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The role of moral decoupling in the causes and consequences of unethical pro-organizational behavior

Ryan Fehr¹; David Welsh²; Kai Chi Yam³; Michael D. Baer²; Wu Wei⁴; Manuel J. Vaulont²

¹ University of Washington · ² Arizona State University · ³ National University of Singapore · ⁴ Wuhan University

In this paper we explore the antecedents and consequences of employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) through the lens of moral decoupling—a moral reasoning process whereby individuals separate their perceptions of morality from their perceptions of performance. First, we argue that employees increase their engagement in UPBs when they (1) see their supervisors doing the same and (2) believe that their supervisors endorse moral decoupling. Second, we argue that employees’ UPBs are only positively related to supervisors’ evaluations of their job performance when supervisors themselves report that they morally decouple. We test these hypotheses in a field sample of supervisor–employee dyads and two experimental studies. This combination of studies highlights the complex link between ethics and perceptions of performance within organizations.

DOI

10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.05.007

Volume

153

Pages

27-40

Language

en

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BibTeX

Sources

semanticscholar crossref openalex