A moderated mediation model of workplace ostracism and task performance

Abstract

Purpose Ostracism within organizations may pose communication challenges and reduce opportunities for interactions, potentially affecting coworker knowledge sharing and subsequent performance outcomes. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether knowledge sharing mediates the association between workplace ostracism and employees’ task performance, and whether the mediating effect is moderated by task interdependence. Design/methodology/approach Matched data were collected from a two-wave survey among 210 employees and their direct supervisors who work in two Chinese enterprises. Findings Results indicate that workplace ostracism is negatively associated with task performance and that knowledge sharing mediates this relation. Further, task interdependence exacerbated the main effect of workplace ostracism and the indirect effect of knowledge sharing. Originality/value This paper offers an alternative perspective (i.e. pragmatic impacts of workplace ostracism) to understand how workplace ostracism undermines employees’ task performance. Moreover, the findings emphasize that contextual factors may strengthen the detrimental effects of workplace ostracism in the practical domain.

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