina Samdani & Amna Yameen, 2018. "Engaging Employees through Ethical Leadership," Global Social Sciences Review, Humanity Only, vol. 3(3), pages 300-316, September.
    12. Muel Kaptein, 2019. "The Moral Entrepreneur: A New Component of Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 1135-1150, June.
    13. Emmanuel Osafo & Amy Paros & Robert M. Yawson, 2021. "Valence–Instrumentality–Expectancy Model of Motivation as an Alternative Model for Examining Ethical Leadership Behaviors," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    14. Constandt, Bram & Parent, Milena M. & Willem, Annick, 2020. "Does it really matter? A study on soccer fans’ perceptions of ethical leadership and their role as “stakeowners”," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 374-386.
    15. Daniel Leunbach & Truls Erikson & Max Rapp-Ricciardi, 2020. "Muddling through Akerlofian and Knightian uncertainty: The role of sociobehavioral integration, positive affective tone, and polychronicity," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 145-164, June.
    16. Magdaline Enow Mbi Tarkang Mary & Ali Ozturen, 2019. "Sustainable Ethical Leadership and Employee Outcomes in the Hotel Industry in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, April.
    17. Helena Liu & Christopher Baker, 2016. "Ordinary Aristocrats: The Discursive Construction of Philanthropists as Ethical Leaders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 261-277, January.
    18. Schwartz, Mark S., 2013. "Developing and sustaining an ethical corporate culture: The core elements," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 39-50.
    19. Angela J. Xu & Raymond Loi & Hang-yue Ngo, 2016. "Ethical Leadership Behavior and Employee Justice Perceptions: The Mediating Role of Trust in Organization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 493-504, March.
    20. Marta Moczulska & Renata Winkler & Katarzyna Tarnowska, 2025. "Social and Economic Aspects of Sustainable Development: Intensity of Collaboration as a Key Driver of Team Work Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, April.

    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:206:y:2026:i:c:s0148296326000135. 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.