Theoretical and Empirical Developments on Motives of (Un)ethical Decision Making and Behavior

Abstract

Arguably, the unethical business practices that have occurred in major organizations over the past decade have planted a seed of skepticism about corporate America. Consequently, researchers have become increasingly interested in understanding unethical and other questionable behavior in organizations. Indeed, a great deal of research has emerged. However, in many ways the literature is still in its infancy, as we do not currently have a full understanding of when and why people engage in unethical behavior at work. In order to progress the literature, more theoretical and empirical attention on the nature of unethical behavior is needed to assist scholars and practitioners in building sound explanations for why unethical behavior occurs and, more importantly, to consider what can be done to foster ethical conduct. The purpose of this symposium is to address this research agenda. The contributions of this symposium do so by: (1) examining contextual (e.g., moral priming, performance-to-reward expectancies, pressures to perform, resources, supervisor bottom line mentality, unfair treatment) and individual (e.g., positive and negative mood) antecedents that motivate (un)ethical decisions and behavior; (2) ; identifying a variety of outcomes that emerge from motivational processes (i.e., derogation, evaluations of others’ unethical behavior, moral clarity, prosocial unethical behavior, solutions to dilemmas, workplace cheating behavior); (3) highlighting psychological and affective mechanisms (e.g., liking, perceived organizational politics, sense of vulnerability) linking antecedents to outcomes; (4) exploring 1st stage moderators (i.e., belief in just world, moral identity) that impact the relationship between antecedents and mediator variables; and (5) exploring 2nd stage mediation moderators (i.e., moral identity) that influences the nature of unethical behavior. Explicit Unethical Behavior Begets Implicit Unethical Behavior: The Role of Victim Derogation Bias Presenter: Daniel Skarlicki; U. of British Columbia Presenter: R. Anthony Turner; U. of British Columbia Lack of Material Resources Causes Harsher Moral Judgments Presenter: Marko Pitesa; Grenoble Ecole de Management Presenter: Stefan Thau; INSEAD Helping Others Cheat: The Role of Positive Affect and Liking Presenter: Richard Grover Gardner; Texas A&M U. Presenter: Elizabeth Eve Umphress; U. of Washington Presenter: Keith Leavitt; Oregon State U. Presenter: Adam C. Stoverink; Texas A&M U. Presenter: Ricky W Griffin; Texas A&M U. Unethical and Self-Interested Behavior in Organizations: Examining Antecedents of Workplace Cheati Presenter: Marie S. Mitchell; U. of Georgia Presenter: Michael D. Baer; U. of Georgia Presenter: Maureen L. Ambrose; U. of Central Florida Presenter: Robert Folger; U. of Central Florida Presenter: Noel F. Palmer; U. of Nebraska The Power of 'Could': When Contemplating Possible Actions Leads to More Creative Ethical Solutions Presenter: Ting Zhang; Harvard Business School Presenter: Francesca Gino; Harvard U. Presenter: Joshua D Margolis; Harvard U.