I just don’t want to lose face: A self-image reparative response framework of how and when abused subordinates improve their performance

Research on abusive supervision typically posits that abusive supervision will impede subordinate performance. We pivot from this predominant logic, arguing that under certain circumstances, abused subordinates are socialized to experience shame at the moment and aftermath of abusive supervision and then attempt to manage their shame and protect their self-image by improving their work performance as a self-image reparative action. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotions and the social functional view of emotions, we propose that such a self-image reparative process is more likely to ensue when subordinates otherwise hold a sensitivity to threats to their social self-worth (i.e., face threat sensitivity). The study sample comprised 312 military officers in Taiwan. A three-wave, time-lagged field study was conducted to provide support for our theorizing. As such, our study extends previous speculations on the consequences of supervisory abuse, which have typically found that it lowers subordinate performance. Overall, our work provides answers to both how and under what conditions abusive supervision improves subordinate performance and explains why abusive supervision can continuously prevail within organizations. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.