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The moral dark side of entrepreneurial leadership: How it leads to employee creative unethicality

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  • Sijia Zhao
  • Lingfeng Yi
  • Ya Xi Shen

Abstract

Drawing on the social cognitive theory of morality, we propose a moderated mediation model to explain why and how employees under the supervision of entrepreneurial leadership engage in unethical behaviors to achieve creative performance. Specifically, we anticipated that entrepreneurial leadership would cause employees to engage in moral justification, which in turn would lead to creative unethicality. Furthermore, we argue that politics perception serves as a critical boundary condition, strengthening the indirect effect of entrepreneurial leadership on creative unethicality. We conducted two multiwave and multisource surveys and constructed a structural equation model to test the proposed hypotheses. Study 1, which involved 201 coworker–employee dyads in a single company, provided full support for all hypotheses. Study 2, conducted in 12 companies with 400 employees and 69 supervisors, replicated the findings of Study 1 and further confirmed the moderated mediation model. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Sijia Zhao & Lingfeng Yi & Ya Xi Shen, 2025. "The moral dark side of entrepreneurial leadership: How it leads to employee creative unethicality," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 1328-1340, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:buseth:v:34:y:2025:i:4:p:1328-1340
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12713
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    References listed on IDEAS

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