on Employees' Behavior: A Social Identity Approach

On the Effects of Ethical Climate(s) on Employees’ Behavior: A Social Identity Approach Stefano Pagliaro1, Alessandro Lo Presti2*, Massimiliano Barattucci3, Valeria A. Giannella1, Manuela Barreto4 1

Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Università degli Studi G. d'Annunzio Chieti

e Pescara, Italy, 2Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy, 3Università degli Studi eCampus, Italy, 4Psychology, University of Exeter, United Kingdom Submitted to Journal: Frontiers in Psychology

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Specialty Section: Organizational Psychology ISSN: 1664-1078 Article type: Original Research Article

i v o r P Received on: 09 Mar 2018 Accepted on: 24 May 2018

Provisional PDF published on: 24 May 2018 Frontiers website link: www.frontiersin.org

Citation: Pagliaro S, Lo_presti A, Barattucci M, Giannella VA and Barreto M(2018) On the Effects of Ethical Climate(s) on Employees’ Behavior: A Social Identity Approach. Front. Psychol. 9:960. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00960 Copyright statement: © 2018 Pagliaro, Lo_presti, Barattucci, Giannella and Barreto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution and reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

This Provisional PDF corresponds to the article as it appeared upon acceptance, after peer-review. Fully formatted PDF and full text (HTML) versions will be made available soon.

Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org

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On the Effects of Ethical Climate(s) on Employees’ Behavior: A Social

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Identity Approach

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Stefano Pagliaro1, Alessandro Lo Presti2*, Massimiliano Barattucci3, Valeria Amata Giannella1, & Manuela Barreto4

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Laboratory NA, Institute NA, E-campus University, Roma, Italy

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Laboratory NA, Institute NA, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

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* Correspondence: Alessandro Lo Presti, Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Viale Ellittico, 31, 81100, Caserta, Italy. Phone/Fax: Fax: + 39 0823 275 331. E-mail: [email protected].

Laboratory of Social Psychology, Institute NA, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy Laboratory NA, Institute NA, Department of Psychology, Università della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy

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Keywords: Ethical climate, Organization Identification, Moral Disengagement, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Counterproductive Work Behaviors

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Word count:

Abstract: 171

Main Text and note: 4892 Reference List: 2487 Table: 149

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Article type: Original research

Ethical Climates: A Social Identity Approach 28

Abstract

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The spread and publicity given to questionable practices in the corporate world during the last two decades has fostered an increasing interest about the importance of ethical work for organizations, practitioners, scholars and, last but not least, the wider public. Relying on the Social Identity Approach, we suggest that the effects of different ethical climates on employee behaviors are driven by affective identification with the organization and, in parallel, by cognitive moral (dis)engagement. We compared the effects of two particular ethical climates derived from the literature: An ethical organizational climate of self-interest, and an ethical organizational climate of friendship. Three hundred seventy-six workers completed measures of Ethical Climate, Organizational Identification, Moral Disengagement, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, and Counterproductive Work Behaviors. Structural equation modelling confirmed that the two ethical climates considered were independently related to organizational identification and moral disengagement. These, in turn, mediated the effects of ethical climates on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Counterproductive Work Behaviors. We discuss results in light of the social identity approach, and present some practical implications of our findings.

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54 55 56 57 58 59 This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

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Pervasiveness of Morality 61

The spread and publicity given to questionable practices in the corporate world during the last two

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decades (e.g., scandals, frauds, bankruptcies, conflicts of interest, violation of workers’ rights, etc.)

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have fostered an increasing awareness of, and interest in, the importance of ethical work climates

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(Victor & Cullen, 1988) for organizations, practitioners, scholars and the wider public (Barattucci,

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Alfano, & Amodio, 2017). The growing interest in the study of ethical climates – defined as a set of

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shared perceptions of procedures and policies, both formal and informal, which shape expectations

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for ethical behavior (Victor & Cullen, 1987) – relies on the observation that they strongly influence

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individual and organizational outcomes and behaviors (Ehrhart & Raver, 2014; Mayer, 2014;

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Treviño, Butterfield, & McCabe, 1998). Specifically, ethical climates that promote pro-social

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behavior generally tend to be associated with stronger work performance than ethical climates that

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promote individualism (e.g., Briggs, Jaramillo, & Weeks, 2012; Ehrhart & Raver, 2014; Mayer,

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2014). Thus, the understanding of positive proximal (e.g., job attitudes) and distal (e.g., lowered

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performance) organizational and individual consequences that different ethical climates may foster,

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can help organizations harness their potential.

