Unethical behavior in the name of the company: The moderating effect of organizational identification and positive reciprocity beliefs on unethical pro-organizational behavior.

2010 ◽  
Vol 95 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth E. Umphress ◽  
John B. Bingham ◽  
Marie S. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Positive Reciprocity

The inverted U-shaped relationship between authentic leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Chenchen Niu ◽  
Fu Liang ◽  
Xiangxiang Meng ◽  
Yao Ocean Liu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Leadership Style ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Moral Identity ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Research Results ◽  
The Relationship

We conducted a survey to examine the influence of authentic leadership on employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior, basing our research on the theory of organizational identification. Participants were 229 employees of four firms in China. The results show that authentic leadership and employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior had an inverted U-shaped relationship, and that the relationship was mediated by organizational identification. Additionally, moral identity moderated the relationship between authentic leadership and employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior. The research results provide suggestions for reducing employees' pro-organizational unethical behavior by changing the leadership style supervisors use, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the company.

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.

From victim to saboteur

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Hongbo ◽  
Muhammad Waqas ◽  
Hussain Tariq
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Distress Tolerance ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Source Data ◽  
Service Sabotage ◽  
Time Lagged

Purpose By integrating affective events theory and insights from the displaced aggression literature, the purpose of this paper is to highlight that state hostility can serve as an explanation for how perceived undermining by co-workers leads to antagonistic consequences. Distress tolerance and organizational identification are theorized to moderate the hypothesized relationships that are investigated in this study. Design/methodology/approach PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2013) was used to test all the hypotheses by using time-lagged, multi-source data collected from 218 Chinese employees associated with the service industry. Findings The paper finds that state hostility seems to trigger unethical behavior on the part of employees resulting in service sabotage. It is concluded that perceptions of undermining are positively linked to employees’ hostility, which in turn drive service sabotage behavior. Furthermore, employee distress tolerance weakens the effects of perceived undermining on employees’ state hostility, while organizational identification alleviates the effect of employees’ hostility on service sabotage behavior. Practical implications This study not only highlights the outcomes of perceived coworker undermining, the mechanism through which it occurs, and the moderating effects of given factors, but also provides insights to the organizations for managing service sector employees so that they can more effectively interact with customers. The findings suggest that employees with high organizational identification are less involved in service sabotage, thus, such measures are necessary to take which help employers to enhance employees’ organizational identification. The authors also suggest managers to clearly communicate the adverse consequences which employees could have to face if they exhibit unethical behavior. Originality/value This study addresses the question: when and how perceived coworker undermining affects customers’ services. To date, most of the existing literature considered customers’ negative event and customers’ mistreatment as an antecedent of employees’ service sabotage. However, this study concluded that these are not the only reasons for employees’ service sabotage, employees’ interpersonal mistreatment which occurred beyond customers’ interaction also causes service sabotage.

The moderating effect of general system justification on the relationship between unethical behavior and self-esteem

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-163
Author(s):  
Yuan Liang ◽  
Li Liu ◽  
Xuyun Tan ◽  
Jianning Dang ◽  
Chao Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
General System ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
The Relationship
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