The Impact of Vicarious Abusive Supervision on Third-Party’s Self-Efficacy and Task Performance: The Moderating Role of Promotion Focus in Unethical Leadership Contexts

Drawing upon self-determination theory, this study examines the effects of vicarious abusive supervision on third-party’s self-efficacy and task performance within organizational contexts. Data were collected via surveys from 337 employees across diverse organizations. The results indicate that vicarious abusive supervision significantly undermines both self-efficacy and task performance among employees who are indirectly exposed to such behavior but not directly targeted. Furthermore, self-efficacy serves as a mediator between vicarious abusive supervision and task performance; however, this mediating effect is attenuated for employees with a high promotion focus. These findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights, particularly in the domain of organizational behavior, by emphasizing the critical role of promotion focus in mitigating the negative effects of vicarious abusive supervision. This research contributes to the organizational behavior literature by shifting the focus from the traditional supervisor-subordinate dynamic to a third-party perspective, thereby enriching our understanding of how vicarious abusive supervision impacts employees within organizational settings. The study underscores the importance of self-efficacy and promotion focus as key factors in unethical leadership contexts.