Abusive Leadership and Turnover Intention: Mediating and Moderating Roles Across Cultural Contexts

This study aims to explore the impact of abusive supervision on employees' turnover intentions and the underlying mechanisms, comparing the differences between Chinese and French cultural contexts. By constructing multiple regression models, the study examines the mediating effects of work engagement and job insecurity, as well as the moderating role of emotional regulation ability. In the Chinese cultural context, abusive supervision significantly reduces employees' turnover intentions, with work engagement playing a mediating role. Emotional regulation ability weakens the indirect effect of abusive supervision on turnover intentions via job insecurity. The competitive nature of Chinese workplaces and the acceptance of strict management make abusive supervision tolerable under certain conditions. In the French cultural context, abusive supervision is positively correlated with turnover intentions, though the effect is weaker. Job insecurity acts as a mediator, while emotional regulation ability mitigates its negative impact. France's comprehensive labor protection system and employees' emotional regulation ability reduce the negative effects of abusive supervision. In conclusion, this study not only validates the mechanisms through which abusive supervision influences turnover intentions across different cultural contexts but also highlights the crucial roles of work engagement, job insecurity, and emotional regulation ability in this process. The findings provide practical recommendations for managers and policymakers, emphasizing the need to optimize leadership styles based on cultural contexts, enhance employees' emotional regulation abilities, and alleviate job insecurity to reduce turnover intentions.