Date of Award
2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Castro, Stephanie L.
Abstract
The present research investigates entitlement in the workplace through three related papers—a review and two empirical studies. In the first paper, I conduct a review of entitlement and offer an agenda for future research. I examine entitlement’s various historical roots, definitions and conceptualizations, measures, theoretical frameworks, antecedents, consequences, and role as a moderator. I also outline avenues for future entitlement research and advocate for research that considers the effects of perceived coworker entitlement from a state perspective. Following the research agenda of paper one, I empirically delve into the negative effects of perceived coworker entitlement in the second two papers. Specifically, in the second paper I explore how the individual can mitigate the negative effects associated with perceived coworker entitlement and in the third paper I explore how the organization can mitigate the negative effects associated with perceived coworker entitlement. In the second paper, I utilize equity theory and referent cognitions theory to examine the relationships between perceived coworker entitlement and individual outcomes including in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, pay satisfaction, and counterproductive work behavior via psychological distress. I further explore the moderating role of individual difference variables including core-self evaluations, positive and negative affect, and equity sensitivity in the relationship between perceived coworker entitlement and psychological distress. Using a sample of 200 working adults, I found that core self-evaluations and equity sensitivity significantly moderate the relationship between perceived coworker entitlement and psychological distress. However, I did not find any significant mediation or moderated mediation relationships. In the third paper, I utilize fairness theory as a theoretical framework to study the relationships among perceived coworker entitlement, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and emotional exhaustion. I further explore the moderating role of Colquitt’s (2001) four dimensions of organizational justice: distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. Using the same sample of 200 working adults, I found that perceived coworker entitlement is negatively related to organizational citizenship behavior; distributive justice moderates the relationship between perceived coworker entitlement and emotional exhaustion; interpersonal justice moderates the relationship between perceived coworker entitlement and job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion; and informational justice moderates the relationship between perceived coworker entitlement and emotional exhaustion. Contributions to research, practical implications, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Extent
247 p.
Recommended Citation
Brant, Katarina K., "Entitlement in the Workplace" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 1917.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/1917
Identifier
FA00013043
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.