Thriving Organizational Sustainability through Innovation: Incivility Climate and Teamwork

The present study examines the association between team incivility climate and team members' perceived support for innovation. To extend findings on the negative effects of incivility (which are low intensity deviant behaviors, such as rudeness) in studies focusing on the individual level, the effects of organizational incivility are examined at the work team level. Drawing on the spiral model of incivility and the literature on teams, this study suggests that team incivility climate has a negative impact on perceived support for innovation through team members' teamwork behaviors. Using data collected from 411 subordinates on 62 work teams, the hypothesized mediation model is tested. The results show a negative effect of team incivility climate on teamwork and a positive effect of teamwork on perceived support for innovation, supporting the hypothesized negative indirect effect. Research and practical implications for organizational sustainability are discussed.