Exploring the Traces of Corporate Stockholm Syndrome, with Alexei Koveshnikov and Cecile Dejoux
Highlights
While empirical research on toxic workplace is growing, little is known about why employees stay and even engage in their work in such hostile environments. This phenomenon has been called Corporate Stockholm Syndrome referring to employees who identify with or remain loyal to hostile supervisors and organizations. With almost no extant research on the topic, in this study, we specifically focus on employees in such toxic workplaces where they are subjected to either abusive
or authoritarian leadership, excessive organizational control and excessively long working hours. We use a comparative qualitative analysis to identify different combinations of factors comprising leader and organizational identification, career self-management and perceived overqualification, power distance and tenure to explain these employees’ retention and work engagement. In this way, our study is among the first to explore the nature and antecedents of Corporate Stockholm Syndrome and related attitudes and behaviors among employees in toxic organizations.
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Sustainable Development Goals
Cite
Wechtler, H., Koveshnikov, A., & Dejoux, C. (2020). Staying and Engaging in Work Against the Odds: Investigating Corporate Stockholm Syndrome. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2020, No. 1, p. 19064). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.