IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/asiapa/v39y2022i2d10.1007_s10490-020-09736-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The moral licensing effect between work effort and unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating influence of Confucian value

Author

Listed:
  • Ming Kong

    (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Education)

  • Jie Xin

    (Shandong University School of Management)

  • Wenxiao Xu

    (Shandong University School of Management)

  • Haonan Li

    (Shandong University School of Management)

  • Dandan Xu

    (Shandong University School of Management)

Abstract

While a large body of literature has focused on the positive effect of work effort on improving individual performance and organizational effectiveness, little is known about how work effort produces the negative outcome, such as unethical pro-organizational behavior. Our study proposes that work effort will activate the moral licensing mechanism through moral credential to increase unethical pro-organizational behavior, and leader Confucian value negatively moderates this relationship. Through the single-factor two-level experimental research (study 1) and the multi-time point investigation data analysis (study 2), the mediation model and the moderated mediation model proposed in both two studies have been supported by observation data. These findings are significant to further understanding of the psychological mechanism and boundary condition of unethical pro-organizational behavior, and provide practical guidance for managers to effectively control employee’s unethical pro-organizational behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Ming Kong & Jie Xin & Wenxiao Xu & Haonan Li & Dandan Xu, 2022. "The moral licensing effect between work effort and unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating influence of Confucian value," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 515-537, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:39:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10490-020-09736-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-020-09736-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10490-020-09736-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10490-020-09736-8?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. Chai, Sun-Ki & Rhee, Mooweon, 2010. "Confucian Capitalism and the Paradox of Closure and Structural Holes in East Asian Firms," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 5-29, March.
    2. Fuan Li & Mike Chen-ho Chao & Nancy Yi-feng Chen & Sixue Zhang, 2018. "Moral judgment in a business setting: The role of managers’ moral foundation, ideology, and level of moral development," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 121-143, March.
    3. Peter Woods & David Lamond, 2011. "What Would Confucius Do? – Confucian Ethics and Self-Regulation in Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(4), pages 669-683, September.
    4. Sun-Ki Chai & Mooweon Rhee, 2010. "Confucian Capitalism and the Paradox of Closure and Structural Holes in East Asian Firms," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 6(1), pages 5-29, March.
    5. Clark, Andrew E. & Oswald, Andrew J., 1996. "Satisfaction and comparison income," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 359-381, September.
    6. Bengt Holmstrom, 1979. "Moral Hazard and Observability," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 74-91, Spring.
    7. Jixia Yang & Kuo Hui Frank Yu & Chi-Jui Huang, 2019. "Service employees’ concurrent adaptive and unethical behaviors in complex or non-routine tasks: The effects of customer control and self-monitoring personality," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 245-273, March.
    8. David Effelsberg & Marc Solga & Jochen Gurt, 2014. "Transformational Leadership and Follower’s Unethical Behavior for the Benefit of the Company: A Two-Study Investigation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 81-93, March.
    9. Pan, Yaotian & Rowney, Julie A. & Peterson, Mark F., 2012. "The Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions: An Empirical Study of Business Employees in China," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 77-95, March.
    10. Audi, Robert, 2007. "Can Utilitarianism Be Distributive? Maximization and Distribution as Criteria in Managerial Decisions," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 593-611, October.
    11. Elizabeth E. Umphress & John B. Bingham, 2011. "When Employees Do Bad Things for Good Reasons: Examining Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviors," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 621-640, June.
    12. Yaotian Pan & Julie A. Rowney & Mark F. Peterson, 2012. "The Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions: An Empirical Study of Business Employees in China," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 8(1), pages 77-95, March.
    13. Allan Lee & Gary Schwarz & Alexander Newman & Alison Legood, 2019. "Investigating When and Why Psychological Entitlement Predicts Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 109-126, January.
    14. Pan, Yaotian & Rowney, Julie A. & Peterson, Mark F., 2012. "The Structure of Chinese Cultural Traditions: An Empirical Study of Business Employees in China," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(01), pages 77-96, March.
    15. Philipp Simbrunner & Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, 2017. "Moral licensing: a culture-moderated meta-analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 201-225, August.
    16. Brown, Michael E. & Mitchell, Marie S., 2010. "Ethical and Unethical Leadership: Exploring New Avenues for Future Research," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 583-616, October.
    17. Suchuan Zhang, 2020. "Workplace Spirituality and Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(3), pages 687-705, January.
    18. Po Ip, 2009. "Is Confucianism Good for Business Ethics in China?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 463-476, September.
    19. Q. Miao & A. Newman & J. Yu & L. Xu, 2013. "The Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: Linear or Curvilinear Effects?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 641-653, September.
    20. Yunxia Zhu, 2015. "The Role of Qing (Positive Emotions) and Li 1 (Rationality) in Chinese Entrepreneurial Decision Making: A Confucian Ren-Yi Wisdom Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(4), pages 613-630, February.
    21. Jae Hyeung Kang & James G. Matusik & Lizabeth A. Barclay, 2017. "Affective and Normative Motives to Work Overtime in Asian Organizations: Four Cultural Orientations from Confucian Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 115-130, January.
    22. Taolin Wang & Lirong Long & Yong Zhang & Wei He, 2019. "A Social Exchange Perspective of Employee–Organization Relationships and Employee Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: The Moderating Role of Individual Moral Identity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 473-489, October.
    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. Deqiang Deng & Chenchen Ye & Fan Wu & Yijing Guo & Hao Li & Changsheng Wang, 2023. "Effect of organizational ethical self-interest climate on unethical accounting behaviour with two different motivations in China: the moderating effect of Confucian ShiZhong Thinking," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.

