Moral decline in the workplace: unethical pro-organizational behavior, psychological entitlement, and leader gratitude expression

Although unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) in the workplace has been widely researched, studies have focused on its antecedents rather than its outcomes. To fill this gap in the literature, we integrated moral licensing theory and the literature on leader gratitude expression to explore th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethics & behavior 2022-02, Vol.32 (2), p.110-123
Main Authors: Liu, Wenxing, Zhu, Yanghao, Chen, Silu, Zhang, Yannan, Qin, Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Employees
Entitlement
Ethics
Gratitude
leader gratitude expression
moral licensing theory
Organizational behavior
psychological entitlement
unethical behavior
Unethical pro-organizational behavior
Workplaces
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Summary:Although unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) in the workplace has been widely researched, studies have focused on its antecedents rather than its outcomes. To fill this gap in the literature, we integrated moral licensing theory and the literature on leader gratitude expression to explore the ethical consequences of UPB. Using a sample of multi-source time-lagged surveys of 206 leader-employee dyads, we found that the pro-organizational nature of UPB fostered employees' psychological entitlement and thereby increased their likelihood of engaging in subsequent unethical behavior. Leaders' expressions of gratitude for employee UPB strengthened the relationship between UPB and psychological entitlement, ultimately reinforcing employees' unethical behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
ISSN:1050-8422
1532-7019
DOI:10.1080/10508422.2021.1987909