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Reaping the Fruits of Another’s Labor: The Role of Moral Meaningfulness, Mindfulness, and Motivation in Social Loafing

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  • Katarina Katja Mihelič

    (University of Ljubljana)

  • Barbara Culiberg

    (University of Ljubljana)

Abstract

Despite the popularity of teams in universities and modern organizations, they are often held back by dishonest actions, social loafing being one of them. Social loafers hide in the crowd and contribute less to the pooled effort of a team, which leads to an unfair division of work. While previous studies have mostly delved into the factors related to the task or the group in an attempt to explain social loafing, this study will instead focus on individual factors. Accordingly, the aim is to investigate the determinants of social loafing attitudes, namely moral meaningfulness and mindfulness in a university setting. We further examine the relationship between attitudes and intentions and introduce the moderating role of motivation in the attitude–intention link. The findings from a sample of 319 business students reveal that both mindfulness and moral meaningfulness are negatively related to loafing attitudes, while attitudes positively predict social loafing intentions. In addition, we find that extrinsic motivation strengthens the relationship between social loafing attitudes and intentions.

Suggested Citation

  • Katarina Katja Mihelič & Barbara Culiberg, 2019. "Reaping the Fruits of Another’s Labor: The Role of Moral Meaningfulness, Mindfulness, and Motivation in Social Loafing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(3), pages 713-727, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:160:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3933-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-3933-z
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    1. Hira Khan & Maryam Rehmat & Tahira Hassan Butt & Saira Farooqi & Javaria Asim, 2020. "Impact of transformational leadership on work performance, burnout and social loafing: a mediation model," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Rai, Arpana & Kim, Minseo & Singh, Sanjay Kumar, 2023. "Meaningful work from ethics perspective: Examination of ethical antecedents and outcomes of meaningful work," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Xin Liu & Xiaoming Zheng & Yu Yu & Ying Zhang & John M. Schaubroeck, 2024. "A Functional Model of Social Loafing: When and How Does Social Loafing Enhance Job Performance?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(3), pages 731-745, October.
    4. Mansour A. Alyahya & Ibrahim A. Elshaer & Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih, 2021. "The Impact of Job Insecurity and Distributive Injustice Post COVID-19 on Social Loafing Behavior among Hotel Workers: Mediating Role of Turnover Intention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Panditharathne Nishantha Kumara Wijesekara Panditharathne & Zhixia Chen, 2021. "An Integrative Review on the Research Progress of Mindfulness and Its Implications at the Workplace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-27, December.
    6. Yanina Rashkova & Ludovica Moi & Francesca Cabiddu, 2024. "Addressing the Societal Challenges in Organizations: The Conceptualization of Mindfulness Capability for Social Justice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(2), pages 249-268, January.

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