Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-04T13:18:30.430Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

When Does Ethical Leadership Affect Workplace Incivility? The Moderating Role of Follower Personality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2015

Shannon G. Taylor
Affiliation:
University of Central Florida
Marshall W. Pattie
Affiliation:
James Madison University
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Although prior work has shown that employees with ethical leaders are less likely to engage in deviant or unethical behaviors, it is unknown whether all employees respond this way or to the same extent. Drawing on social learning theory as a conceptual framework, this study develops and tests hypotheses suggesting that two follower characteristics—conscientiousness and core self-evaluation—moderate the negative relationship between ethical leadership and workplace incivility. Data from employees of a U.S. public school district supported our predictions. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2014

References

REFERENCES

Aguinis, H., Beaty, J.C., Boik, R.J., & Pierce, C.A. 2005. Effect size and power in assessing moderating effects of categorical variables using multiple regression: A 30-year review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 94107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.L94CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aguinis, H., Gottfredson, R.K., & Culpepper, S.A. 2013. Best-practice recommendations for estimating cross-level interaction effects using multilevel modeling. Journal of Management, 39(6): 14901528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206313478188CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aiken, S.L., & West, S.G. 1991. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Andersson, L.M., & Pearson, C.M. 1999. Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24: 452–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avey, J.B., Palanski, M.E., & Walumbwa, F.O. 2011. When leadership goes unnoticed: The moderating role of follower self-esteem on the relationship between ethical leadership and follower behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 98: 573–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0610-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avey, J.B., Wernsing, T.S., & Palanski, M.E. 2012. Exploring the process of ethical leadership: The mediating role of employee voice and psychological ownership. Journal of Business Ethics, 107: 2134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1298-2Google Scholar
Bandura, A. 1977. Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. 1989. Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44: 1175–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.9.1175CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. 1991. Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Kurtines, W.M. & Gewirtz, J.L. (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (Vol. 1, pp. 45103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Berry, C.M., Carpenter, N.C., & Barratt, C.L. 2012. Do other-reports of counterproductive work behavior provide an incremental contribution over self-reports? A meta-analytic comparison. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97: 613–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026739CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blau, G., & Andersson, L. 2005. Testing a measure of instigated workplace incivility. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78: 595614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/096317905X26822CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, M.E., & Mitchell, M.S. 2010. Ethical and unethical leadership: Exploring new avenues for future research. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20: 583616. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq201020439CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, M.E., & Treviño, L.K. 2006. Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17: 595616. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016Zj.leaqua.2006.10.004Google Scholar
Brown, M.E., Treviño, L.K., & Harrison, D.A. 2005. Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97: 117–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caza, B.B., & Cortina, L.M. 2007. From insult to injury: Explaining the impact of incivility. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29: 335–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01973530701665108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, C-H., Ferris, D.L., Johnson, R.E., Rosen, C.C., & Tan, J.A. 2012. Core selfevaluations: A review and evaluation of the literature. Journal of Management, 38: 81128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206311419661CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, G., Gully, S.M., & Eden, D. 2001. Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale. Organizational Research Methods, 4: 6283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/109442810141004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J. 1988. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S.G., & Aiken, S.L. 2003. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Comer, D.R., & Vega, G. (Eds.). 2011. Moral courage in organizations: Doing the right thing at work. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharp.Google Scholar
