Reactions to Abusive Supervision: Neutralization and IS Misuse

The relationship between abusive supervision and employee workplace deviance has received much attention. Conceptualizing information systems (IS) misuse as a form of workplace deviance, the literature on IS security lacks a theoretical and empirical investigation of the relationship between abusive supervision and employee IS misuse. Drawing on retaliation, displaced aggression, and neutralization, we develop and empirically test a research model of the relationships among abusive supervision, neutralization, and two types of employees' IS misuse. Results of a two-stage survey of 203 responses showed that when individuals perceived abusive supervision, they were likely to invoke the metaphor of the ledger as a neutralization technique to rationalize their engagement in IS misuse. Our results also reveal that employees' reactions to abusive supervision could be influenced by their tenure with supervisor. These findings contribute to the IS security field and provide important guidance for learning how leaders influence employees' IS security behaviors.