IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jobhdp/v137y2016icp142-155.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reaching the top and avoiding the bottom: How ranking motivates unethical intentions and behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Vriend, Tim
  • Jordan, Jennifer
  • Janssen, Onne

Abstract

Across six studies we explore when, why, and how an individual’s rank position affects their unethical intentions and behavior. We first demonstrate that competing to attain top ranks leads to more unethical intentions (Study 1) and behaviors (Study 2) than competing to attain intermediate or avoid bottom ranks – even when competing in ranks close to top and bottom ranks (Study 3). We then demonstrate that adding additional extrinsic value to top and bottom ranks (via rewards and punishments) increases unethical intentions for bottom ranks (Study 4), such that competing to attain top and avoid bottom ranks elicits more unethical intentions (Studies 4 and 6) and unethical behaviors (Study 5) than competing to attain intermediate ranks. Finally, we demonstrate that elevated perceptions of power and increases in moral rationalizations mediate these effects for top and bottom ranks respectively (Study 6). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Vriend, Tim & Jordan, Jennifer & Janssen, Onne, 2016. "Reaching the top and avoiding the bottom: How ranking motivates unethical intentions and behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 142-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:137:y:2016:i:c:p:142-155
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.09.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597816305829
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.09.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Inesi, M. Ena, 2010. "Power and loss aversion," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 58-69, May.
    3. Mead, N.L. & Baumeister, R.F. & Gino, F. & Schweitzer, M.E. & Ariely, D., 2009. "Too tired to tell the truth : Self-control resource depletion and dishonesty," Other publications TiSEM c60167a3-c3aa-4b83-9192-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    4. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Garcia, Stephen M. & Tor, Avishalom, 2007. "Rankings, standards, and competition: Task vs. scale comparisons," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 95-108, January.
    6. Maner, Jon K. & Gerend, Mary A., 2007. "Motivationally selective risk judgments: Do fear and curiosity boost the boons or the banes?," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 256-267, July.
    7. Gino, Francesca & Schweitzer, Maurice E. & Mead, Nicole L. & Ariely, Dan, 2011. "Unable to resist temptation: How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 191-203, July.
    8. Gino, Francesca & Margolis, Joshua D., 2011. "Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (Un)ethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 145-156, July.
    9. Garcia, Stephen M. & Song, Hyunjin & Tesser, Abraham, 2010. "Tainted recommendations: The social comparison bias," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 97-101, November.
    10. See, Kelly E. & Morrison, Elizabeth W. & Rothman, Naomi B. & Soll, Jack B., 2011. "The detrimental effects of power on confidence, advice taking, and accuracy," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 272-285.
    11. Adam Barsky, 2008. "Understanding the Ethical Cost of Organizational Goal-Setting: A Review and Theory Development," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(1), pages 63-81, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Evan Polman & Lyn M. Van Swol & Paul R. Hoban, 2020. "Harbingers of foul play: A field study of gain/loss frames and regulatory fit in the NFL," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 15(3), pages 353-370, May.
    2. Cassandra R. Chambers & Wayne E. Baker, 2020. "Robust Systems of Cooperation in the Presence of Rankings: How Displaying Prosocial Contributions Can Offset the Disruptive Effects of Performance Rankings," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 287-307, March.
    3. Chui, Celia & Kouchaki, Maryam & Gino, Francesca, 2021. "“Many others are doing it, so why shouldn't I?”: How being in larger competitions leads to more cheating," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 102-115.
    4. Simon Piest & Philipp Schreck, 2021. "Contests and unethical behavior in organizations: a review and synthesis of the empirical literature," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(4), pages 679-721, October.
    5. repec:cup:judgdm:v:15:y:2020:i:3:p:353-370 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Junghyun Lee & Se-Hyung Oh & Sanghee Park, 2022. "Effects of Organizational Embeddedness on Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: Roles of Perceived Status and Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(1), pages 111-125, February.
    7. Pettit, Nathan C. & Doyle, Sarah P. & Kim, Hee Young & Hurwitz, Anat, 2022. "Rank extrapolation: Asymmetric forecasts of future rank after rank change," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marie Claire Villeval, 2019. "Comportements (non) éthiques et stratégies morales," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 70(6), pages 1021-1046.
    2. Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2018. "Losing a real-life lottery and dishonest behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 26-30.
    3. Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2020. "Do tightwads cheat more? Evidence from three field experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 148-158.
    4. Gino, Francesca & Margolis, Joshua D., 2011. "Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (Un)ethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 145-156, July.
    5. Welsh, David T. & Ordóñez, Lisa D., 2014. "The dark side of consecutive high performance goals: Linking goal setting, depletion, and unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 79-89.
    6. Kanze, Dana & Conley, Mark A. & Higgins, E. Tory, 2021. "The motivation of mission statements: How regulatory mode influences workplace discrimination," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 84-103.
    7. Dickinson, David L. & Masclet, David, 2023. "Unethical decision making and sleep restriction: Experimental evidence," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 484-502.
    8. Marcus T. Wolfe & Pankaj C. Patel, 2017. "Instant gratification: temporal discounting and self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 861-882, April.
    9. Siniver, Erez, 2021. "Do Happy People Cheat Less? A Field Experiment on Dishonesty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Sanjit Dhami, 2017. "Human Ethics and Virtues: Rethinking the Homo-Economicus Model," CESifo Working Paper Series 6836, CESifo.
    11. Kerri Brick & Martine Visser & Justine Burns, 2012. "Risk Aversion: Experimental Evidence from South African Fishing Communities," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(1), pages 133-152.
    12. Mattos, Enlinson & Rocha, Fabiana & Toporcov, Patricia, 2013. "Programas de incentivos fiscais são eficazes? Evidência a partir da avaliação do impacto do programa nota fiscal paulista sobre a arrecadação de ICMS," Revista Brasileira de Economia - RBE, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil), vol. 67(1), April.
    13. Tomas Bonavia & Josué Brox-Ponce, 2018. "Shame in decision making under risk conditions: Understanding the effect of transparency," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    14. Matthias Kasper & James Alm, 2022. "Does the Bomb-crater Effect Really Exist? Evidence from the Laboratory," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 78(1-2), pages 87-111.
    15. repec:fgv:epgrbe:v:67:n:1:a:5 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jacquemet, Nicolas & Rullière, Jean-Louis & Vialle, Isabelle, 2008. "Monitoring optimistic agents," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 698-714, November.
    17. Carrillo, Paul & Emran, M. Shahe, 2018. "Loss Aversion, Transaction Costs, or Audit Trigger? Learning about Corporate Tax Compliance from a Policy Experiment with Withholding Regime," MPRA Paper 87445, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Chen, Xiao & Wu, Tian & Zheng, Rui & Guo, Xiaoxian, 2018. "How vehicle market is segmented and influenced by subsidy policy: A theoretical study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 776-782.
    19. James Alm & Antoine Malézieux, 2021. "40 years of tax evasion games: a meta-analysis," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(3), pages 699-750, September.
    20. Dmitri V. Vinogradov & Elena V. Shadrina, 2018. "Discouragement through incentives," Working Papers 2018-05, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    21. Lotz, Aïleen, 2011. "An Economic Approach to the Self : the Dual Agent," MPRA Paper 50771, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:137:y:2016:i:c:p:142-155. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/obhdp .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.