Do you pass it on? An examination of the consequences of perceived cyber incivility

Kimberly McCarthy, Jone L. Pearce, John Morton and Sarah Lyon

Organization Management Journal, 2020, vol. 17, issue 1, 43-58

Abstract: Purpose - The emerging literature on computer-mediated communication at the study lacks depth in terms of elucidating the consequences of the effects of incivility on employees. This study aims to compare face-to-face incivility with incivility encountered via e-mail on both task performance and performance evaluation. Design/methodology/approach - In two experimental studies, the authors test whether exposure to incivility via e-mail reduces individual task performance beyond that of face-to-face incivility and weather exposure to that incivility results in lower performance evaluations for third-parties. Findings - The authors show that being exposed to cyber incivility does decrease performance on a subsequent task. The authors also find that exposure to rudeness, both face-to-face and via e-mail, is contagious and results in lower performance evaluation scores for an uninvolved third party. Originality/value - This research comprises an empirically grounded study of incivility in the context of e-mail at study, highlights distinctions between it and face-to-face rudeness and reveals the potential risks that cyber incivility poses for employees.

Keywords: Email; Performance evaluation; Incivility; Workplace communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:omjpps:omj-12-2018-0654

DOI: 10.1108/OMJ-12-2018-0654

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