This study proposes a moderated mediation model based on deontic justice theory to investigate the impact of unethical peer behavior on employee performance. Data were collected in China through two survey studies, with two measurement points in each study. The data in study 1 were obtained from 271 employees of 17 firms, and the data in study 2 were collected from 225 employees of 9 firms. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to confirm the factorial validity of the measures employed in (...) the studies. The hypothesized moderated mediation model was tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results show that employee deontic justice mediates the negative relationship between unethical peer behavior and employee performance, and a stronger ethical climate tends to strengthen this indirect relationship. This study extends previous research by introducing deontic justice theory to explore the unconscious process that relates unethical peer behavior to employee performance. The theoretical and practical implications of this paper are discussed. (shrink)

Recent events and popularized stereotypes call into question the ethics of salesperson behaviors. Although prior research demonstrates that salespeople’s emotional exhaustion can have negative consequences for several job outcomes, little is known about the factors that can mitigate such relationships—particularly the relationship between emotional exhaustion and ethical behavior. To remedy this knowledge gap, we draw from self-control theory to propose a novel theoretical framework and develop hypotheses. These hypotheses are tested on a unique dataset consisting of survey data collected from (...) 123 matched business-to-business salesperson–manager dyads. The findings reveal that emotional exhaustion is negatively associated with sales performance, emotional exhaustion is negatively associated with ethical behaviors, ethical behaviors are positively associated with sales performance, ethical behaviors mediate emotional exhaustion’s negative effect on sales performance, perceived supervisor support attenuates the negative association between emotional exhaustion and ethical behaviors, and contrary to expectations, grit strengthens the negative association between emotional exhaustion and ethical behaviors. As we show here, perceived supervisor support may attenuate the undesirable effects of emotional exhaustion on ethical behaviors and sales performance. The article’s broader contribution thus lies in its suggestion that managers pay special attention to these factors. Moreover, factors such as grit can have unexpected and undesirable influences; therefore, we draw attention to the importance of scrutinizing these interactions, even when the factors involved are almost universally touted as beneficial. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed. (shrink)

In business ethics research, little is known about why and how employees engage in unethical behavior, especially unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and unethical pro-family behavior (UPFB). Based on cognitive-affective personality system theory and conservation of resources theory, this study aims to explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of workplace bullying, as a negative event, on UPB (Study 1) and UPFB (Study 2). In Study 1, workplace bullying negatively correlated with UPB where emotional exhaustion and organization-oriented moral disengagement played chain-mediating roles (...) in this relationship. In Study 2, workplace bullying positively correlated with UPFB where emotional exhaustion and family-oriented moral disengagement played chain-mediating roles in the relationship. In both studies, perceived forgiveness climate, as a conditional factor, was found to weaken the positive impact of workplace bullying on both emotional exhaustion and the chain-mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and moral disengagement in the relationship between workplace bullying and UPB/upfb. Overall, this study explains why, how, and when employees exhibit UPB and UPFB. The implications for theory and practices that could enable organizations to reduce employees’ unethical behavior are discussed. (shrink)

This paper evaluates the ways in which European business schools are implementing sustainability and ethics into their curricula. Drawing on data gathered by a recent large study that the Academy of Business in Society conducted in cooperation with EFMD, we map the approaches that schools are currently employing by drawing on and expanding Rusinko’s :507–519 2010) and Godemann et al.’s matrice of integrating sustainability in business and management schools. We show that most schools adopt one or more of the four (...) approaches outlined by Godemann et al.. However, we also argue that a fifth dimension needs to be added as the existing matrices do not capture the systemic nature of such curricular initiatives and how these are influenced by internal factors within the business school and external factors beyond. We suggest calling this fifth dimension ‘Systemic Institutional Integration’ and demonstrate that any business school which aims to integrate sustainability further into the curricula cannot succeed without the following: Systemic thinking and systemic leadership, Connectedness to business, the natural environment and society and Institutional capacity building. Utilising further literature and the answers provided by the deans and faculty, we discuss each factor in turn and suggest paths towards the successful systemic institutional integration of sustainability and ethics into management education. (shrink)