The Effect of Organizational Cynicism on Tendency to Deviant Behaviours; the Moderating Role Leadership Style

Workplace deviant behavior is one aspect of organizational behavior which due to its cost, has grabbed the attention of organizational behavior experts in recent decades. Studies on the origin of workplace deviant behavior reveal that organizational cynicism is one of the most important factors which affects deviant behavior. Workplace deviant behavior due to cynicism is influenced by the leadership style because the leader’s actions directly affect employee’s behavior. When employees perceive the relationship with their leader is valuable they may reciprocate by, for example, displaying more positive behavior. In contrast, when employees perceive underrated feedbacks by their supervisors, they are expected to respond in a negative way in order to restore the balance. This study investigates the effect of organizational cynicism on the tendency towards deviant behaviors and the moderating effect of leader-member exchange between organizational cynicism and tendency to deviant behaviors. Using a sample consisting of 136 employees in an oil contracting company in Asaluyeh, this study found organizational cynicism affects positively on the tendency to deviant behaviors and leader-member exchange has moderating effect between organizational cynicism and tendency to deviant behaviors.