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The Paradox of Group Citizenship and Constructive Deviance: A Resolution of Environmental Dynamism and Moral Justification

Author

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  • Tingting Liu

    (College of Business Administration, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China)

  • Yahui Chen

    (School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650106, China)

  • Chenhong Hu

    (College of Business Administration, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China)

  • Xiao Yuan

    (College of Business Administration, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China)

  • Chang-E Liu

    (Mobile E-Business Collaborative Innovation Center of Hunan Province, Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Mobile Business Intelligence, College of Business Administration, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha 410205, China)

  • Wei He

    (Scott College of Business, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47802, USA)

Abstract

Previous research on antecedents to constructive deviance remains scattered and inclusive. Our study conceptualizes constructive deviance from the perspective of ethical decision making and explores its antecedents, mechanism, and conditions. Drawing on moral licensing theory and social information processing theory, we propose that group citizenship behavior facilitates moral justification and constructive deviance when environmental dynamism is high and inhibits them when it is low; and moral justification fully mediates the relationship between the interaction of group citizenship behavior and environmental dynamism and constructive deviance. With two-wave panel data collected from 339 employees in 54 groups of five service companies in retailing, finance, and tourism randomly selected from three provinces in southern China, these hypotheses are all supported empirically. Our findings broaden the antecedents and occurrence mechanism of constructive deviance through an ethical decision-making lens. Our study contributes to the moral licensing literature by enriching the sources of moral licensing in the workplace and empirically demonstrating that moral justification may function as an underlying mechanism of moral licensing.

Suggested Citation

  • Tingting Liu & Yahui Chen & Chenhong Hu & Xiao Yuan & Chang-E Liu & Wei He, 2020. "The Paradox of Group Citizenship and Constructive Deviance: A Resolution of Environmental Dynamism and Moral Justification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-15, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8371-:d:443961
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xiao-Ping Chen & Simon S. K. Lam & Stefanie E. Naumann & John Schaubroeck, 2005. "Group Citizenship Behaviour: Conceptualization and Preliminary Tests of its Antecedents and Consequences," Management and Organization Review, International Association of Chinese Management Research, vol. 1(2), pages 273-300, July.
    2. Adam Barsky, 2011. "Investigating the Effects of Moral Disengagement and Participation on Unethical Work Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(1), pages 59-75, November.
    3. Chen, Xiao-Ping & Lam, Simon S. K. & Naumann, Stefanie E. & Schaubroeck, John, 2005. "Group Citizenship Behaviour Conceptualization and Preliminary Tests of its Antecedents and Consequences," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 273-300, July.
    4. Mertens, Willem & Recker, Jan, 2020. "How store managers can empower their teams to engage in constructive deviance: Theory development through a multiple case study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. Hao-Chieh Lin & Trang Thi Ha Dang & Yu-Sheng Liu, 2016. "CEO transformational leadership and firm performance: A moderated mediation model of TMT trust climate and environmental dynamism," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 981-1008, December.
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