Date of Award

12-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Richard L. Griffith

Second Advisor

Lisa A. Steelman

Third Advisor

Gary N. Burns

Fourth Advisor

Heidi Hatfield Edwards

Abstract

Revenge is a multifaceted behavior that manifests in various forms. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine a particular form of revenge known as malicious compliance, which has yet to be sufficiently researched. A two-study approach was used to examine malicious compliance. In the first study, qualitative data was collected from an online forum for sharing malicious compliance experiences. In the second study, 352 participants completed a mixed-methods survey online. Data from both studies was analyzed in RStudio and MAXQDA. Study 1 utilized unsupervised machine learning techniques, non-machine learning techniques, and thematic coding techniques to analyze the forum dataset. Study 2 utilized Structural Equation Modeling techniques, descriptive analyses, and thematic coding techniques to analyze the survey dataset. Findings from Study 1 revealed that negative sentiment, including fear and anger, dominated the dataset. Additionally, three overarching themes in the data were found, namely perceived workplace injustice and disrespect, strategic subversive compliance, and repercussions of tactical compliance. Findings from Study 2 revealed a significant positive relationship between vengeance inclinations and malicious compliance and a marginally significant positive relationship between maladaptive rumination and malicious compliance. The majority of participants indicated a preference to engage in malicious compliance over five other revenge options, and themes related to covert retaliation and strategic retribution were uncovered in relation to explanations for this preference. Overall, these findings add novel insights to the limited research on malicious compliance. These findings also provide organizations with evidence of determinants that may affect employees’ likelihood of engaging in malicious compliance.

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