Workplace ostracism, paranoid employees and service performance: a multilevel investigation

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the literature on victim precipitation theory, workplace ostracism (WO) and paranoia, this paper examines the mediating role of WO on the paranoia–service performance (SP) relationship. This paper further postulates that team cognitive diversity (TCD) moderates the paranoia–WO relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 228 nurses from a leading hospital located in an eastern province of China. Hypotheses developed from the literature were tested using multivariate hierarchical linear modeling (HLM).

Findings

WO had a negative effect on SP, while TCD had a positive effect on WO. Cognitive diversity moderated the paranoia–WO relationship, such that the positive relationship was stronger when group diversity was high.

Originality/value

This paper develops and tests a model exploring the antecedents of WO and its effect on SP.

Citation

Al-Atwi, A.A., Cai, Y. and Amankwah-Amoah, J. (2021), "Workplace ostracism, paranoid employees and service performance: a multilevel investigation", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 121-137. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-01-2020-0008