Revenge or forgiveness? The dual-path mechanism of employee coping with experienced incivility from an attribution perspective

Xiaojun Zhan (), Xiaoting Zhao (), Yirong Guo (), Zhicheng Li () and Xin Qin ()
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Xiaojun Zhan: Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics
Xiaoting Zhao: Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics
Yirong Guo: Center for Higher Education Development of Xiamen University, Institute of Education, Xiamen University
Zhicheng Li: Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics
Xin Qin: Sun Yat-sen University

Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2024, vol. 41, issue 4, No 21, 2359-2387

Abstract: Abstract Studies on workplace incivility have typically posited that the targets of incivility respond in a “tit-for-tat” manner. Moving beyond this dominant logic, we argue that in some cases, the targets may have a different response to incivility that potentially reduces its spiraling negative consequences. Drawing on attribution theory, we explored the following two aspects of the targets’ responses: psychological motivation and subsequent behavioral response. Based on 555 samples of experience sampling data collected from 61 nurses over 10 workdays at a hospital in China, we found that the nurses’ attribution of incivility to either the uncivil patient or themselves moderated the relationship between the patients’ incivility and the employees’ psychological motivation. When the nurses attributed the reason for a patient’s incivility to the patient, their experience of incivility triggered their revenge motivation. In contrast, when the nurses attributed to themselves the reason for a patient’s incivility, their experience of incivility triggered their forgiveness motivation. Furthermore, we found that the nurses’ revenge motivation positively affected their subsequent incivility toward third parties, whereas their forgiveness motivation positively promoted their subsequent helping behavior toward third parties. This study enriches the application of attribution theory to the spillover effects of incivility toward third parties.

Keywords: Incivility; Attribution theory; Forgiveness motivation; Revenge motivation; Employees’ behavior toward third parties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10490-023-09916-2

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