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My Boss is Morally Disengaged: The Role of Ethical Leadership in Explaining the Interactive Effect of Supervisor and Employee Moral Disengagement on Employee Behaviors

Author

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  • Julena M. Bonner

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • Rebecca L. Greenbaum

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • David M. Mayer

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

The popular press is often fraught with high-profile illustrations of leader unethical conduct within corporations. Leader unethical conduct is undesirable for many reasons, but in terms of managing subordinates, it is particularly problematic because leaders directly influence the ethics of their followers. Yet, we know relatively little about why leaders fail to apply ethical leadership practices. We argue that some leaders cognitively remove the personal sanctions associated with misconduct, which provides them with the “freedom” to ignore ethical shortcomings. Drawing on moral disengagement theory (Bandura 1986, 1999), we examine the relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee perceptions of ethical leadership. We then examine the moderating role of employee moral disengagement, such that the negative relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee perceptions of ethical leadership is stronger when employee moral disengagement is low versus high. Finally, we examine ethical leadership as a conditional mediator (based on employee moral disengagement) that explains that relationship between supervisor moral disengagement and employee job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results from a multi-source field survey provide general support for our theoretical model.

Suggested Citation

  • Julena M. Bonner & Rebecca L. Greenbaum & David M. Mayer, 2016. "My Boss is Morally Disengaged: The Role of Ethical Leadership in Explaining the Interactive Effect of Supervisor and Employee Moral Disengagement on Employee Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(4), pages 731-742, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:137:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-014-2366-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2366-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Soojin Lee & Jinhee Kim & Gukdo Byun, 2021. "Are Leaders’ Perceptions of Organizational Politics Worsening Favorable Employee Outcomes? The Role of Ethical Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-10, September.
    6. Hina Fayyaz & Ajmal Waheed, 2023. "Organization-Set High-Performance Goals and Employee Expediency Syndrome: An Underlying Mechanism of Supervisor Expediency and Illegitimate Tasks," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(2), pages 21582440231, April.
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