Employee unethical behavior continues to be an area of interest as real-world business scandals persist. We investigate what happens after people engage in unethical behavior. Drawing from emotion ...theories (e.g., Tangney & Dearing, 2002) and the self-presentation literature (e.g., Leary & Miller, 2000), we first argue that people are socialized to experience shame after moral violations (Hypothesis 1). People then manage their shame and try to protect their self-images by engaging in exemplification behaviors (i.e., self-sacrificial behaviors that give the attribution of being a dedicated person; Hypothesis 2). We also examine the moderating role of supervisor bottom-line mentality (BLM; i.e., a supervisor's singular focus on pursuing bottom-line outcomes) in relation to our theoretical model. We argue that high supervisor BLM intensifies the employee unethical behavior to shame relationship (Hypothesis 3) and results in heightened exemplification as a way to protect one's self-image by portraying the self as a dedicated person who is worthy of association (Hypothesis 4). We test our theoretical model across 2 experimental studies and 2 field studies. Although our results provide general support for Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3, our results produced mixed findings for Hypothesis 4. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The purpose of this research is to provide a richer lens on the ethical organizational environment by examining the relationship between ethical leadership and unit‐level unethical behavior through ...ethical organizational climate (EOC), with collective moral identity as a boundary condition. In testing our theoretical model, we first develop and validate a measure of EOC to address concerns with existing measures of ethical climate. Second, we examine the role of collective moral identity as a moderator of the relationship between EOC and unit unethical behavior. We discuss implications regarding the importance of developing a more comprehensive conceptualization of EOC.
Drawing on social learning and moral identity theories, this research examines antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership. Additionally, this research empirically examines the distinctiveness ...of the ethical leadership construct when compared to related leadership constructs such as idealized influence, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. Consistently with the theoretically derived hypotheses, results from two studies of work units (n's = 115 and 195 units) provide general support for our theoretical model. Study 1 shows positive relationships between ethical leadership and leader "moral identity symbolization" and "moral identity internalization" (approaching significance) and a negative relationship between ethical leadership and unit unethical behavior and relationship conflict. In Study 2, both leader moral identity symbolization and internalization were positively related to ethical leadership and, with idealized influence, interpersonal justice, and informational justice controlled for, ethical leadership was negatively related to unit outcomes. In both studies, ethical leadership partially mediated the effects of leader moral identity.
Drawing on theory and research on ethical leadership and ethical climate, we examine ethical climate as a mediator of the relationship between ethical leadership and employee misconduct. Using a ...sample of 1,525 employees and their supervisors in 300 units in different organizations, we find support for our hypothesized model. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Drawing on self-regulation theory, we contribute to the abusive supervision literature by testing supervisors' self-regulation impairment as a key mediator of the relationship between subordinate ...deviance and abusive supervision. Further, given that the process underlying the relationship between subordinate deviance and abusive supervision may be explained by social exchange theory, we examine the differential strength of supervisor self-regulation impairment versus social exchange as mediating mechanisms. We also explore the moderating effects of subordinate performance and supervisor bottom-line mentality (i.e., a one-dimensional frame of mind that revolves around securing bottom-line outcomes to the neglect of competing priorities) on the relationship between subordinate deviance and supervisor self-regulation impairment. We found that supervisor self-regulation impairment mediated the relationship between subordinate deviance and abusive supervision, and the indirect effect was stronger in the presence of high subordinate performance and high supervisor bottom-line mentality. We then replicated these findings in a longitudinal field study across four time periods, and demonstrated that self-regulation impairment provides a stronger explanation for the relationship between subordinate deviance and abusive supervision than social exchange. The theoretical and practical implications of our research are discussed.
