11. MANAGEMENT

THE MODERATING ROLE OF LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPLOITATIVE LEADERSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE HIDING IN THE SRI LANKAN BANKING SECTOR

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

THE MODERATING ROLE OF LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPLOITATIVE LEADERSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE HIDING IN THE SRI LANKAN BANKING SECTOR Manjula, S.; Mayuran, L.; Thasika, T. The Sri Lankan banking sector, a crucial economic pillar, grapples with knowledge hiding (KH), where employees intentionally conceal vital work information, hindering innovation, efficiency, risk management, and overall organizational success. This research examines the relationship between exploitative leadership (EL) and KH within this context, drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET). It also examines whether the quality of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) can mitigate this negative effect. Despite existing research, the moderating role of LMX in this specific industry remains underexplored. This study aims to determine whether the quality of LMX can buffer the tendency of employees to hide knowledge when led exploitatively in Sri Lankan banks, ultimately providing insights for fostering knowledge sharing and enhancing organizational effectiveness in this critical sector. Data for this study were gathered from 253 banking sector employees in Sri Lanka via questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship between EL and KH (r = 0.52, p < 0.01), indicating that higher perceptions of EL are significantly associated with increased KH. Additionally, EL showed a moderate negative correlation with LMX (r = -0.41, p < 0.01), suggesting that perceptions of EL coincide with poorer leader-member relationships. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed these findings: EL positively predicted KH (β = 0.52, p < 0.001), while LMX negatively predicted KH (β = -0.33, p < 0.001), demonstrating that strong leader-member relationships reduce KH behaviors. Importantly, the interaction effect between LMX and EL was significant (β = -0.28, p = 0.001), indicating that high-quality LMX moderates and weakens the positive relationship between EL and KH, especially when employees perceive a strong leader-member relationship. Conversely, low-quality LMX strengthens the link between exploitative leadership and knowledge hiding. These findings underscore the importance of fostering positive leader-member relationships in mitigating KH behaviors in exploitative environments within Sri Lankan banks. This study’s cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and self reported data may involve response bias. Future research should consider longitudinal methods and explore other moderators like organizational culture or psychological safety. Broader sectoral or cultural comparisons could improve generalizability.

ABUSIVE SUPERVISION AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVIANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF NEGATIVE RECIPROCITY IN APPAREL INDUSTRY

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

ABUSIVE SUPERVISION AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVIANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF NEGATIVE RECIPROCITY IN APPAREL INDUSTRY Mayuran, L.; Thasika, T.; Shamini, S. The Sri Lankan apparel industry, known for its ethical manufacturing and global brand partnerships, remains the country’s most vibrant and labor-intensive economic contributor. This sector operates under high-pressure conditions and strict hierarchical structures, demands productivity and discipline, often at the expense of employee well-being. Within such contexts, workplace behaviors, both constructive and counterproductive, carry significant implications. One notable concern is organizational deviance, which encompasses voluntary behavior that violates organizational norms and harms the employer. While positive leadership is often promoted to enhance conduct, the dark side of leadership, that is, abusive supervision, which is conceptualized as a pattern of hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviors by supervisors, has gained attention for its potential to trigger deviant responses. Grounded in the Displaced Aggression Theory, this study explores how employees subjected to such mistreatment may redirect their frustration toward the organization rather than confront their supervisors. Furthermore, the study examines how negative reciprocity orientation, or the inclination to reciprocate harmful treatment, may moderate this relationship, intensifying the likelihood of organizational deviance. A cross-sectional, quantitative research design was employed using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Convenience sampling was used to collect the data, producing 170 valid responses from 200 questionnaires given to workers in Sri Lankan apparel sector organisations. Negative reciprocity, organisational deviance, and abusive supervision were measured using validated instruments. Both direct and interaction effects were tested using SPSS's hierarchical regression analysis. Abusive supervision was positively associated with organizational deviance (β = 0.41, p < 0.001), indicating that higher levels of supervisory abuse were linked to increased deviant behaviours against the organization. The moderating impact was supported by the substantial interaction term between negative reciprocity and abusive supervision (β = -0.19, p < 0.01). According to a simple slope study, employees with high negative reciprocity exhibited a stronger relationship with abusive supervision and deviance (simple slope = 0.52, p < 0.001), whereas employees with low negative reciprocity showed a weaker association (simple slope = 0.28, p < 0.05). The model explained 47% of the variance in workplace deviance (R2 = 0.47). This study demonstrates that abusive supervision significantly contributes to organizational deviance, especially among employees with a high tendency for negative reciprocity, the findings support the Displaced Aggression Theory. When these people are mistreated by supervisors, they are more likely to indirectly retaliate against the company. Consequently, abusive supervision has a greater impact on deviant behavior when there is a negative reciprocity orientation. The findings draw attention to the hidden costs of toxic leadership and emphasize how crucial it is to comprehend how different employees react to mistreatment by their supervisors.

