Effect of abusive supervision on emotional exhaustion and organizational citizenship behavior: a moderating role of workplace friendship

Purpose This study uses the Conservation of Resource theory to examine the influence of abusive supervision on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via emotional exhaustion, using a moderated mediation framework. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was adapted to collect data from 212 full-time employees in 22 private health centers in Nineveh governorate in Iraq in two waves. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses. Findings This study suggests that workplace friendship reduces the positive relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion of employees and reduces the negative indirect effect of abusive supervision on OCB. Originality/value First, this study provides academicians with a better understanding of the moderating effect of workplace friendship on the relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion and then its impact on OCB. Second, the paper is one of the few studies that dealt with the abusive supervision in the health sector using data from the Middle East in Iraq, while most leadership research is conducted in the western part of the world.