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How does ethical climate – or better, how do different types of ethical climates – impact upon

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individual’s attitudes and behavior? Relying on the Social Identity Approach (Tajfel & Turner, 1979;

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Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Whetherell, 1987), in the present paper we suggest that the effects

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of different ethical climates on employees’ behavioral tendencies are driven by affective

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identification with the organization and, in parallel, by cognitive moral (dis)engagement (Bandura,

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1990). Knowing whether and how different ethical climates foster organizational identification and

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moral disengagement could be helpful to tailor organizational interventions targeting specific

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dimensions of organizational climate, to foster positive organizational identification, or to discourage

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moral disengagement. In particular, we aim to show that different kinds of ethical climates are related

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to different levels of organizational affective identification and cognitive moral (dis-)engagement 3

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towards the organization as a whole, which impact on the employees’ positive (i.e., Organizational

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Citizenship Behavior, hereafter OCB; e.g., Brief & Motowidlo, 1986) and negative (i.e.,

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Counterproductive Work Behaviors, hereafter CWB; e.g., Spector & Fox, 2005) behavioral reactions.

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Ethical Climate(s)

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An ethical climate can be referred to as “the perception of what constitutes right behavior, and

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thus becomes a psychological mechanism through which ethical issues are managed” (Martin &

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Cullen, 2006, p. 177). As such, the construct of ethical climate approaches the notion of moral norms,

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that is, behavioral guidelines that drive the interpretation of what is right and wrong within groups

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and organizations (see for instance, Ellemers, Pagliaro, Barreto, & Leach, 2008; Pagliaro, Ellemers,

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& Barreto, 2011). This refers to the fact that different organizations develop different subcultures that

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govern how individuals relate to each other and regulate each other's behavior. Starting from the

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original ethical climate theory (Victor & Cullen, 1987; 1988), a growing body of research has

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focused on the consequences of ethical climate on employees’ perceptions and behaviors. In this

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vein, researchers ascertained that ethical climates predict employees’ ethical behaviors (Treviño et

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al., 1998; Verbeke, Ouwerkerk, & Peelen, 1996), job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction; Ambrose,

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Arnaud, & Schminke, 2008; Deshpande, 1996; Schweper, 2001), commitment to the organization

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(e.g., Babin, Boles, & Robin, 2000; Treviño et al., 1998), turnover intentions (Ambrose et al. 2008;

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Mulki, Jaramillo, & locander, 2006; Schwepker, 2001), organizational citizenship behaviors (Leung,

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2008; Shin, 2012), and a range of counterproductive work behaviors (for a review, see Ehrhart &

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Raver, 2014; Meyer, 2014).

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A second important area of investigation around ethical climate has focused on the

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understanding of the different facets of the concept itself. While some have regarded it as a single

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construct (see Arnaud & Schminke, 2007; Mayer, 2014; Schwepker, 2001), the concept of ethical

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climate is more commonly regarded as multi-dimensional (Babin et al., 2000; DeConinck, 2011;

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Victor & Cullen, 1988). For example, in their seminal work Victor and Cullen (1987, 1988) proposed

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a theoretical typology of ethical climates comprising nine ethical climate types based on two

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dimensions: a) the criteria used for making ethical decisions (i.e., egoism, benevolence and

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principles) and b) the locus-of-analysis (i.e., individual, local and cosmopolitan). Following from this

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proposal, several types of ethical climates have been theorized, as well as different ways of

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differentiating between them. An important distinction for the present purpose can be made between

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an ethical organizational climate of self-interest, which underlines a more individualistic and

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independent way of dealing with ethical issues within the organization; and an ethical organizational

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climate of friendship, which, on the contrary, subsumes a collective and interdependent way to deal

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with the same ethical issues (Cullen, Victor, & Bronson, 1993). In the present paper, we deal in

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particular with the relationship between these two ethical climates and employees’ positive and

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negative behaviors, in terms of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors – that is, discretionary

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behaviors that are favorable to the organization (Brief & Motowidlo, 1986) – and their extreme

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opposite, Counterproductive Work Behaviors – that is, “volitional acts that harm or intend to harm

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organizations and their stakeholders” (Spector & Fox, 2005, pp. 151-152).

