Moral Licensing Effect Research Articles

Is the sharing economy a sustainable mode of consumption? An empirical case study of sharing of household goods and environmental rebound effects in a university context

The Sharing Economy has been suggested as a sustainable mode of consumption due to its potential to lower resource use and waste generation. A better understanding of sharing drivers, consumption dynamics, and their interlinkages is essential to suitably appraise the role that sharing practices can play in sustainable transitions. A survey of 654 participants from the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Switzerland) was carried out in order to investigate their household goods sharing practices. Among the participants, 328 people that borrowed household goods (takers) were identified and their responses were analysed to find motives and barriers for sharing household goods. Furthermore, Environmental Rebound Effects (EREs) were investigated with the consideration of psychological and economic factors that may influence them. The findings indicate that attitudes towards sharing household goods are most positively influenced by expected environmental impacts followed by enjoyment, economic savings, and social interactions. Negative influences include concerns about a potential loss of independence and lack of trust in people. However, it also turned out that EREs actually amounted to 102%, indicating that the motivating (direct) environmental benefits from sharing tend to be fully compensated for by the negative impacts derived from subsequent re-spending. The imperfect substitution of sharing and the moral licensing effect contributed to this result. Furthermore, consumers’ sharing rationale significantly influences the magnitude of EREs; either increased by economic motivations, or decreased by environmental motivations. Based on our results, we suggest that, to ensure the implementation of the Sharing Economy as a sustainable mode of consumption, it is necessary to increase awareness of the environmental rebound effects caused by re-spending. Consumers could thus be more motivated to share for environmental reasons, identify themselves with sustainability and decide to abstain from morally licensing themselves to re-spend their extra disposable income on Carbon Footprint intense activities.

Navigating the Thin Line: Can Acts of Good Lead to Defiance at Work? Exploring the Intricacies of OCB and CWB Dynamics

Prior studies concluded that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) lie on the same continuum. However, engaging in OCB does not inherently prevent engagement in CWB. This study delves into the intricate relationship between OCB and CWB, aiming to uncover the mechanisms behind the moral licensing effect. Employing partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) from 468 employees to test the proposed hypothesis. This study revealed that OCB positive relationship with moral license. Moreover, moral license negative relationship counterproductive work behavior toward organizations (CWB-O) but a positive relationship counterproductive work behavior toward individuals (CWB-I). This study provides insights for organizational leaders and scholars to enhance their comprehension of employee behavior and inform strategies for fostering positive workplace environments while addressing the potential risks associated with moral licensing effects.

The Moral Licensing Effects of Corporate Reputation on Tax Planning

In this paper, we investigate how a firm’s reputation affects its tax planning. Drawing on the moral licensing view, we utilize a substantial dataset to test the relationship between a firm’s overall reputation standing and its propensity for tax avoidance, employing a variety of tax-related measures capturing different tax avoidance tactics. We hypothesize and find that firms with higher reputations are more inclined to engage in tax avoidance, often through tax strategies that involve a certain degree of ambiguity in transgression. Furthermore, our study indicates that highly reputable firms are less likely to participate in tax strategies that are blatant transgressions. This study adds to the body of knowledge on the correlation between reputation and tax avoidance. We enhance this field by proposing and examining the moral licensing view as a complementary perspective to comprehend this dynamic. The results of our study indicate that the deterrent power of reputation in tax avoidance may be overestimated, yielding significant insights for policymakers and practitioners.

Moral licensing effect of work engagement: The role of psychological entitlement and relationship conflict with supervisors

AbstractGiven the importance of work engagement for organizations and the almost unified and steadfast understanding of its benefits, it is imperative to investigate the potential downside of work engagement to prevent unexpected damage. However, there has been relatively little research on its negative impacts. Drawing on the moral licensing theory, this study identifies the potential negative effects of work engagement by exploring the mediating role of psychological entitlement. An online experiment and a survey are conducted to test the theoretical model. The results reveal that work engagement leads to deviant workplace behavior through psychological entitlement only in cases where there is a higher level of relationship conflict with supervisors. The conclusions of this study shed light on how work engagement negatively affects organizations. The current study also contributes to practice by suggesting that supervisors should be aware of employees with a higher level of work engagement and communicate with them in a reasonable manner.

