When Employees Retaliate Against Self-Serving Leaders: The Influence of the Ethical Climate

Decoster, Stijn; Stouten, Jeroen; Tripp, Thomas M.

doi:10.1007/s10551-019-04218-4

Cited by 56 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…Secondly, this study was able to determine that the P-O fit is a vital boundary condition for identifying the effect of ethical climate on the employees' ethical behaviours. Even though past researches have determined the link between the ethical climate and ethical behaviour of employees, there are still several important questions that need to be addressed (Ruiz-Palomino et al, 2013;Decoster et al, 2019). Thus, this study includes the P-O fit being a vital moderator that reinforces ethical behaviour of employees.…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

et al. 2020

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PurposeWith the growing demand for ethical standards in the prevailing business environment, ethical leadership has been under increasingly more focus. Based on the social exchange theory and social learning theory, this study scrutinized the impact of ethical leadership on the presentation of ethical conduct by employees through the ethical climate. Notably, this study scrutinised the moderating function of the person-organisation fit (P-O fit) in relation of ethical climate and the ethical conduct of employees.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate the research hypotheses, two-wave data were collected from 295 individuals who are currently employed in various Iraqi organizations (i.e. manufacturing, medical and insurance industries).FindingsIn line with the hypotheses, the outcomes from a sample of 295 workers working in different Iraqi entities exhibited a positive relation between the ethical behaviour of leaders and the ethical conduct of employees in the ethical climate. Moreover, it was observed that the P-O fit of employees moderated the relationship between ethical climate and the ethical conduct of employees such that the relationship was more robust for those with a high P-O fit in comparison to those with a low P-O fit.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of this study is in the data, which was obtained from a single source. Although the study conducted two surveys and utilised a mediation and moderation variables model that was less likely to be influenced by common method bias (CMB) (Podsakoff et al., 2012), one cannot completely rule out CMB. Apart from the potential effects of the CMB, the consistency of the empirical findings could have also been compromised since self-reported data were utilised in measuring ethical behaviour, which can be a very complex and sensitive issue. For this reason, the social desirability response bias cannot be ruled out completely. When possible, future studies must gather data from multiple sources. Furthermore, supervisors must evaluate the ethical behaviour of employees. Another limitation was that the findings of this study were based on a sample in a Middle Eastern cultural context such as in Iraq. Perhaps, the particular cultural features of this context, which encompassed, among other things, a strong adherence to religious values (Moaddel, 2010), could have influenced the findings of this study. It is true that the effects of differences (P–O fit) are highly likely to replicate across cultural contexts (Triandis et al., 1988). However, it can be seen that further studies are needed to evaluate the context-sensitivity of these findings (Whetten, 2009) by analysing other cultures, where the importance of religiosity is on the decline (i.e. in Western countries, Ribberink et al., 2018) or where the cultural features are very much different from those that apply to Iraq. Lastly, other external factors were not taken into account by this study as it tried to explain ethical behaviour. Ethics is a highly complex subject and is influenced by numerous variables at the organisational, individual and external environment levels. Thus, caution must be observed when making inferences from the present study which, to a certain degree, offered a simplified version of ethical behaviour by concentrating on a few variables such as the Arab culture's traditional ideology, which dominates even science (Abu Khalil, 1992). In addition, there are the political conflicts in the Middle Eastern cultural context such as what is happening in Iraq (Harff, 2018). Thus, it is important to include such aspects in future researches.Practical implicationsIn terms of management, the findings send a clear signal to those in the upper echelon that, without ignoring the issue of ethics in organizations, employees are a critical aspect to be taken into account to encourage ethical behaviour at the workplace. This study has important practical implications. First, this study determined that ethical leadership (here, of the supervisors) positively influences the behaviour of subordinates (refers to the supervisors here); this in turn further improves the ethical behaviour of employees. It is vital that managers or supervisors are motivated to practice ethical leadership because they directly influence the employees. It has been suggested that top managers, especially chief executive officers, have the ability to shape the ethical climate, which also influences the ethical behaviour of employees further. This study offered several feasible ways that managers can apply to achieve that. In particular, top managers may utilise the ethical climate as a way of communicating the ethical values that they have to their subordinates, thereby serving as a motivation for the subordinates to adopt an ethical behaviour. It was also suggested by this study that ethical climate and the P–O fit may, to some degree, substitute each other as they influence the ethical behaviour of employees. Therefore, firms that were identified to have a low level of ethical standards, practices, and policies, at least from the employees' perspective, are better poised to conduct ethical issues in order to construct the ethical behaviour of their subordinates. More importantly, it is highly essential that the value congruence between an organization and its followers be considered.Social implicationsThis study highlighted the notion of ethics and how it’s essential for society. Ethics refer to the norms, standards, and values that direct the behavior of an individual. Ethical behaviour is vital in society because we need to be treated with respect as human beings.Originality/valueThis study responds to recent calls for more research to identify factors which may strengthen or mitigate the influence ethical behavior in the workplace such as ethical leadership, ethical climate and Person–Organization.

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Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

et al. 2020

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“…From these isolated acts, environments in which there is a perception of an ethical climate are prone to measures against the individuals that fight for their self-interest, driven by their desire for retaliation (Decoster et al, 2019). Hence, it is expected that the perception of a more considerable ethical climate may inhibit the self-interest of individuals, making them think more about their conduct in the face of their interests.…”

Section: Development Of the Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This work is justified for bringing the discussion on the importance of maintaining an ethical climate within the university environment (Lawter, Rua, & Guo, 2014), with it being significant to emphasize the importance of stimulating student interest in being more and more ethical. Many pieces of research have investigated the institutionalization of ethics in organizations (Jose & Thibodeaux, 1999;Popoola et al, 2017), ethical climate in individual conduct (McCabe & Treviño, 1995;Decoster, Stouten, & Tripp, 2019), and academic cheating (Winrow, 2016). However, the differential of this research resides in the analysis of the relationship between the ethical climate and academic cheating mediated by student self-interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of ethical climate on academic cheating conduct mediated by self-interest

Luz¹,

Wagnitz²,

Rengel³

2021

Rev. Cat. Cien. Cont.

