Publication Date
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Nathan Bowling (Advisor), Gary Burns (Committee Member), David Lahuis (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) harm organizations and their members (Bennett & Robinson, 2000; Niehoff & Paul, 2000). CWBs, however, often go unnoticed by management. Peer reporting, which refers to employees notifying organizational authorities of their peers’ CWBs, can help the organization detect CWBs. Employees, however, are generally hesitant to peer report (Bowling & Lyons, 2015; Treviño & Victor, 1992). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the mechanisms by which the organization, supervisor, and the workgroup might each facilitate employees’ peer reporting of CWBs. Drawing from situational strength theory, I argue that the organizational peer reporting policies, supervisors’ encouragement to peer report, and workgroup norms regarding peer reporting each create a “strong” peer reporting situation in which employees are more likely to peer report. Furthermore, I argue that commitment to the organization, supervisor, and workgroup moderates the respective relationships of organizational policies, supervisors’ encouragement, and workgroup norms with employees’ peer reporting of CWBs. Using a sample of workers from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk; N = 450), I found that organizational commitment moderates the relationship between organizational peer reporting policies and peer reporting of CWBs targeted at the organization. My findings have important practical and theoretical implications for the peer reporting literature.
Page Count
114
Department or Program
Department of Psychology
Year Degree Awarded
2017
Copyright
Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