The effect of normative conflict on meat consumption behavior: A mixed-method study

Reducing meat consumption in sustainable diets is considered a key action in addressing the climate crisis. However, eating meat is part of most diets in Western societies and the prevailing social norm and emerging trends and collective changes lead to normative conflicts. This study examines the impact of conflicting social norms on meat consumer behavior through an exploratory empirical research with a mixed-method design. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews with 13 consumers with sundry dietary profiles (vegetarians, reducers, and full meat-eaters), and a one-factor experimental design survey (N = 278) was conducted with two conditions among participants. The findings indicate that interventions based on conflicting social norms of different groups reduce meat consumption (H1, accepted) and can help reduce meat consumption among groups with higher consumption levels (full meat eaters). When approached on a conscious level, the denial-based conflict coping strategy will lead them down the path of the prevailing social norm, ultimately reducing their environmental impact. Different psychological strategies to deal with normative conflict were identified between groups of reducers and full meat eaters, as well as different effects on the behavior of experimental manipulation. These groups should be approached differently on issues related to meat consumption. Further research is needed to explore moral licensing and potential negative spillover effects among meat reducers.

A counterfactual thinking perspective of moral licensing effect in machine-driven communication: An example of natural language processing chatbot developed based on WeChat API

Current research reveals the negative effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employees (e.g., CSR can lead to unethical behavior). In this study, we advanced the negative impact of CSR from reality to a hypothetical level, investigating whether counterfactual thinking that CSR could have been achieved but did not would lead to unethical employee behavior. In the seven studies, we designed a chatbot program based on the WeChat API and controlled different anthropomorphic levels to determine the chatbot's artificial intelligence (AI) level. Studies 1a and 1b show that counterfactual thinking regarding how companies could have engaged in CSR can induce unethical behavior, even when companies do not actually engage in CSR. Studies 2a and 2b indicate that unethical behavior can be induced by the counterfactual determinant of controllability. Studies 3a and 3b demonstrate that the degree of the controllability focus of counterfactual thinking and unethical behavior is positively correlated. Study 4 found that both counterfactual and prefactual thinking can induce unethical behavior. This study provides evidence on the impact of CSR, the function of counterfactual thinking, and the link between counterfactual thinking and the moral licensing effect.

Moral Balancing in Video Games: The Moderating Role of Issue Congruency

Research has shown that performing moral or immoral actions in video games can affect the players’ moral self-worth and evoke moral emotions. People may compensate for their immoral behaviors by performing more moral actions, but sometimes performing moral actions can also license them to perform immoral behaviors later. The current study examines whether players engage in moral licensing or moral cleansing behaviors within and after video game moral scenarios. Study 1 is an exploratory study that examined a sequence of moral dilemmas in the game Papers, Please, and found that players alternated between choosing the moral choices and the accurate choices, indicating signs of moral balancing when faced with moral choices that conflict with their in-game goals. Study 2 utilized a 3 (moral vs. immoral vs. control) × 2 (congruent charity vs. incongruent charity) experiment using a moral event in the game Life is Strange to examine the moderating effects of issue congruency on moral balancing. Study 3 used three different games to replicate Study 2. The findings showed that players who performed moral actions in the game also devoted more efforts to a charity on a congruent issue. However, participants who performed a moral behavior in the game committed significantly less effort to a charity on an incongruent issue, indicating a moral licensing effect. Study 2 found that performing immoral actions in a game can motivate players to devote more efforts to a subsequent charity, regardless of issue congruity, but this moral cleansing effect was not observed in Study 3.

Be a Rascal Among Rascal? The Vicarious Moral Self-Regulation Effect in College Students' Pro-Environmental Behaviors.

According to social interaction theory, the psychology and behavior of individuals are influenced by others, especially these significant or intimate others. This classical social phenomenon, "Be a rascal among rascal", which explains the influence of others' behavior on an individual's behavior, has also been observed in pro-environmental behavior. In recent years, environmental psychologists have termed this interesting phenomenon as the "vicarious moral self-regulation effect", in which the prior environmental behavior of significant or intimate others influences an individual's subsequent environmental behavior. However, the stability and psychological mechanisms of the vicarious moral self-regulation effect are still not well understood. Therefore, this study aims to verify the vicarious moral self-regulation effect in pro-environmental behavior through four studies. In Study 1, 90 participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (a stronger green credentials manipulation, a weaker green credentials manipulation, or a control group about a close friend), and results showed that participants in both stronger and less green credential groups made fewer carbon-neutral choices than those in the control group in the carbon emissions task. In Study 2 (120 participants), compared to the control group, participants in the group imagining both environmentally friendly and unfriendly behavior of close friends made fewer carbon-neutral choices. This finding also was observed in Study 3 (93 participants), where participants under the group of free recalling both environmentally friendly and unfriendly behavior of close friends made fewer green purchasing choices. In Study 4 (75 participants), compared to the control group, participants in the group of both imagining and free recalling the environmentally friendly behavior of a close friend made fewer carbon-neutral choices, and participants in the group of both imagining and free recalling the environmentally unfriendly behavior of close friend made fewer green purchasing choices. Results suggest that the environmentally friendly behavior of a close friend induces the vicarious moral licensing effect (those who handle vermilion are not reddened), and the environmentally unfriendly behavior of a close friend induces the vicarious moral identity effect (those who touch ink are blackened). Environmental behaviors of intimate others induce the obvious fluctuating changes in college students' subsequent pro-environmental behaviors. This vicarious moral self-regulation effect can be explained by the mechanism of self-other overlap and provide scientific references for promoting pro-environmental behaviors among college students.

