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When There’s No One Else to Blame: The Impact of Coworkers’ Perceived Competence and Warmth on the Relations between Ostracism, Shame, and Ingratiation

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Listed:
  • Sara Joy Krivacek

    (Clemson University, Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business
    James Madison University)

  • Christian N. Thoroughgood

    (Georgia State University)

  • Katina B. Sawyer

    (University of Arizona)

  • Nicholas Anthony Smith

    (University of Texas at Arlington)

  • Thomas J. Zagenczyk

    (North Carolina State University)

Abstract

Workplace ostracism is a prevalent and painful experience. The majority of studies focus on negative outcomes of ostracism, with less work examining employees’ potential adaptive responses to it. Further, scholars have suggested that such responses depend on employee attributions, yet little research has taken an attributional perspective on workplace ostracism. Drawing on sociometer theory and attribution theory we develop and test a model that investigates why and under what circumstances ostracized employees engage in adaptive responses to ostracism. Specifically, we argue that ostracized employees feel greater levels of shame and, in turn, are motivated to engage in greater ingratiation behavior toward their ostracizers. However, we predict that perceptions of ostracizers’ competence and warmth shape different attributional processes, which influence the degree to which the ostracized employee experience shame and, in turn, is motivated to engage in ingratiation behavior. Results of a three-wave, time-lagged survey support our prediction that shame mediates the relationship between coworker ostracism and ingratiation behavior. Moreover, results support our three-way interaction, such that coworkers who report higher levels of ostracism and who perceive their coworkers as more (vs. less) competent and more (vs. less) warm report higher shame, and, in turn, ingratiation behavior. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Joy Krivacek & Christian N. Thoroughgood & Katina B. Sawyer & Nicholas Anthony Smith & Thomas J. Zagenczyk, 2024. "When There’s No One Else to Blame: The Impact of Coworkers’ Perceived Competence and Warmth on the Relations between Ostracism, Shame, and Ingratiation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 371-386, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:194:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05614-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05614-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wu, Chia-Huei & Liu, Jun & Kwong Kwan, Ho & Lee, Cynthia, 2016. "Why and when workplace ostracism inhibits organizational citizenship behaviors: an organizational identification perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64006, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Amanda Christensen-Salem & Fred O. Walumbwa & Mayowa T. Babalola & Liang Guo & Everlyne Misati, 2021. "A Multilevel Analysis of the Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Ostracism: The Roles of Relational Climate, Employee Mindfulness, and Work Unit Structure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(3), pages 619-638, July.
    3. Jun Yang & Darren C. Treadway, 2018. "A Social Influence Interpretation of Workplace Ostracism and Counterproductive Work Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 879-891, April.
    4. Yijing Lyu & Hong Zhu, 2019. "The Predictive Effects of Workplace Ostracism on Employee Attitudes: A Job Embeddedness Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(4), pages 1083-1095, September.
    5. Mary B. Curtis & Jesse C. Robertson & R. Cameron Cockrell & L. Dutch Fayard, 2021. "Peer Ostracism as a Sanction Against Wrongdoers and Whistleblowers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(2), pages 333-354, November.
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    Keywords

    Ostracism; Ingratiation; Shame;
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