Impact of abusive supervision on intention to leave: a moderated mediation model of organizational-based self esteem and emotional exhaustion

This study was aimed to offer and test a novel model explaining how abusive supervision enhances employees’ intention to leave in a high-power distance society of Pakistan. Drawing from the unfolding model of voluntary turnover as an overarching theory, we proposed that emotional exhaustion will strengthen the relationship between abusive supervision and intention to leave, and organizational-based self esteem (OBSE) will mitigate this relationship. Data were collected from 277 respondents working in the banking sector of Pakistan at two points in time. Results showed that abusive supervision has both direct and indirect impact on intention to leave such that emotional exhaustion strengthens this relationship. It was also found that OBSE mitigates the mediated relationship between abusive supervision and intention to leave. The study brings evidence of abusive supervision and its impacts from a high-power distance-oriented country i.e., Pakistan.