We review and synthesize over two decades of research on ethical culture in organizations, examining eighty-nine relevant scholarly works. Our article discusses the conceptualization of ethical culture in a cross-disciplinary space and its critical role in ethical decision-making. With a view to advancing future research, we analyze the antecedents, outcomes, and mediator and moderator roles of ethical culture. To do so, we identify measures and theories used in past studies and make recommendations. We propose, inter alia, the use of validated (...) measures, application of a wider range of theories, adoption of longitudinal studies, and study of group-level data in organizations. We explore research possibilities in new and emergent forms of organizations, ways of organizing work, and technology in ethical decision-making, such as the role of artificial intelligence. We also recommend the study of a broad range of leadership styles and their influence in shaping ethical cultures in organizations. (shrink)

A burgeoning body of research has shown that authoritarian leadership embodies the characteristics of “light” and “dark,” meaning that it does not always have a negative impact on employees’ creative activities. However, studies explaining this potential positive effect are insufficient. To extend the AL and creativity literature, we draw on self-determination theory and event system theory, and elicit discipline-focused AL and appointment event criticality to examine whether, when, and how authoritarian leaders affect employee creativity positively. With time-lagged data collected from (...) 435 employees and their direct leaders in China, we found that discipline-focused AL has an indirect positive effect on employee creativity through creative self-efficacy. Additionally, appointment event criticality strengthens the positive relationship between discipline-focused AL and creative self-efficiency, and the indirect impact of discipline-focused AL on employee creativity through creative self-efficiency. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

This research develops and tests a multiple-mediator model of the relationship between organizational fairness and employees’ perceived meaningfulness. Integrating (Rosso et al., Research in Organizational Behavior 30:91–127, 2010) theoretical framework on meaningfulness with theories on fairness, we examined four parallel mechanisms linking organizational fairness to perceived meaningfulness: organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), authenticity at work, moral identification, and organizational identification. We tested our model with three time-lagged studies. All of the studies found significant mediating effects of OBSE and authenticity at work, whereas (...) the results of moral identification and organizational identification were mixed. Studies 2 and 3 also found that the combined mediating effect of the self-oriented mechanisms (OBSE and authenticity at work) was significantly stronger than that of the other-oriented mechanisms (moral identification and organizational identification). These findings suggest organizational fairness as a key antecedent of perceived meaningfulness and the prominent role of the self in the relationship between fairness and meaningfulness. (shrink)

The belongingness literature has largely examined the antecedents of non-teleworkers’ sense of belongingness, but little attention has been paid to what job-related factors could affect teleworkers’ sense of belongingness. Grounded in organizational support theory, our research focuses on why feedback quality from the direct leader brings sense of belongingness and considers how conscientiousness of teleworkers shapes this effect. Based on data from 329 participants obtained at three different time points from one technology service organization in China, our results indicated that (...) teleworkers’ perceived organizational support serves as an essential mediator of the positive relationship between feedback quality from the direct leader and sense of belongingness. Additionally, the teleworkers’ conscientiousness strengthened the positive direct effect of feedback quality on perceived organizational support and the indirect effect on sense of belongingness. The moderating role of conscientiousness in strengthening the link between feedback quality and perceived organizational support was significant for high levels of conscientiousness and not significant for low levels. Finally, we discussed theoretical and practical implications. (shrink)