License is “suspended”: the impact of social sharing on curbing moral licensing

PurposeDespite its prevalence and serious negative impact on consumer behavior, marketing strategies and social welfare, little is known about how to effectively curb moral licensing. Drawing on research in warm-glow giving and virtue signaling, this paper aims to propose that social sharing can help alleviate the moral licensing effect; and this effect is mediated by moral self-regard and moderated by temporal distance.Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies were conducted in a laboratory setting using large samples. In particular, Study 1 was designed to test the proposed main and mediation effects, and Study 2 was designed to further examine the proposed moderation effect.FindingsStudy 1 demonstrates after having shared a prior moral behavior on social media, people are more likely to engage in another moral act subsequently. This is because that sharing a prior moral behavior on social media leads to a drop in moral self-regard, which, in turn, boosts a subsequent moral intention. Study 2 further shows that after having shared a prior moral behavior on social media, when making a decision for the present, people are more likely to engage in a subsequent good deed; however, this effect is diminished when people are making such a decision for the future.Practical implicationsThis work provides important implications for marketing managers and policymakers. In particular, this research suggests that social sharing can be an effective tool to encourage individuals’ consistent moral behavior so as to promote individual and collective well-being. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that temporal distance and social sharing can interact to reduce the moral licensing effect. In practice, this research contributes to the development of effective marketing strategies, particularly for those companies that aim to integrate sustainability into their business practices.Originality/valueIn contrast to previous research examining the cognitive approach to curbing moral licensing, this research explores a new, powerful behavioral approach to alleviating the moral licensing effect. Furthermore, this research consolidates previous findings on the relationship between identity signaling and self-regard, increases the scope of identity signaling research and offers a bridge between research on identity signaling and research on moral licensing. Finally, this research adds to understanding of moral licensing by showing that the moral licensing effect may vary depending on contextual factors and, therefore, is more malleable than previously thought, which opens up future research opportunities to explore when and how the moral licensing effect can be alleviated.

Doing well by doing good: The effect of purchasing poverty-alleviation products on consumers' subsequent product preference in live streaming shopping

Live streaming shopping as a new e-commerce model has exploded in recent years. Broadcasters sell poverty alleviation products (PAP) on their live channels as a way to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. The objective of this research is to examine the effect of purchasing PAP on consumers' subsequent product preference in live streaming shopping. The authors conducted one field study and three lab experiments. Study 1 documents the positive correlation between PAP consumption and indulgent consumption using real live streaming transaction data. Study 2 is a lab experiment which provides support for the causal relationship between PAP consumption and subsequent indulgent consumption. Study 3 extends the ecological validity and examines the mediating effect of the moral self-concept. Study 4 demonstrates that discount levels of PAP weaken the moral licensing effect in the in live streaming shopping context.

Good Children Do Not Always Do Good Behavior: Moral Licensing Effects in Preschoolers1, 2, 3

AbstractPrevious research reveals that past moral behavior can promote future moral behavior, or sometimes discourage people's engagement in moral behavior. This is known as the moral licensing effect. Although most previous research on moral licensing has focused on adults, a few studies have also investigated children. The present study investigated moral licensing effects in preschool children. Participants were 47 Japanese preschool children between the ages of 43 and 77 months. We manipulated licensing by inducing participants to experience prosocial behavior. More specifically, we provided participants in the license condition an opportunity to share their resources with another. Then, all participants allocated five stickers to themselves and others in a resource allocation task. The results showed that the children in the license condition were less likely to engage in prosocial behavior than those in the control condition. This is the first study showing that moral licensing effects also occur in children, suggesting that like adults, applying morality for preschool children is flexible with regards to situations and experiences.

"If it weren't for COVID-19…": Counterfactual arguments influence support for climate change policies via cross-domain moral licensing or moral consistency effects.