Costa, P.T. Jr., & McCrae, R.R. 1992. Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the NEO Five-Factor (NEO-FFI) Inventory professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Council of Chief State School Officers. 2008. Educational leadership policy standards: ISLLC 2008. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Dalal, R.S. 2005. A meta-analysis of the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 1241–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1241CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Detert, J.R., Treviño, L.K., Burris, E.R., & Andiappan, M. 2007. Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 9931005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92A993CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Detert, J.R., Treviño, L.K., & Sweitzer, V.L. 2008. Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93: 374–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.374CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, M.G. 1985. A Monte Carlo study of the effects of correlated method variance in moderated multiple regression analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36: 305–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(85)90002-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobserv-able variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18: 3950. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3151312CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, L.R., Johnson, J.A., Eber, H.W., Hogan, R., Ashton, M.C., Cloninger, C.R., & Gough, H.G. 2006. The International Personality Item Pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40: 8496. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.08.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenbaum, R.L., Mawritz, M.B., & Eissa, G. 2012. Bottom-line mentality as an antecedent of social undermining and the moderating roles of core self-evaluations and conscientiousness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97: 343–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0025217CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffin, B., & Hesketh, B. 2005. Are conscientious workers adaptable? Australian Journal of Management, 30: 245–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/031289620503000204Google Scholar
Hannah, S.T., Avolio, B.J., & May, D.R. 2011. Moral maturation and moral conation: A capacity approach to explaining moral thought and action. Academy of Management Review, 36: 663–85.Google Scholar
Hayes, A.F. 2013. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Horn, J., Nelson, C.E., & Brannick, M.T. 2004. Integrity, conscientiousness, and honesty. Psychological Reports, 95: 2738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howell, J.P., Dorfman, P.W., & Kerr, S. 1986. Moderator variables in leadership research. Academy of Management Review, 11: 88102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judge, T.A., Erez, A., Bono, J.E., & Thoresen, C.J. 2003. The core self-evaluations scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56: 303–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00152.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judge, T.A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J.D. 2011. Implications of core self-evaluations for a changing organizational context. Human Resource Management Review, 21: 331–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.10.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judge, T.A., Locke, E.A., & Durham, C.C. 1997. The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19: 151–88.Google Scholar
Judge, T.A., Piccolo, R.F., & Kosalka, T. 2009. The bright and dark sides of leader traits: A review and theoretical extension of the leader trait paradigm. Leadership Quarterly, 20: 855–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.09.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kacmar, K.M., Collins, B.J., Harris, K.J., & Judge, T.A. 2009. Core self-evaluations and job performance: The role of perceived work environment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94: 1572–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017498CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kamdar, D., & Van Dyne, L. 2007. The joint effects of personality and workplace social exchange relationships in predicting task performance and citizenship performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 1286–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.5.1286CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, K., & Allen, N.J. 2002. Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 131–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.L131CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marchiondo, K., Marchiondo, L.A., & Lasiter, S. 2010. Faculty incivility: Effects on program satisfaction of BSN students. Journal of Nursing Education, 49: 608–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20100524-05CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marcus, B., Hoft, S., & Riediger, M. 2006. Integrity tests and the five-factor model of personality: A review and empirical test of two alternative positions. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 14: 113–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2006.00338.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marinova, S.V., Moon, H., & Kamdar, D. 2013. Getting ahead or getting along? The two-facet conceptualization of conscientiousness and leadership emergence. Organization Science, 24: 1257–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0781CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mawritz, M.B., Mayer, D.M., Hoobler, J.M., Wayne, S.J., & Marinova, S.V. 2012. A trickle-down model of abusive supervision. Personnel Psychology, 65: 325–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2012.01246.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, D.M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. 2009. How does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108: 113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, D.M., Kuenzi, M., & Greenbaum, R.L. 2010. Examining the link between ethical leadership and employee misconduct: The mediating role of ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 95: 716. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0794-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrae, R.R., & John, O.P. 1992. An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of Personality, 60: 175215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.xGoogle Scholar
McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Duffy, M. 2010. How personality and moral identity relate to individuals’ ethical ideology. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20: 3556. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq20102014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moon, H. 2001. The two faces of conscientiousness: Duty and achievement striving in escalation of commitment dilemmas. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 533–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.535CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nagy, M.S. 2002. Using a single-item approach to measure facet job satisfaction. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75: 7786. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/096317902167658CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Netemeyer, R.G., Bearden, W.O., & Sharma, S. 2003. Scaling procedures: Issues and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, C.M., Andersson, L.M., & Porath, C.L. 2000. Assessing and attacking workplace incivility. Organizational Dynamics, 29(2): 123–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(00)00019-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, C.M., Andersson, L.M., & Porath, C.L. 2005. Workplace incivility. In Fox, S. & Spector, P.E. (Eds.), Counterproductive work behavior: Investigations of actors and targets, 177–200). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Pearson, C.M., & Porath, C.L. 2005. On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for “nice”? Think again. Academy of Management Executive, 19: 718.Google Scholar
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. 2004. Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., & Podsakoff, N.P. 2012. Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology, 63: 539–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porath, C., & Pearson, C. 2013. The price of incivility. Harvard Business Review, 91(1–2): 114–21.Google Scholar
Resick, C.J., Martin, G.S., Keating, M.A., Dickson, M.W., Kwan, H.K., & Peng, C. 2011. What ethical leadership means to me: Asian, American, and European perspectives. Journal of Business Ethics, 101: 435–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0730-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riggio, R.E., Zhu, W., Reina, C., & Maroosis, J.A. 2010. Virtue-based measurement of ethical leadership: The Leadership Virtues Questionnaire. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62: 235–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, S.L., & Bennett, R.J. 1995. A typology of deviant workplace behaviors: A multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 38: 555–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256693CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scarpello, V., & Hayton, J.C. 2001. Identifying the sources of nonequivalence in measures of job satisfaction. In Schriesheim, C. A. & Neider, L.L. (Eds.), Equivalence in measurement: 131–60. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.Google Scholar
Schaubroeck, J.M., Hannah, S.T., Avolio, B.J., Kozlowski, S.W.J., Lord, R.G., Treviño, L.K., Dimotakis, N., & Peng, A.C. 2012. Embedding ethical leadership within and across organization levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55: 1053–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0064CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siemsen, E., Roth, A., & Oliveira, P. 2010. Common method bias in regression models with linear, quadratic, and interaction effects. Organizational Research Methods, 13: 456–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428109351241CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simons, T. 2002. Behavioral integrity: The perceived alignment between managers’ words and deeds as a research focus. Organization Science, 13: 1835. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.1.18.543CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stronge, J.H. 2007. Qualities of effective teachers (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD Publications.Google Scholar
Treviño, L.K., Brown, M., & Hartman, L.P. 2003. A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite. Human Relations, 56: 537. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726703056001448CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treviño, L.K., Hartman, L.P., & Brown, M. 2000. Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4): 128–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/41166057CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twale, D., & DeLuca, B. 2008. Faculty incivility: The rise of the academic bully culture and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Walumbwa, F.O., Mayer, D.M., Wang, P., Wang, H., Workman, K., & Christensen, A.L. 2011. Linking ethical leadership to employee performance: The roles of leader-member exchange, self-efficacy, and organizational identification. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115: 204–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walumbwa, F.O., & Schaubroeck, J. 2009. Leader personality traits and employee voice behavior: Mediating roles of ethical leadership and work group psychological safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94: 1275–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0015848CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wanous, J.P., Reichers, A.E., & Hudy, M.J. 1997. Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 247–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.2.247CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, L., Cote, J., & Buckley, M. 1989. Lack of method variance in self-reported affect and perceptions of work: Reality or artifact? Journal of Applied Psychology, 74: 462–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.74.3.462CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witt, L.A., Andrews, M.C., & Carlson, D.S. 2004. When conscientiousness isn’t enough: Emotional exhaustion and performance among call center customer service representatives. Journal of Management, 30: 149–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, T.A., & Quick, J.C. 2011. The role of character in ethical leadership research. Leadership Quarterly, 22: 975–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.07.015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Y.A., & Shaw, J.D. 2012. Publishing in AMJ—part 5: Crafting the methods and results. Academy of Management Journal, 55: 812. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.4001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, W., Riggio, R.E., Avolio, B.J., & Sosik, J.J. 2011. The effect of leadership on follower moral identity: Does transformational/transactional style make a difference? Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 18: 150–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1548051810396714Google Scholar