The Influence of Workplace Ostracism on Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Mediating Effect of State Self-Control

We investigated the influence of workplace ostracism (WOS) on counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and the mediating effect of state self-control (SSC) on the above relationship, in a Chinese cultural context. We based our study on the theory of self-control resources. To avoid common method bias, we examined our hypotheses with 356 pairs of supervisor-subordinate dyads and collected data from 26 enterprises in central China. We used structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that WOS was positively related to both organizational and interpersonal employee CWB. In addition, the results showed that SSC mediated the relationship between WOS and CWB. Implications for theory and management are discussed.