차상위 리더의 리더에 대한 모욕행위의 적하효과(trickle-down effect) - 리더십을 매개하여 부하의 리더신뢰 및 LMX에 미치는 영향 -

Traditionally, leadership research has focused on the bilateral relationship between a leader and subordinates and the effectiveness of leadership. This perspective oversimplifies the leadership because it is impossible to ignore the impact of second-level superior on the leadership effectiveness in a real organizational setting. Thus, this study expanded the leadership perspective by examining the relationship of ‘subordinate - leader - second-level superior’ and focused the counterproductive leader behavior. In this study investigating the trickle-down effects of second-level superior’s abusive supervision, leader’s transformational leadership and abusive supervision were used as the mediating variables of the relationships between second-level superior’s abusive supervision and outcome variables (subordinate’s trust in leader, LMX). Based on several theories such as social exchange theory, norm of reciprocity, and displaced aggression theory, the hypotheses were developed and they were: second-level superior’s abusive supervision will be positively related to leader’s abusive supervision (H1) and negatively related to leader’s transformational leadership (H2); leader’s abusive supervision will mediate the relationships between second-level superior’s abusive supervision and subordinate’s trust in leader (H3a), and LMX (H4a); leader’s transformational leadership will mediate the relationships between second-level superior’s abusive supervision and subordinate’s trust in leader (H3b), and LMX (H4b); second-level superior’s abusive supervision will be negatively associated to subordinate’s trust in leader (H5). In order to test the hypotheses, the data were collected from 356 officers and NCOs (231leader-subordinate dyads) using surveys. The results of structural equation modeling supported all the hypotheses. The present findings have several theoretical implications. First, the direct effects of secondlevel superior’s abusive supervision on transformational leadership and leader’s abusive supervision imply that leader’s leader roles are important antecedents of leader’s effectiveness, and suggest that transformational leadership is a kind of discretionary leadership style. Second, we expanded the antecedents of the abusive supervision into second-level superior’s abusive supervision, and verified new consequences (trust in leader, LMX) of the abusive supervision. Finally, the current investigation suggests that the second-level superior’s behavior is one of the determinants of trust in leader beyond isolated leader-subordinate dyad. In conclusion, this research clarified the significant impact of a leader’s leader on the leader’s leadership effectiveness and the discretionary characteristic of transformational leadership. This findings suggest that the perspective of the trilateral relationship between subordinate - leader - second-level superior is more appropriate than the bilateral relationship between leader and subordinate for explaining the leadership phenomena.