Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) Antecedents and the Moderating Effect of High Performance Work System: A Study of Banking Industry in Malaysia

Abstract

Counterproductive work behavior has been defined as any behavior that violates organizational norms in a way that is harmful to either the organization itself, to the members of the organization, or to both (Robinson & Bennett, 1995). Some of these behaviors include theft (Hollinger and Clark, 1983; Wimbush and Dalton, 1997), absenteeism (Johns, 1997), and various forms of aggression (Folger and Baron, 1996; Greenberg and Alge, 1998;). Robinson and Bennett (1995) have developed taxonomy of deviant workplace behavior categorizing interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance. From their point of view, organizational deviance includes a) forms of production deviance which are behaviors that violate organizational norms regarding the minimal quantity and quality of work to be accomplished and b) property deviance, which is defined as instances when employees acquire or damage the tangible property or assets of the work organization without authorization and other behaviors such as stealing from the company and/or sabotaging equipment. Interpersonal deviance includes acts of political deviance, which are behaviors defined as social interaction that puts other individuals at a personal or political disadvantage.