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Paved with Good Intentions: Self-regulation Breakdown After Altruistic Ethical Transgression

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Abstract

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) is unethical behavior driven by an intention to assist an organization. This study is one of the first attempts to examine the consequences of UPB. We argue that such types of behaviors can induce failure in self-regulation and thereby give rise to counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Based on self-regulation theory, we theorize that the breakdown in three fundamental mechanisms (i.e., moral standards, monitoring, and discipline) explains the link between UPB and CWB. Moreover, moral identity internalization can temper these breakdown processes such that employees with higher levels of moral identity internalization are less likely to experience moral disengagement, workplace entitlement, or self-control depleting after enacting UPB, and therefore, will engage in less CWB. We conducted a 7-day experience sampling study of 95 financial service employees in a Chinese bank to test our theoretical model. The results indicated that transgressions committed with the intention of helping the organization would ultimately harm the organization, especially for those with lower moral identity internalization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Notes

  1. https://www.businessinsider.com/luckin-coffee-fabricated-310-million-in-sales-investigation-2020-4.

  2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-fall-of-chinas-luckin-coffee-a-network-of-fake-buyers-and-a-fictitious-employee-11590682336.

  3. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/luckin-coffee-debacle-is-a-painful-reminder-of-fraud-risk.html.

  4. In a robustness check suggested by an anonymous reviewer, we controlled for day and cyclical effects (Beal & Weiss, 2003; Gabriel et al., 2019) and most of our findings remained significant.

  5. http://www.ecns.cn/cns-wire/2014/02-12/100502.shtml.

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Funding

We thank the associate editor and two anonymous reviewers for their guidance and constructive comments. We are grateful to Elizabeth Umphress, Michael Morris, Jackson G. Lu, Qiongjing Hu, Wendong Li, and Hui Wang for their feedback and help. This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71832007, 71872109) and the Program for Innovation Research of Central University of Finance and Economics, Program for Innovative Research Team of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (No. 2020110927), Beijing’ special fund for universities basic scientific research business expenses of Capital University of Economics and Business (XRZ2022053).

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Author notes

  1. Hongyu Zhang and Xin Lucy Liu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CUFE Business School, Central University of Finance & Economics, 39 Xueyuan South Road, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Hongyu Zhang

  2. Columbia Business School, Columbia University, 116th Street and Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Xin Lucy Liu

  3. College of Business, Shanghai University of Finance & Economics, 777 Guoding Rd, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China

    Yahua Cai

  4. School of Labor Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business, 121 Zhangjia Road, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of China

    Xiuli Sun

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  1. Hongyu Zhang
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Correspondence to Yahua Cai.

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Appendix

Appendix

Instructions and items

UPB. Since arriving at work today, how often have you engaged in the following behaviors? (1 = “never” to 7 = “always”)

1. Misrepresented the truth to make my organization look good and help my organization

2. Recommended inappropriate products or services to customers for the profit of my organization

3. Withheld negative information about my organization or its products from customers and clients to benefit my organization

4. Exaggerated the truth about my organization’s products or services to customers to help my organization

5. Concealed information from customers that could be damaging to my organization

6. Coaxed customers into unnecessary over-spending for the profit of my organization

Moral disengagement. Please recall your working experience today, and indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements at this moment. (1 = “strongly disagree” to 7 = “strongly agree”)

1. It is okay to spread rumors to defend those I care about

2. Taking something without the owner’s permission is okay as long as I'm just borrowing it

3. Considering the ways people grossly misrepresent themselves, it’s hardly a sin to inflate my own credentials a bit

4. People shouldn’t be held accountable for doing questionable things when they were just doing what an authority figure told them to do

5. People can’t be blamed for doing things that are technically wrong when all their friends are doing it too

6. Taking personal credit for ideas that were not my own is no big deal

7. Some people have to be treated roughly because they lack feelings that can be hurt

8. People who get mistreated have usually done something to bring it on themselves

Workplace entitlement. Please recall your working experience today, and indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements at this moment. (1 = “strongly disagree” to 7 = “strongly agree”)

1. I honestly feel I’m just more deserving than other colleagues

2. Great things in this organization should come to me

3. If someone were to be promoted, I should be given priority to

4. I demand the best in this organization because I’m worth it

5. I deserve special treatment in this organization

6. I deserve more things in this organization

7. People like me deserve an extra break now and then

8. Things should go my way in this organization

9. I feel entitled to more of everything in this organization

Self-control depletion. Please recall your working experience today, and indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements at this moment. (1 = “strongly disagree” to 7 = “strongly agree”)

1. My mind feels unfocused right now

2. Right now, it would take a lot of effort for me to concentrate on something

3. I feel drained

4. I feel like my willpower is gone

5. My mental energy is running low

CWB. arriving at work today, how often have you engaged in the following behaviors? (1 = “never” to 7 = “always”)

1. Spent time on tasks unrelated to work

2. Spoke poorly about my organization to others

3. Did not work to the best of my ability

4. Did not fully comply with a supervisor’s instructions

5. Criticized organizational policies

6. Took an unnecessary break

7. Worked slower than necessary

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Zhang, H., Liu, X.L., Cai, Y. et al. Paved with Good Intentions: Self-regulation Breakdown After Altruistic Ethical Transgression. J Bus Ethics 186, 385–405 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05185-z

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