Why we harm the organization for a perpetrator's actions: The roles of unforgiveness, group betrayal, and group embodiment in displaced revenge

Abstract

The present article aims to elucidate whether offender unforgiveness predicts organizationally targeted displaced revenge and whether this effect occurs because offender-directed feelings spill over to shape feelings towards the group. Two studies (Study 1a/1b) showed that unforgiveness predicts organizationally directed displaced revenge in the form of counterproductive workplace behaviours against an organization, mediated by perceived group betrayal. Study 2 investigated whether the relationships between unforgiveness, perceived group betrayal, and displaced revenge are moderated by group embodiment: the extent to which the offender is closely connected to, identified with, and in alignment with the group. With an experimental design that manipulated group embodiment and transgressor status, we found that unforgiveness and perceived group betrayal predict higher levels of displaced revenge under conditions of high rather than low group embodiment. Study 2 further showed that displaced revenge intentions operate in addition to, not in place of, revenge intentions towards the offender. Implications are discussed.

Comment on van Knippenberg and Lee (2023): SOE is walking the talk of the organization

“…Other embodiment. SOE has also been used to extend our understanding of organizational embodiment to other organizational members or entities, such as Manager Organizational Embodiment and Employee Organizational Embodiment (Rice, Mchiri, & Massey, 2022), Group Organizational Embodiment (Stackhouse, Boon, & Paulin, 2023), and even HR Organizational Embodiment (Kim, Clark, & Messersmith, 2022). It is easy to see how the HR department can embody the organization, but it is not clear how HR prototypically can apply or even be useful in terms of organizational research questions.…”