Barbaric Bullies, Tormented Targets, and Muddled Managers: An Expectancy Violations Theory Framework for Predicting Managerial Intervention to Alleviate Workplace Bullying

Bullying is a prevalent workplace problem that has received relatively little research attention addressing managerial intervention. We developed a framework and propositions based on the bullying literature and expectancy violations theory (EVT) for understanding managerial interventions aimed at ameliorating workplace bullying. The target's emotional responses to bullying, target's profile type, bully's profile type, and manager's perceptions of the bully's organizational value are considered as predictors of violations of the manager's expectations and intensity of managerial intervention. EVT provides a framework for understanding the components of workplace bullying relationships. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.