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Cited by 1,159Ethics in Business and EducationJob Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorPsychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment

Why employees do bad things: Moral disengagement and unethical organizational behavior

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MOORE, CELIA, DETERT, JAMES R., KLEBE TREVIÑO, LINDA, BAKER, VICKI L., MAYER, DAVID M.·2012·Personnel Psychology
DOI 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x
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Abstract

We examine the influence of individuals’ propensity to morally disengage on a broad range of unethical organizational behaviors. First, we develop a parsimonious, adult‐oriented, valid, and reliable measure of an individual's propensity to morally disengage, and demonstrate the relationship between it and a number of theoretically relevant constructs in its nomological network. Then, in 4 additional studies spanning laboratory and field settings, we demonstrate the power of the propensity to moral disengage to predict multiple types of unethical organizational behavior. In these studies we demonstrate that the propensity to morally disengage predicts several outcomes (self‐reported unethical behavior, a decision to commit fraud, a self‐serving decision in the workplace, and supervisor‐ and coworker‐reported unethical work behaviors) beyond other established individual difference antecedents of unethical organizational behavior, as well as the most closely related extant measure of the construct. We conclude that scholars and practitioners seeking to understand a broad range of undesirable workplace behaviors can benefit from taking an individual's propensity to morally disengage into account. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Detert JR, Treviño LK, Sweitzer VL. (2008). Moral disengagement in ethical decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 374-391.
  2. Duffy MK, Aquino K, Tepper BJ, Reed A, O'Leary-Kelly A. (2005, November). Moral disengagement and social identification: When does being similar result in harm do- ing? Paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.
  3. Moore C. (2008b). Moral disengagement in processes of organizational corruption. Journal of Business Ethics, 80, 129-139.
  4. Rest JR. (1990). DIT manual. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
  5. Sakalaki M, Richardson C, Thépaut Y. (2007). Machiavellianism and economic oppor- tunism. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1181-1190.
  6. Treviño LK, Detert JR, Sweitzer VL, Gephart J. (2008, August). Motivated moral disen- gagement: Dispositional and situational influences on ethical reasoning and behav- ior. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Conference, Anaheim, California.
  7. Weaver GR, Treviño LK. (1999). Compliance and values oriented ethics programs: Influ- ences on employee attitudes and behaviors. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9, 315-335.

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Authors
MOORE, C., DETERT, J. R., KLEBE TREVIÑO, L., BAKER, V. L., & MAYER, D. M.
Affiliations
  • London Business School (GB)
  • Cornell University (US)
  • Albion College (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
MOORE, CELIA
ORCID
Venue
Personnel Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2012-02-27
Volume
65
Issue
1
Pages
1-48
ISSN
  • 0031-5826 (ISSN-L)
  • 1744-6570
DOI
10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01237.x
OpenAlex
W2119482439
Cited by
1,159
References
125
Citations by year
2026: 140 · 2025: 126 · 2024: 117 · 2023: 139 · 2022: 112 · 2021: 114 · 2020: 90 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 45 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 7
FWCI
69.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Personnel Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Ethics in Business and Education
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Keywords
moral disengagement, individual differences, fraud, self-serving behavior, unethical workplace behavior

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