A meta-analytic comparison of why workplace ostracism relates to discretionary behavior

Abstract

It is well established that the victims of workplace ostracism (WO) engage in fewer organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and more counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWB). However, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of why these relationships exist. To advance current comprehension of intermediary processes within this domain, we investigate the leading conceptual account, belongingness theory, alongside two theoretically compelling alternatives: social exchange and self-regulatory resources. Drawing on meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) and data generated from 160 samples, we investigate two possible mediational models: (a) a competitive model that directly pits the three mechanisms against one another, and (b) a sequential integrative model that combines them. Overall, our findings indicate that even though belongingness is a key mediating process, social exchange and resource mechanisms are critical and complement it. Furthermore, our results suggest the nature of the explanatory mechanisms is nuanced and depends not only on the outcome under investigation (i.e., OCB versus CWB), but also the mediational model tested (i.e., competitive mediation versus sequential mediation). Secondarily, in our study, we control for other forms of mistreatment, such as workplace incivility, and demonstrate that the effect of WO is incremental and independent of other forms of mistreatment. Findings are discussed in terms of how they advance WO theory as well as our understanding of why WO relates to CWB and OCB.