Influence of Self-Sacrificial Leadership on the Pro-Organizational Unethical Behavior of Employees: A Moderated Mediating Model.

Abstract

PurposeBased on the theory of social identity, this study focuses on the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees’ pro-organization unethical behaviors, as well as the moderating effect of power distance and the mediating effect of organizational identity between self-sacrificing leadership and employees’ pro-organization unethical behaviors.MethodsThis work surveyed 286 employees in 12 companies in Guizhou province to test the research hypothesis model. Statistical analysis methods were used for data analysis.ResultsThe results reveal that self-sacrificial leadership has an indirect positive influence on unethical pro-organizational behavior of employees by positively influencing organizational identification. The higher the power distance of employees, the weaker the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity, and the lower the power distance of employees, the stronger the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity.ConclusionThis study reveals the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees’ pro-organization non-ethical behaviors from a new perspective and confirms the effects of power distance and organizational identity on creative performance. Unethical behavior under the cloak of “pro-organization” has a potential destructive effect on stakeholders, organizations and even the whole society. It is of great practical significance to identify its influencing factors and effectively avoid them.