The effect of cultural values on the strength of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational workplace deviance

Abstract

Business research has generated an incomplete understanding of how the strength of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational workplace deviance varies across contexts. In this study, I explain that inconsistent results likely exist across study contexts due to country-level differences in cultural values that alter the strength of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational deviance. I use social exchange theory to explain why interpersonal and organizational deviance are distinct. Then, I use institutional anomie theory to explain that country-level social institutions alter the strength of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational deviance. Finally, I aggregate findings from 133 independent samples of primary data (k = 133, N = 34,746) so I can use meta-analysis to examine cultural values as moderators of this relationship. My findings demonstrate that cultural values provide a powerful explanation for how the strength of the relationship between interpersonal and organizational deviance differs so substantially across contexts.