When and How Subordinate Performance Leads to Abusive Supervision: A Social Dominance Perspective

Seminar abstract

While we would typically expect poor performers to elicit abusive responses from their supervisors, we theorize that high performers may also be victims of abusive supervision. Specifically, we draw on social dominance theory to hypothesize and demonstrate that subordinate performance can have a positive, indirect effect on abusive supervision through the mediator of perceived threat to hierarchy. And this positive indirect effect prevails when the supervisor’s social dominance orientation is high. We found support for our theoretical model using data collected from supervisor–subordinate dyads.

How to attend this seminar

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

Join us online on Wednesday 18 May 2022 at 1pm.

Speaker bio

Dr. Abdul Karim Khan is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour & Coordinator DBA programme, Department of Leadership and Organizational Agility at the United Arab Emirates University. Prior to joining the United Arab Emirates University, he worked at Lahore University of Management Sciences for four years, where he headed the Ph.D in Management Programme.

He completed a Ph.D. in Organizational Behaviour at the Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management, France. During his stay in France, he also taught at the EMLyon Business School.

Dr Khan has a keen interest in analysing employee behaviour issues in an organizational context. He is specifically interested in understanding why high performers are abused and psychological interventions that can reduce non-supportive leadership behaviour. Other areas of interest are the role of emotions in the workplace and workplace justice. His recent work on the abuse of high performers was published in the Journal of Management, the field's leading peer-reviewed journal.

Since joining UAEU in January 2015, Dr Khan has published more than 25 research papers in reputed impact-factor journals. He has been working on many joint projects with colleagues from around the world. One of his papers won the award for best paper at 2015 Academy of Management Annual Meeting. Dr Khan won college award in research and scholarship for year 2019. He is also recipient of university awards for publishing in top journals.

Dr Khan has been a regular presenter at the Academy of Management's Annual Meetings since 2009. He has also been invited to speak as a keynote or plenary speaker at a range of international events.