Perceived Deviance Tolerance: Make Employees’ Moral Constructs Accessible from a Dual-system

Abstract

Based on the emerging stream of research in moral psychology and behavioral ethics which shows that accessibility of moral constructs influences ethical decisions, judgments, and behaviors，Perceived deviance tolerance (PDT) is defined as “leaders’ tolerance of deviance perceived by employees”. Our objective in this article is to propose and empirically test a theoretical model that explains how and why PDT influences employees’ moral psychology and behaviors in interpersonal contexts. After developing and validating a new tool of PDT, drawing from a dual-system for morality and social control theory (Travis, 1969), we develop a conceptual model in which PDT influence employees’ negative and positive organizational behaviors (in-role behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, proactive behavior and workplace deviance) differentially. Moreover, we propose that the relative impact of either relations depends on employees’ moral identity to understand the individual-level differences deeply and accurately. Further, we tested this moderated effect of moral identity by changing employees’ moral disengagement. Results across two studies provide consistent support for the proposed model and advance our understanding about how employees’ perception of leaders’ deviance tolerance influence their negative and positive behaviors. Thus, findings of this research contribute to knowledge on the interpersonal effects of cognition in employees’ behaviors and enrich the application of social control theory.