ABUSIVE SUPERVISION AND WORKPLACE DEVIANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF POWER DISTANCE IN IT ORGANIZATIONS

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

ABUSIVE SUPERVISION AND WORKPLACE DEVIANCE: THE MODERATING ROLE OF POWER DISTANCE IN IT ORGANIZATIONS Thasika, T.; Mayuran, L. Abusive supervision is a growing concern in high-pressure environments such as Information Technology (IT) organizations. Guided by displaced aggression theory, this study investigates how such supervisory mistreatment can lead employees to engage in workplace deviance, defined as voluntary behavior that violates organizational norms and causes harm. When direct confrontation with abusive supervisors is perceived as risky or inappropriate, employees may redirect their frustration toward the organization through deviant actions. Furthermore, the study examines the moderating role of power distance orientation, the extent to which individuals accept and expect unequal power distribution. Employees with a high-power distance orientation are more likely to tolerate hierarchical authority and refrain from retaliatory behavior. In contrast, those with a low power distance orientation may be less accepting of unjust authority and more prone to react negatively. A cross-sectional, quantitative approach was employed using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. A total of 300 surveys were distributed among employees in Sri Lankan IT organizations, yielding 230 valid responses through convenience sampling. Validated scales were used to measure abusive supervision, organizational deviance, and power distance. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted using SPSS to test direct and interaction effects. Abusive supervision was positively associated with organizational deviance (β = 0.41, p < 0.001), indicating that higher levels of supervisory abuse led to increased deviant behaviors toward the organization. The interaction term between abusive supervision and power distance was significant (β = -0.19, p < 0.01), confirming the moderating effect. A simple slope analysis revealed that the relationship between abusive supervision and deviance was stronger among employees with low power distance orientation (simple slope = 0.52, p < 0.001), while the relationship was weaker for those with high power distance (simple slope = 0.28, p < 0.05). The model explained 38% of the variance in workplace deviance (R² = 0.38). The findings support displaced aggression theory by showing that abusive supervision fosters organizational deviance, especially among employees who do not accept hierarchical inequality. Power distance plays a buffering role in this relationship. Managers must recognize the hidden costs of abusive behaviors and consider employees’ cultural orientations.

DETERMINANTS OF VOLUNTARY TAX COMPLIANCE INTENTION OF INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS IN SRI LANKA: A CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

DETERMINANTS OF VOLUNTARY TAX COMPLIANCE INTENTION OF INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS IN SRI LANKA: A CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS Perera, K. H.; Kumara, A. S.; Munasinghe, M. A. T. K. Voluntary tax compliance plays a critical role in ensuring fiscal sustainability and reducing dependence on external borrowing. Despite numerous policy reforms and legal amendments, Sri Lanka continues to experience persistently low tax compliance, highlighting the need to identify and understand the underlying factors that influence voluntary tax compliance among individual taxpayers. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the factors affecting voluntary tax compliance of individual taxpayers in Sri Lanka. This study is exploratory in nature and employed secondary data obtained from empirical research literature and theoretical foundations. A comprehensive review of 642 peer-reviewed articles on tax compliance was conducted using VOSviewer software; while four main theories namely the slippery slope framework, theory of planned behaviour, tax fairness theory, and economic deterrence theory were analysed in depth. Bibliometrics mapping was used to identify thematic patterns, research gaps, and underexplored variables in the existing literature while the content analysis investigated the fundamental propositions of selected theories. Both analyses were triangulated to arrive at the factors affecting voluntary tax compliance. It was found that there is a significant gap in literature concerning the role of personal values. In response, this study categorizes influencing factors into tax system related, government related, and personal value related dimensions. It positions personal values such as ethical responsibility, trust, and civic norms as an essential variable influencing tax behaviour, a perspective that remains underexplored in the Sri Lankan context. This offers strategic insights to policymakers for designing value-aligned, trust-enhancing tax policies that promote long-term tax compliance. Hence, this study contributes to advancing both academic understanding and practical frameworks for voluntary tax compliance.