All around the mulberry bush: a theory of cyclical unethical behaviour

In the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, it is suggested that the system of production and consumption in industrialised economies leads to alienation of the workforce. To overcome the negative emotions associated with this, which is believed to be contributing to the mental pathology of society, individuals consume, emotionally. Using this as a theoretical foundation, a cyclical model of unethical behaviour around four constructs, namely: the pressure to perform, unethical behaviour, emotional consumption, and organisational dependence, is developed. Through the propositions offered, the psychological pressure to perform is suggested to cause unethical behaviour. As a result of their unethical behaviour, employees experience negative feelings and to alleviate these, they consume. Through increasing levels of emotional consumption and subsequent debt, employees become dependent on their employers, which cause additional feelings of pressure to perform at work leading to a cycle of unethical behaviour. The main contribution to knowledge of this research involves the juxtaposition between theories of unethical behaviour and emotional consumption.