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Academic cheating proves to be a concern in the professional education of students. In this context, the culture of the individuals (self-interest) and the environment (ethical climate) that meet may explain such behaviors. This study aimed to analyze the influence of ethical climate on academic cheating conduct mediated by self-interest among accounting students. The study is characterized as descriptive, quantitative, and of the survey type. The sample included 158 responses from accounting students from public and private universities located in southern Brazil. Exploratory factorial analysis was used for analyzing the data, and the partial least squares Structural Equation Modeling for testing the hypotheses. The results point out that the ethical climate perceived by the students influences self-interest and academic cheating conduct negatively, and that self-interest positively influences academic cheating conduct. It was also observed that self-interest acts as a mediator variable in the relationship between ethical climate and academic cheating conduct. The findings demonstrate that the cheating conduct may be motivated by the defense of student self-interest, besides being minimized by the ethical climate present in the university environment. In this sense, the study contributed to the accounting education literature by emphasizing the importance of rules and social responsibility in the conduct of undergraduate students. Also, by demonstrating that both personal and academic environment aspects may mold student behavior. From the exposed, greater dissemination and monitoring of programs that encourage good conduct is suggested, with the goal of propagating ethically accepted practices to avoid an environment conducive to cheating.

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“…Comumente, a falta de autocontrole e visão absoluta em interesses próprios, na presença de oportunidades atraentes para atos ilícitos tornam o indivíduo mais propenso a agira de acordo com seus interesses, independente se a conduta é considerada adequada (Grasmick, Bursik, & Arneklev, 1993;Nagin & Paternoster, 1993;Gibbs & Giever, 1995;Longshore, Turner, & Stein, 1996). Com isto, agem em benefício próprio sem levar em consideração os demais membros da organização A partir destes atos isolados, ambientes em que há percepção de clima ético são propensos a medidas contra os indivíduos que lutam pelo interesse próprio, movidos pelo desejo de retaliação desses (Decoster et al, 2019). Logo, espera-se que a percepção de um maior clima ético possa inibir o interesse próprio dos indivíduos, fazendo que esses pensem mais na sua conduta face a seus interesses.…”

Section: Desenvolvimento Das Hipótesesunclassified

“…Este trabalho se justifica por trazer a discussão sobre a importância de manter um clima ético dentro do ambiente universitário (Lawter, Rua & Guo, 2014), sendo significante para enfatizar a importância de estimular o interesse do aluno a ser cada vez mais ético. Muitas pesquisas investigaram a institucionalização da ética em organizações (Jose & Thibodeaux, 1999;Popoola et al, 2017); o clima ético na conduta individual (McCabe & Treviño, 1995;Decoster, Stouten & Tripp, 2019); assim como as trapaças acadêmicas (Winrow, 2016). Entretanto, o diferencial desta pesquisa reside na análise da relação entre o clima ético e a trapaça acadêmica mediada pelo interesse próprio do estudante.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Influência do clima ético na conduta de trapaça acadêmica mediada pelo interesse próprio

Luz

Wagnitz

Rengel

2021

Rev. Cat. Cien. Cont.

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A trapaça acadêmica mostrou-se uma preocupação na formação profissional de estudantes. Nesse contexto, a cultura dos indivíduos (interesse próprio) e o ambiente (clima ético) que se encontram podem explicar tais comportamentos. Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar a influência do clima ético na conduta de trapaça acadêmica, mediada pelo interesse próprio em estudantes de contabilidade. O estudo caracteriza-se como descritivo, quantitativo, do tipo survey. A amostra foi de 158 respostas de estudantes de contabilidade de universidades públicas e privadas localizadas na região sul do Brasil. Para a análise de dados, foram utilizadas a análise fatorial exploratória e para o teste de hipóteses a Modelagem de Equações Estruturais por mínimos quadrados parciais. Os resultados apontam que o clima ético percebido pelos estudantes influencia negativamente o interesse próprio e a conduta de trapaça acadêmica e que o interesse próprio influencia positivamente a conduta de trapaça acadêmica. Observa-se ainda que o interesse próprio atua como variável mediadora na relação entre clima ético e a conduta de trapaça acadêmica. Os achados demonstram que a conduta de trapaça pode ser motivada pela defesa do interesse próprio dos alunos, além de serem minimizadas pelo clima ético presente no ambiente universitário. Nesse sentido, o estudo contribui para a literatura de ensino contábil, ao enfatizar a importância das regras e responsabilidade social na conduta dos estudantes de graduação. Assim como por demonstrar que tanto aspectos pessoais como do ambiente acadêmico podem moldar o comportamento do estudante. Sugere-se a partir do exposto, uma maior divulgação e monitoramento de programas que incentivem boas condutas, com o objetivo da propagação de práticas eticamente aceitas, a fim de evitar um ambiente propício a trapaças.

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When Employees Retaliate Against Self-Serving Leaders: The Influence of the Ethical Climate

Cited by 56 publications

References 123 publications

Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

The influence of ethical climate on academic cheating conduct mediated by self-interest

Influência do clima ético na conduta de trapaça acadêmica mediada pelo interesse próprio

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