scholarly journals Leader Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior and Employee Unethical Conduct: Social Learning of Moral Disengagement as a Behavioral Principle

2020 ◽  
pp. 014920632095969
Author(s):  
Huiwen Lian ◽  
Mingyun Huai ◽  
Jiing-Lih Farh ◽  
Jia-Chi Huang ◽  
Cynthia Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Power Distance Orientation ◽  
Unethical Behaviors ◽  
High Power Distance

Unethical behavior in organizations has attracted much attention among researchers, yet we know little about when and why unethical behavior conducted by leaders that is intended to benefit the organization—or leader unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB)—might translate into employee unethical behavior. Drawing on a social-learning-of-principle perspective, which proposes that people can learn the principles that govern observed behaviors, we propose that employees, especially those with a high power distance orientation, can abstract and learn a moral disengagement behavioral principle by observing leader UPB. This learned moral disengagement behavioral principle then enables them to engage in unethical behaviors that may be intended to benefit or harm their organizations. In two multiwave field studies with data collected from real estate agents, we found overall support for our theoretical model but the moderating effect of power distance orientation. We discuss some key theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

scholarly journals Effects of supervisor bottom-line mentality on subordinate unethical pro-organizational behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 419-434
Author(s):  
Yun Zhang ◽  
Bin He ◽  
Qihai Huang ◽  
Jun Xie
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Power Distance Orientation ◽  
Moderating Role

PurposeThis study aims to examine how supervisor bottom-line mentality (BLM) influences subordinate unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), considering the mediating role of subordinate moral disengagement and the moderating role of their power-distance orientation.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical model was tested using two-wave data collected from employees of five firms in southern China.FindingsSubordinate moral disengagement was found to mediate the positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate UPB. Furthermore, for subordinates with high power-distance orientation, the positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate moral disengagement and the indirect positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate UPB were both strengthened.Practical implicationsFirst, organizations should train their employees to pursue goals ethically based on established standards and policies for acceptable behavior and to punish UPB. Second, organizations should strengthen employees' ethics and reduce their likelihood of moral disengagement. Finally, organizations should create an environment that allows subordinates to question their supervisors’ BLM.Originality/valueFirst, the results demonstrate that supervisor BLM is an antecedent of subordinate UPB. Second, the study sheds important new light on how employees respond to supervisor BLM through cognitive processes. Third, it examines the moderating role of subordinate power-distance orientation between supervisor BLM, moral disengagement and UPB.

Crossing Ethical Boundaries in the Pursuit of Passion: How Passion Gaps Cause Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Jachimowicz ◽  
Zachary Brown ◽  
Joel Brockner ◽  
Adam Galinsky
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
The Self ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Chain Analysis ◽  
Predicting Success

Many contemporary organizations encourage their employees' pursuit of passion for work. However, we propose that this strategy may simultaneously increase the likelihood their employees engage in unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), immoral acts that benefit the company. Specifically, we suggest that when employees fall short of desired levels of work passion-i.e., when they experience a "passion gap"-their sense of self is threatened. One way employees deal with the self-threat elicited by passion gaps is by engaging in UPB, which gives them the feeling that they are worthy organizational members. Eight studies (N = 2,695)-including two field studies, an experimental-causal-chain analysis, and two intervention studies-provide support for the proposed relationships between passion gaps, self-threat, and the tendency to engage in UPB. Two interventions highlight factors that directly attenuate the self-threat prompted by passion gaps: (1) having employees engage in self-affirmation, and (2) de-emphasizing the role of passion in predicting success. Our results suggest that organizations' increased emphasis on the pursuit of passion may have an unintended consequence: it leads those employees who fall short of desired levels of passion to engage in unethical behavior designed to help the company, which may harm the organization in the long-run.

Egoistic norms, organizational identification, and the perceived ethicality of unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moral maturation perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1249-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A Graham ◽  
Christian J Resick ◽  
Jaclyn A Margolis ◽  
Ping Shao ◽  
Michael B Hargis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Moral Knowledge ◽  
Ethical Judgments ◽  
The Right

Do some employees engage in unethical behavior because they actually believe it is the right thing to do? We explore this question in this article. Unlike other forms of unethical behavior, unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) is aimed at benefiting the perpetrator’s organization. We propose that employees are increasingly likely to engage in UPB when they believe these acts are ethically appropriate, and that these ethicality beliefs are strongest among employees who work in departments with egoistic norms. Such norms lack guidance on the importance of protecting outside stakeholders’ interest, and provide limited moral knowledge about the broader implications of UPB. We further propose that organizational identification strengthens these effects. Across three field studies, we find support for the hypothesized effects. Ethical judgments of UPB were positively related to both self (Studies 1 and 3) and supervisor (Study 2) ratings of employee UPB. In turn, acts of UPB were judged more ethically appropriate in departments with egoistic norms, and these positive ethical judgments mediated the relationships between egoistic norms and employee UPB (Study 2). Finally, the indirect effects of egoistic norms were strongest among employees with high levels of organizational identification (Study 3). Implications for theory and research are discussed.