In two studies, we investigated whether counterfactual messages (i.e., "If… then…") on the economic costs of past public policies influence support for future climate change policies. In Study 1, we tested whether the effect of upward counterfactual messages depended on their referring (or not) to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results showed lower support for a future climate change policy when the past expenses evoked by the upward counterfactual messages were attributed to COVID-19. In Study 2, we combined upward counterfactuals with downward counterfactuals presenting past economic efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as a moral credit. Results showed that exposure to downward counterfactuals decreased support for climate change policies among participants with low endorsement of anti-COVID-19 measures, whereas it increased support among participants with high endorsement. Discussion focuses on the conditions under which counterfactual communication may activate cross-dimensional moral licensing or moral consistency effects, influencing support for climate change policies.

Peer charity donation, gratitude, and self-esteem among left-behind children.

Previous research suggests that receiving a charity donation could induce gratitude but threaten self-esteem. We investigated if peer charity donations from typical children benefit or harm the mental health of their left-behind children (LBC) classmates. We recruited children at a school (i.e., intervened school) that organized peer charity donations every semester and three typical schools (i.e., non-intervened school) without such intervention in China. Participants completed the gratitude, self-esteem, depression, and social anxiety scales. A statistical toolbox, "Matchit", randomly selected 420 children aged 9-13 (220 females, 200 males, 213 LBC, 207 non-LBC); there was no significant difference in left-behind status, age, gender, or family economic status (all p> .10) between the intervened and non-intervened groups (210 per group). Structural equation model analyses revealed that gratitude was associated with higher self-esteem, lower social anxiety, and lower depression. Moreover, the intervention effect on self-esteem was significantly positive among the LBC recipients and non-LBC donors. The interaction between intervention and left-behind status was significant on gratitude and depression. Specifically, the intervention effect was not significant on gratitude or depression among the LBC but was significantly negative on gratitude and depression among the non-LBC. Peer charity donation may increase self-esteem among children (recipients or donors) via increased social connection or satisfaction of basic needs, yet decreased gratitude among the donors due to the "moral licensing effect".

A “vegetarian curry stew” or just a “curry stew”? - The effect of neutral labeling of vegetarian dishes on food choice among meat-reducers and non-reducers

Encouraging meat eaters to eat more vegetarian foods benefits public health and environment. This study examined whether changes in menu design, specifically in the labeling of a dish, increases vegetarian food choice. In an online survey experiment involving a representative sample of Danish meat eaters (n = 955) we investigated the frequency with which dishes are chosen when they have a neutral vegetarian label (with no explicit indication that the dish does not contain meat), an explicit label (as vegetarian, meat-free, vegan, or plant-based), or a label referring to meat. We also examined the role of individual characteristics of the diner (food neophobia, meat-eating identity, meat intake and ethical concern). We found that neutral labeling outperformed explicit labeling among all meat eaters (neutral 17%, meat 10%, explicit labels 5%–7%) and in two sub-groups, namely, non-reducers (who are not actively reducing their meat intake: explicit 3.4%, neutral 10.2%) and meat-reducers (explicit 14.4%, neutral 30.1%). We found no significant differences between the four explicit labels. We show that non-reducers with low meat-eating identity can be nudged to choose a neutrally labeled vegetarian dish, and that, among ethically concerned meat-reducers, the vegetarian dish is chosen more often when the dish is neutrally rather than explicitly labeled. Finally, we show that meat-avoiders (additional convenience sample, n = 148) were as likely to choose a neutrally labeled vegetarian dish as an explicitly labeled one. Our results suggest that neutral labeling sidesteps reactance and moral licensing effects in both meat-reducers and non-reducers, and that food outlets with meat-eating customers should carefully consider their use of explicit labeling and use neutral labeling for vegetarian dishes where possible.

No evidence of moral licensing in a laboratory bribe-taking task

Moral licensing posits that previous moral acts increase the probability of behaving immorally in the future. According to this perspective, rejecting bribes, even because they are too small, would create a kind of “license” for taking (presumably larger) bribes in the future. On the other hand, the desire for consistency in behavior predicts that previous rejection of bribes will increase the probability of rejection for bribes offered in the future. Using a laboratory task modeling the decision to take a bribe, we examined how resisting and succumbing to the temptation to take a bribe affects later bribe-taking. Participants (N = 297) were offered either low bribes first and high bribes later or vice versa. Low bribes were in general rejected more often and the results showed some weak, nonsignificant evidence that bribe-taking may be influenced by the order of the sizes of offered bribes. However, there was no evidence of an increased probability of taking bribes after being offered the low bribes first and thus no evidence in support of the moral licensing effect.

