Project in progress - Final report to be published here when available
The prevalence of workplace incivility in academic settings is on the rise. Understanding how university leaders navigate the accompanying subtle but damaging behaviours is critically important because perpetrators in this context are often ‘smart bullies’ who understand violence and harassment policy and can evade reprimand. The proposed project will explore workplace incivility from the perspective of the business school leaders, who experience it as victims and managers of the behaviours, based on three primary research questions:
- What acts of incivility are academic leaders experiencing?
- What impact does incivility have on the leaders who receive it?
- What strategies do academic leaders employ to manage incivility in their schools?
Ethical leadership theory will be used as a lens to examine the experiences of business faculty members in the roles of dean, vice dean, associate or assistant dean and department chair. The four universities selected for examination are Athabasca University, University of Alberta, University of Calgary and University of Lethbridge. The study will employ a qualitative research approach that integrates constructionist philosophy with inductive research methods and thematic analysis. Data sources will include interview recordings and transcripts, field notes, summaries, materials provided by participants and websites, and peer review literature.
The outcomes of the investigation include theoretical contributions to the organizational behaviour and educational leadership literature and practical recommendations for academic leaders, stakeholders and policymakers.
This study prepared by Leda Stawnychko (Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University), is supported by BSAC and funded through its grant competition program.
