The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior

Given the adverse consequences of destructive leadership at work, we examine leader favoritism prevalent in contemporary organizations. Our study builds on previ ous research on unethical leadership behaviors and extends social exchange theory by assessing whether leader favoritism contributes to em...

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Main Author: Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati (author)
Other Authors: Bani- Melhem, Shaker (author), Abukhait, Rawan (author), Pillai, Rekha (author), Quratulain, Samina (author)
Published: 2023
Online Access:https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3762
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author Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati
author2 Bani- Melhem, Shaker
Abukhait, Rawan
Pillai, Rekha
Quratulain, Samina
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati
Bani- Melhem, Shaker
Abukhait, Rawan
Pillai, Rekha
Quratulain, Samina
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati
Bani- Melhem, Shaker
Abukhait, Rawan
Pillai, Rekha
Quratulain, Samina
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023-08-05
2026-01-22T09:59:30Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3762
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en_US
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
description Given the adverse consequences of destructive leadership at work, we examine leader favoritism prevalent in contemporary organizations. Our study builds on previ ous research on unethical leadership behaviors and extends social exchange theory by assessing whether leader favoritism contributes to employee psychological with drawal behavior at work and whether perceived unfairness explains this link, address ing a gap in the literature on this topic. In addition, we investigate the condition of perceived employability to seek whether the influence of perceived unfairness due to leader favoritism on psychological withdrawal behavior at work is strengthened when employees think they can secure alternative employment elsewhere. The study utilizes a two- wave data collection approach to gather responses from 206 front end customer service employees working in the hospitality and tourism firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study findings offer empirical support for the proposed mediated moderation model. Specifically, the results demonstrate that leader favorit ism directly, indirectly (via perceived unfairness), and positively influence employee withdrawal behaviors. This influence is stronger among employees who believe they can easily find alternative employment options. Our findings highlight the relevance of incorporating social exchange theory into the unethical leadership behaviors and withdrawal behaviors literature and provide valuable insights for managers into how to mitigate the practice of leader favoritism because of its adverse consequences on employees' work attitudes and behavior.
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language_invalid_str_mv en_US
network_acronym_str budr
network_name_str The British University in Dubai repository
oai_identifier_str oai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/3762
publishDate 2023
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spelling The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behaviorMohd Shamsudin, FaridahwatiBani- Melhem, ShakerAbukhait, RawanPillai, RekhaQuratulain, SaminaGiven the adverse consequences of destructive leadership at work, we examine leader favoritism prevalent in contemporary organizations. Our study builds on previ ous research on unethical leadership behaviors and extends social exchange theory by assessing whether leader favoritism contributes to employee psychological with drawal behavior at work and whether perceived unfairness explains this link, address ing a gap in the literature on this topic. In addition, we investigate the condition of perceived employability to seek whether the influence of perceived unfairness due to leader favoritism on psychological withdrawal behavior at work is strengthened when employees think they can secure alternative employment elsewhere. The study utilizes a two- wave data collection approach to gather responses from 206 front end customer service employees working in the hospitality and tourism firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study findings offer empirical support for the proposed mediated moderation model. Specifically, the results demonstrate that leader favorit ism directly, indirectly (via perceived unfairness), and positively influence employee withdrawal behaviors. This influence is stronger among employees who believe they can easily find alternative employment options. Our findings highlight the relevance of incorporating social exchange theory into the unethical leadership behaviors and withdrawal behaviors literature and provide valuable insights for managers into how to mitigate the practice of leader favoritism because of its adverse consequences on employees' work attitudes and behavior.2026-01-22T09:59:30Z2023-08-05Articlehttps://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3762en_USoai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/37622026-01-29T13:55:50Z
spellingShingle The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
Mohd Shamsudin, Faridahwati
title The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
title_full The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
title_fullStr The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
title_full_unstemmed The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
title_short The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
title_sort The role of leader favoritism, unfairness, and employability in employee psychological withdrawal behavior
url https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3762