CSR, moral licensing and organizational misconduct: a conceptual review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize how past corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects the occurrence of organizational misconduct by the means of moral licensing. Design/methodology/approach To this end, the authors conduct a conceptual review and develop a framework illustrating how moral credits and moral credentials (moral licensing) may institutionalize irresponsibility and lead to subsequent misconduct. Findings The authors propose a conceptual framework that describes the relationship between past CSR and organizational misconduct by the means of moral licensing. Based on initial literature-based findings, this paper provides confirmatory evidence for the authors’ framework and illustrates that past CSR might be used as a moral licensing tool that eventually fosters the occurrence of organizational misconduct. Research limitations/implications The authors propose future researchers account for the moral licensing effect when examining the antecedents of misconduct and explore the potential moderators of this effect. Practical implications The authors recommend that organizations establish management control systems that specifically address the issue of moral licensing when evaluating CSR initiatives. The authors also propose that organizations should adhere to a consistent CSR strategy that potentially fosters the selection of moral leaders who are not prone to moral licensing. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to connect corporate social responsibility, moral licensing and organizational misconduct from a conceptual perspective.

A Moral Balancing Perspective on Employees’ Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior

The current paper seeks to develop and test a serial mediation model linking employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and their consequent pro-self and pro-customer deviance. Drawing upon moral balancing theory, cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, and affective events theory, we examine the moral licensing effect of employee UPB on their organizational deviance through feelings of pride and psychological entitlement. Simultaneously, we investigate the moral cleansing effect of employee UPB on their customer-directed prosocial rule breaking via perceived loss of moral credits and feelings of guilt. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of external attribution of UPB on the aforementioned indirect effects. The results based on 340 full-time employees and their supervisors support the proposed serial mediated relationships. The findings further indicate that the strength of those indirect effects varies depending on employees’ external attribution of UPB. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Licence to kill? Investigating the moral licensing effect of meat reducing petitions on personal meat avoidance pledges

This paper investigated the possibility of moral licensing in the context of meat reduction. Specifically, we investigated the impact of petition-signing on personal commitment to meat reduction. In two studies, participants were assigned to a treatment condition, in which they had the opportunity to sign a petition to restrict meat in public sector catering, or a control condition, where they did not see the petition. All participants then indicated whether they would personally pledge a meat-free week. We compared personal pledge rates between petition-signers, non-signers, and the control group. In Study 1 (n = 166) we found that petition-signers were significantly more likely than the non-signers to pledge a meat-free week but were not significantly different from the control group. The non-signers, however, were significantly less likely to pledge a meat-free week than the control group. In Study 2 (n = 435) we added measures of meat attachment and environmental attitudes as covariates. We found that, in a model without covariates petition non-signing significantly predicted non-pledging. In a model with covariates, meat attachment significantly predicted pledging likelihood, but petition non-signing remained a significant predictor of pledging. These results show no moral licensing effects. In fact, we observe consistency between petition-signing and pledge-taking, though this is likely attributable to stable underlying attitudes rather than a consistency effect per se. Animal advocates should target advocacy requests towards those who are most likely to have positive underlying attitudes and avoid those who are likely to refuse.

License to Retaliate: Good Deeds as a Moral License for Misdeeds in Reaction to Abusive Supervision

ABSTRACT Abusive supervision research demonstrates that subordinates often engage in deviance following abuse despite the negative consequences of doing so. Drawing on moral licensing theory, we propose that the relationship between abusive supervision and deviance is moderated by the extent to which subordinates perform positive voluntary work behaviors. We further suggest that moral disengagement moderates this moral licensing effect and that this relationship will hold when controlling for social exchange principles. In Study 1, we found that the relationship between abusive supervision and organizational deviance was strengthened by high organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and was not significant at low levels of OCB. In Study 2, we found that the moral licensing effect was strengthened in individuals with a propensity to morally disengage, even when controlling for negative reciprocity beliefs and social exchange orientation. Implications for moral licensing and abusive supervision research are discussed.

Gamifying Green Consumerism Websites: Can Gamification Mitigate Moral Licensing and Ideological Resistance to Green Behaviors?

Green consumerism is a growing trend that may contribute to a more sustainable society. However, lack of motivation to pursue a green lifestyle might subject consumers to well-documented moral licensing effects. Moreover, individuals with conservative ideological leanings are also less predisposed to take environmentally friendly actions, suggesting that sustainability communication strategies may need to differ by user ideology. The present study tested gamification techniques as a way to boost green motivations for consumers with varying political ideologies. Through an online experiment (N = 531), we reported null findings with respect to the effects of gamification techniques and political ideology on consumers’ behavioral intentions. Implications and directions for future work on sustainability communication are discussed.