We propose that an employee's bottom-line mentality may have an important effect on social undermining behavior in organizations. Bottom-line mentality is defined as 1-dimensional thinking that ...revolves around securing bottom-line outcomes to the neglect of competing priorities. Across a series of studies, we establish an initial nomological network for bottom-line mentality. We also develop and evaluate a 4-item measure of bottom-line mentality. In terms of our theoretical model, we draw on social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977, 1986) to propose that supervisor bottom-line mentality is positively related to employee bottom-line mentality (Hypothesis 1). On the basis of conceptual arguments pertaining to bottom-line mentality (Callahan, 2004; Wolfe, 1988), we hypothesize that employee bottom-line mentality is positively related to social undermining (Hypothesis 2). We further predict a moderated-mediation model whereby the indirect effect of supervisor bottom-line mentality on social undermining, through employee bottom-line mentality, is moderated by employee core self-evaluations and conscientiousness (Hypothesis 3). We collected multisource field data to test our theoretical model (i.e., focal-supervisor-coworker triads; N = 113). Results from moderated-mediation analyses provide general support for our hypotheses. Theoretical and practical implications of bottom-line mentality and social undermining are discussed, and areas for future research are identified.
Drawing on trait activation theory, we examine a person-situation interactionist model to predict unethical behavior in organizations. In particular, we examine abusive supervision as a condition ...under which employee Machiavellianism (Mach) is activated and thus more strongly predicts unethical behavior. We offer a more fine-grained analysis of the Mach–trait activation process by specifically examining the interactive effect of each Mach dimension (viz., Distrust in Others, Desire for Control, Desire for Status, and Amoral Manipulation) and abusive supervision onto unethical behavior. We collected multisource field data to test our hypotheses across two studies. We then tested our theoretical model utilizing an experimental design. The results of our field studies indicate that the interaction of amoral manipulation and abusive supervision is the most predictive of unethical behavior, whereas our experimental findings indicate that the interaction of desire for control and abusive supervision is the primary predictor of unethical behavior. Implications for the Machiavellianism literature and trait activation theory are discussed.
Performance pressure focuses employee efforts toward enhanced performance. It is unclear, however, whether performance pressure serves as a productive or unproductive strategy for producing ...beneficial work behavior. Our research provides clarity on the dynamic nature of performance pressure. We theorize that reactions to performance pressure are influenced by daily fluctuations in how the pressure is appraised, and these fluctuations explain why performance pressure can be a double-edged sword, producing bright and dark side effects for organizations. We predict that, on a daily basis, performance pressure may be appraised as a threat, which promotes self-regulation depletion that explains dysfunctional behavior (i.e., incivility); daily performance pressure may also be appraised as a challenge, which elicits engagement that explains enhanced task proficiency and citizenship. Trait resilience is predicted to moderate these effects, promoting performance pressure to be appraised as a challenge rather than a threat, which then mitigates the depleting effects that produce dysfunctional behavior and enhances the engaging effects that produce functional behavior. Results from an experience sampling study support our predictions. Implications for theory and research are provided.
The popular press is often fraught with highprofile illustrations of leader unethical conduct within corporations. Leader unethical conduct is undesirable for many reasons, but in terms of managing ...subordinates, it is particularly problematic because leaders directly influence the ethics of their followers. Yet, we know relatively little about why leaders fail to apply ethical leadership practices. We argue that some leaders cognitively remove the personal sanctions associated with misconduct, which provides them with the "freedom" to ignore ethical shortcomings. Drawing on moral disengagement theory (Bandura 1986, 1999), we examine the relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee perceptions of ethical leadership. We then examine the moderating role of employee moral disengagement, such that the negative relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee perceptions of ethical leadership is stronger when employee moral disengagement is low versus high. Finally, we examine ethical leadership as a conditional mediator (based on employee moral disengagement) that explains that relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results from a multi-source field survey provide general support for our theoretical model.
Drawing on theoretical work on humans’ adaptive capacity, we propose that supervisors’ perception of top management’s high bottom-line mentality (BLM) has a dysfunctional effect on their ethical ...leadership practices. Specifically, we suggest that these perceptions hinder supervisors’ empathy, which eventuates in less ethical leadership practices. We also investigate, in a first-stage moderated mediation model, how supervisors high in trait mindfulness are resistant to the ill effects of perceptions of top management’s high BLM. Supervisors high (versus low) in this trait are less likely to respond to perceptions of top management’s high BLM with reduced empathy that then hinders ethical leadership. Results from a multi-wave, multi-source sample of working adults from the Chinese high technology industry provide general support for our theoretical model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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