The Spiral of Incivility in Police Organizations: Pathways to Enacted Incivility and the Moderating Role of Organizational Culture

This study examines the spiral of incivility within police organizations, with a focus on how incivility spreads through interactions with superiors and peers/subordinates. Due to the hierarchical structure and authoritarian culture inherent in police organizations, the diffusion of incivility can extend beyond interpersonal conflicts, potentially affecting overall organizational performance. To empirically analyze how organizational culture moderates the process of incivility transmission, this research explores the pathways to enacted incivility—specifically, how incivility from superiors, peers, and subordinates is internalized and enacted by individuals. The findings reveal that hierarchical culture strengthens the transmission of incivility from superiors while simultaneously inhibiting the spread of incivility from peers and subordinates, indicating differential moderating effects. Additionally, group culture tends to amplify the relationship between superior incivility and enacted incivility, whereas both developmental and rational cultures serve to mitigate the transmission of incivility. These findings emphasize the critical importance of fostering a healthy organizational culture in police organizations and suggest the need for targeted interventions to prevent the spread of incivility, thereby improving both organizational performance and employee well-being.