Ethicality neutralization and amplification: a multilevel study of ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior

Abstract

PurposeThis study examines how ethical leadership (EL) influences followers' willingness to conduct unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) via reciprocity beliefs at the individual level and political climate at the group level.Design/methodology/approachTwo-point survey data were collected from 423 Chinese followers from 81 groups, and multilevel structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsIndividual-level EL unintentionally increases follower UPB willingness by fostering reciprocity beliefs, while group-level EL intentionally reduces follower UPB willingness by controlling the political climate. The political climate plays both a cross-level moderated mediation role and a mediated moderation role between EL and UPB.Practical implicationsWhen seeking to decrease followers' intention to conduct UPB, managers are advised to use individual-level EL with care when the focus is on reciprocity, and they should consider using group-level EL more when the focus is on controlling political climate.Originality/valueThe study supports two distinct mediating mechanisms by examining individual-level EL (as a moral person) vs group-level EL (as a moral manager) on UPB, thereby revealing the reason for the mixed effects of EL on UPB.

Impact of Leadership on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions

“…Specifically, various studies show that ethical leadership tends to reduce UPB (e.g., Miao et al, 2020). On the contrary, other studies have indicated that the relationship between ethical leadership and UPB is not straightforward and have asserted that ethical leadership may induce higher levels of UPB among the employees (e.g., Kalshoven et al, 2016;Tang & Li, 2021). Yet another study presents an interesting finding that ethical leadership can have a curvilinear relationship with UPB (Miao et al, 2013).…”

“…Given the predominantly collectivist culture in China, where most studies were conducted, employees may find it more convenient to engage in UPB (for instance, . Furthermore, the unique characteristics of Chinese organizational culture that may set it apart from other countries such as high power distance (Lian et al, 2020), the prevailing political climate (Tang & Li, 2021), and employees' heightened identification with supervisors (Kang-Hwa & Hung-Yi, 2021) may contribute to the occurrence of UPB.…”

“…Although unethical in nature, UPB creates an illusionary positive aspect as employees may believe they are supporting their leader and organization. For instance, ethical leadership-driven UPB may be attributed to employees' organizational identification (Kalshoven et al, 2016) leading to moral disengagement from its unethical nature (Hsieh et al, 2020), while trying to reciprocate toward their leader (Tang & Li, 2021). Additionally, employee psychological empowerment can also act as a mediation mechanism to enhance employee UPB under ethical leadership (Ahmed & Khan, 2023).…”

The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Silence in China: Perceived Organizational Trust As a Mediator

“…Moreover, Tang Y and Li Y. (2022) verified the positive effect ethical leadership has on organizational citizenship behavior from the perspectives of individual and organization [6]. The results of this study coincide with three theoretical perspectives mentioned above (social learning theory, social identity theory and social exchange theory) which also provide support for self-determination theory which indicates that ethical leadership restrains employee silence through satisfying employees' psychological needs for autonomy, competence and belonging: ethical leadership keep their mind open and provide more room for employees to reform and innovate, which meets the needs of employees for autonomy; ethical leaders will attach importance to every suggestion employees propose, and this will make employees feel the effectiveness of their behaviors in the organization, that is, improving their feelings of self-efficacy, therefore, meeting the needs of employees for competence; the humane concern from the ethical leaders will cater for employees' psychological needs for belonging, thus promoting employees' behaviors of presenting recommendations and advice actively.…”