Vicarious Abusive Supervision and Employee Silence: Exploring the Contingent Role of Emotional Contagion and the Mediating Role of Fear

Purpose Drawing on affective events theory, this study aims to investigate the association between vicarious abusive supervision and defensive silence, examine fear as a mediating mechanism associated with this relationship and explore the moderating role of emotional contagion in shaping employees' emotional and behavioral responses to vicarious abusive supervision. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey was conducted to collect time-lagged data from 422 employees in Korean manufacturing companies. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the PROCESS macro. Findings Vicarious abusive supervision exhibited a positive association with fear, which in turn mediated its relationship with defensive silence. Furthermore, emotional contagion strengthened the positive association between vicarious abusive supervision and fear, as well as the indirect relationship between vicarious abusive supervision and defensive silence through fear. Originality/value This study advances the literature on workplace mistreatment and employee silence by suggesting that observing supervisory abuse directed toward coworkers may contribute to employees' fear and defensive silence. By integrating the concept of emotional contagion, the study explains why fear-related silence associated with observed abuse may be more pronounced in some employees than in others.