    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. Madhurima Mishra & Koustab Ghosh & Dheeraj Sharma, 2022. "Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 63-87, August.
    2. Lin Xu & Jigan Wang, 2020. "Influence of Challenge–Hindrance Stressors on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: Mediating Role of Emotions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Tomasz Gigol, 2020. "Gender Differences in Engagement in Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior—Two Studies in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. 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.
    5. Wan Jiang & Bingqian Liang & Linlin Wang, 2023. "The Double-Edged Sword Effect of Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: The Relationship Between Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Work Effort," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(4), pages 1159-1172, April.
    6. Zhu Yao & Jinlian Luo & Na Fu & Xianchun Zhang & Qunchao Wan, 2022. "Rational Counterattack: The Impact of Workplace Bullying on Unethical Pro-organizational and Pro-family Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 661-682, December.
    7. Yan Huang & Xin Liu & Jaehyoung Kim & Sanggyun Na, 2022. "Effects of Idiosyncratic Deals, Psychological Contract, Job Satisfaction and Environmental Turbulence on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Kangmin Lee, 2020. "The Effect of Supervisor Identification on Unethical Pro-Supervisor Behavior: The Moderating Role of Employability Perceptions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Viengkham, Doris & Baumann, Chris & Winzar, Hume & Dahana, Wirawan Dony, 2022. "Toward understanding Convergence and Divergence: Inter-ocular testing of traditional philosophies, economic orientation, and religiosity/spirituality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1335-1352.
    10. Shike Li & Kriti Jain & Konstantina Tzini, 2022. "When Supervisor Support Backfires: The Link Between Perceived Supervisor Support and Unethical Pro-supervisor Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 133-151, August.
    11. Min Huang & Xiaobo Li & Jun Xia & Mengyao Li, 2024. "Does Confucianism Prompt Firms to Participate in Poverty Alleviation Campaigns?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(4), pages 743-762, February.
    12. Cheng, Ken & Wei, Feng & Lin, Yinghui, 2019. "The trickle-down effect of responsible leadership on unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of leader-follower value congruence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 34-43.
    13. Changqin Yin & Yajun Zhang & Lu Lu, 2021. "Employee-Oriented CSR and Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: The Role of Perceived Insider Status and Ethical Climate Rules," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Taolin Wang & Lirong Long & Yong Zhang & Wei He, 2019. "A Social Exchange Perspective of Employee–Organization Relationships and Employee Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior: The Moderating Role of Individual Moral Identity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 473-489, October.
    15. Guanxing Xiong & Huadong Huang & Yingyi Ma & Cuiqi Liang & Haixia Wang, 2021. "Abusive Supervision and Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: The Mediating Role of Status Challenge and the Moderating Role of Leader–Member Exchange," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, August.
    16. Xiaoyu Wang & Xiaotong (Janey) Zheng & Shuming Zhao, 2022. "Repaying the Debt: An Examination of the Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support and Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior by Low Performers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 697-709, September.
    17. Irene Chu & Mai Chi Vu, 2022. "The Nature of the Self, Self-regulation and Moral Action: Implications from the Confucian Relational Self and Buddhist Non-self," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 245-262, September.
    18. Sophia Soyoung Jeong & Yuanyuan Gong & Alexandra Henderson, 2023. "Sympathy or distress? The moderating role of negative emotion differentiation in helping behavior," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1429-1458, December.
    19. Elizabeth Sheedy & Patrick Garcia & Denise Jepsen, 2021. "The Role of Risk Climate and Ethical Self-interest Climate in Predicting Unethical Pro-organisational Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 281-300, October.
    20. Tang, Pok Man & Yam, Kai Chi & Koopman, Joel, 2020. "Feeling proud but guilty? Unpacking the paradoxical nature of unethical pro-organizational behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 68-86.

    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:kap:asiapa:v:39:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10490-020-09736-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.