Previous research has almost universally shown that forgiveness is a beneficial virtue that can generate a series of positive outcomes. We challenge this prevailing view by proposing that employee forgiveness is a mixed blessing. Setting off from distinguishing the motives behind forgiveness, we integrated the relational perspective and ego depletion theory to explore the beneficial and detrimental consequences of employee forgiveness. Specifically, our study investigated when and how employee forgiveness leads to interpersonal citizenship behaviors (ICBs) and interpersonal deviance. Using a (...) sample of 349 supervisor–employee dyads, we found that employee forgiveness driven by strong relationship-oriented motives could foster high-quality relationships with coworkers and facilitate ICBs. In contrast, employee forgiveness driven by strong self-oriented motives could cause more resource depletion and increase interpersonal deviance. Furthermore, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study as well as future research directions. (shrink)

The microfinance business model focuses largely on lending to the woman in the household, rather than the man. The belief is that women are more trustworthy borrowers than men, and that lending to women may have increased social impact. Yet in several cases, women do not have control over the loan backed business despite being the borrower of record. Such takeover of the business by the man constitutes an ethical violation. We find that high dependency ratios in the family are (...) correlates of such ethical violations. Further, we also find that ethical violations have a significant economic cost, consistent with prior scholarship in the family-business domain. While access to microfinance increases household welfare, this beneficial impact reduces by over 50% in the presence of an ethical violation. Our results suggest that microfinance lenders need to move beyond the traditional role of just being a lender to providing advice on issues like family planning, and money management, and enforcement, thus moving closer to the solidarity economy paradigm of integrating savings and credit into broader canvases of social relationships and social structures. (shrink)