Organizational Control Policy, Information Security Deviance, and Moderating Effect of Power Distance Orientation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Youngkeun Choi
Keyword(s):  
Information Security ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Organizational Control ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Deviant Behaviors ◽  
Computer Abuse ◽  
Power Distance Orientation

Researchers generally believe that organizational control can deter employees' information security deviant behaviors. However, these relationships are not always observed. Based on the cognitive appraisal theory, this study extends the content domain of information security research by examining the moderating effect of power distance orientation, a kind of cultural value, on these relationships. In the results, first, the severity of penalty and the certainty of detection decreases employees' computer abuse. Second, employee power distance orientation moderates the relationships of the severity of penalty with employee computer abuse, such that the negative relationships are stronger for employees with higher power distance orientation. The findings suggest the deterrent function of cultural values employees hold in organizational behavior.

scholarly journals Moral Disengagement Level of Team Athletes Depending on Unethical Behaviors They Perceived from Their Coaches

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Burcu Guvendi ◽  
Ayse Turksoy Isim
Keyword(s):  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
National Team ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Unethical Behaviors ◽  
Pearson Correlation Analysis

The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between moral disengagement level of team athletes and unethical behaviors they perceived from their coaches by examining moral disengagement level of team athletes depending on unethical behaviors they perceived from their coaches. The target population of the study consists of 305 team athletes whose age average is 20.45 ± 4.68 and who are training with the same trainer for average of 2.01 ± 1.69 years and from basketball, football and volleyball branches. In this study, “Moral Disengagement in Sport” and “Athlete’s Perception about Coaches’ Unethical Behaviors” scales have been used as data collection tools. Descriptive statistics, t test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation analysis were used for the analysis of data. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that there was a positive low level of correlation between moral disengagement and athlete’s perception about unethical behaviors of the coach. Younger athletes have a higher perception about unethical behavior they perceived from coaches. Moral disengagement scores of male athletes, athletes who did not take part in national team and athletes who were punished were significantly higher. Significant difference was observed in moral disengagement and in the sub-dimensions of the athletes’ perception about their coaches’ unethical behavior scales by branch. When the meeting level of athletes with their coaches in the social environment examined, it was seen that there was a significant difference in all sub-dimensions of the athlete’s perception regarding the coach’s unethical behaviors scale. When athlete’s level of communication with their coaches was examined, there was a significant difference in all sub-dimensions of the athlete’s perception regarding the coach’s unethical behaviors scale. As a result, as the level of unethical behavior that athletes perceived from their coaches increases, the level of moral disengagement also increases.

scholarly journals Constituency Norms Facilitate Unethical Negotiation Behavior Through Moral Disengagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 969-991
Author(s):  
Hillie Aaldering ◽  
Alfred Zerres ◽  
Wolfgang Steinel
Keyword(s):  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Organizational Practice ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Unethical Conduct ◽  
Negotiation Tactics ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Mere Presence

Abstract While organizations strive for ethical conduct, the activity of negotiating offers strong temptations to employ unethical tactics and secure benefits for one’s own party. In four experiments, we examined the role of constituency communication in terms of their attitudes towards (un)ethical and competitive conduct on negotiators’ willingness and actual use of unethical tactics. We find that the mere presence of a constituency already increased representatives’ willingness to engage in unethical behavior (Experiment 1). More specifically, a constituency communicating liberal (vs. strict) attitudes toward unethical conduct helps negotiators to justify transgressions and morally disengage from their behavior, resulting in an increased use of unethical negotiation tactics (Experiment 2–3). Moreover, constituents’ endorsement of competitive strategies sufficed to increase moral disengagement and unethical behavior of representative negotiators in a similar fashion (Experiment 4ab). Our results caution organizational practice against advocating explicit unethical and even competitive tactics by constituents: it eases negotiators’ moral dilemma towards unethical conduct.

An Examination of the Link between Leader Motivating Language and Follower Interactional Justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 232948842110112
Author(s):  
Albi Alikaj ◽  
Doreen Hanke
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Interactional Justice ◽  
Uncertainty Avoidance ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Interpersonal Justice ◽  
Informational Justice ◽  
Power Distance Orientation ◽  
Motivating Language ◽  
The Relationship

The study examines the relationship between leaders’ use of motivating language and their workers’ perceived interactional justice, that is, interpersonal and informational justice. The study also examines the influence of workers’ levels of power distance and uncertainty avoidance orientations on these relationships. We test the proposed model by conducting structural equation modeling using data from a sample of 505 participants. The findings show a positive relationship between leaders’ use of motivating language and their workers’ perceived interpersonal and informational justice. Furthermore, the study confirms our hypotheses that workers’ power distance orientation negatively moderates the relationship between leaders’ use of motivating language and workers’ perceived interpersonal justice and that workers’ uncertainty avoidance orientation negatively moderates the relationship between leaders’ use of motivating language and workers’ perceived informational justice.

Determinants of Public Service Career Choice in Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Yongjin Chang
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Bureaucratic Power ◽  
High Power Distance

This study examines factors influencing public service career choice in developing countries through case studies and a survey. Based on the results of these case studies and survey, I conclude that job security, public service motivation, social recognition and status, and the opportunity for career development are important determinants in why individuals in developing countries choose a public service career. Bureaucratic power and family-related factors also play a role and reflect the high power distance and collectivist culture of developing countries.

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