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Although both climates of friendship and self-interest may have positive effects, when it

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comes to promoting pro-organizational behavior like Organizational Citizenship Behavior (and/or to

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discourage negative tendencies such as Counterproductive Work Behaviors), we propose that an

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ethical climate of friendship (vs. self-interest) will have the upper hand. This is because such an

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interdependent and collective way of dealing with ethical issues within organizations is more likely

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to promote organizational affective identification, and discourage cognitive moral disengagement.

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The relation between ethical climate, on the one hand, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (e.g.,

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Leung 2008; Shin, 2012) and a plethora of Counterproductive Work Behaviors (for a review, Ehrhart 5


& Raver, 2014) on the other, has been demonstrated in the literature: however, far less attention has

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been devoted to the investigation of the affective and cognitive mechanisms that underlie such

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relation. Clarifying these mechanisms is the main goal of the present paper.

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Organizational Identification and its Relationship with Ethical Climate

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The seminal work on organizational identification by Ashforth and Mael (1989) highlighted the fact

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that applying the social identity approach (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner et al., 1987) to

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organizations allowed a new understanding of many organizational dynamics (e.g., leadership;

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conflict and conflict resolution; job strain, amongst others). The central statement of the social

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identity approach (Tajfel, 1978) is that, whereas in many situations people think about themselves as

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unique and independent individuals, who behave on the basis of their own idiosyncratic

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characteristics, in many other contexts they are inclined to think of themselves (and others, in turn) in

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terms of group membership (e.g., in terms of their belonging to an organization). Most importantly,

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in the cognitive elaboration of the approach – that is, self-categorization theory – Turner and

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colleagues (1979) elaborated on the conditions under which different levels of self-definitions

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(personal vs. social) are likely to become salient, as well as on the perceptive and behavioral

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consequences of those different self-definitions (Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994; see also, Ellemers,

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DeGilder, & Haslam, 2004). Thus, the social identity approach specifies how group membership –

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and the affective connection with one’s group (i.e., social identification) – provides individuals with

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normative guidelines that help them define who they are, how to behave, and which aspects of their

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group belongingness are particularly important (Ellemers, Pagliaro, & Barreto, 2013). As a result,

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their group belongingness becomes part of their collective self-concept.

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Building on Ashforth and Mael (1989; 1996), researchers highlighted the link between

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organizational identification and several aspects of organizational life (see Riketta, 2005, for a


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review), including, for instance, work motivation (Haslam, Powell, & Turner, 2000), turnover

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intentions (Ellemers, Kingma, van de Burgt, & Barreto, 2011; Ngo, Loi, Foley, Zheng, & Zhang,

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2013; Smith, Amiot, Callan, Terry, & Smith, 2012), organizational trust (Roeck & Delobbe, 2012),

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procedural justice (Epitropaki, 2013), perceived organizational support (Cheung & Law, 2008), and

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job performance (Riketta, 2005). Nevertheless, only few studies have tried to connect organizational

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identification and ethical climate (Briggs et al., 2012; DeConinck, 2011; DeConinck, DeConinck, &

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Banerjee, 2013; Umphress, Bingham, & Mitchell, 2010; Walumbwa et al., 2011). Among these, the

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most relevant for the present purpose is the work by DeConinck (2011), who found that facets of

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ethical work climates (i.e., responsibility/trust) were directly related to organizational identification

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in a sample of salespeople. Nevertheless, this previous research did not investigate whether or not

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different ethical climates relate to organizational identification, nor has it ascertained how this further

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impacts upon employees’ positive and negative organizational behaviors, as we tried to do in the

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present research. The lack of empirical studies on the relation between ethical climate and

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organizational identification is at odds with recent evidence of how central moral/ethical issues are

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for group belongingness and identification (DeConinck, 2011; Ellemers et al., 2013; Pagliaro et al.,

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2011; van Prooijen & Ellemers, 2015). In fact, individuals prefer to identify with, and are particularly

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proud of, groups and organizations that are considered as moral and honest (for a review, Ellemers et

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al., 2013), and this centrality of organizational morality leads them to commit themselves to the

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organization (Ellemers et al., 2011). Following this rationale, it should be predicted that strong

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ethical climates facilitate employee organizational identification (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Becker,

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Billings, Eveleth, & Gilbert, 1996), in particular when this subsumes a collective and interdependent

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(vs. an individual and independent) way to behave within the organization. This is why in the present

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research we focused on the comparison between an ethical organizational climate of self-interest and

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an ethical organizational climate of friendship, which subsume two opposite ways to deal with the

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Ethical Climates: A Social Identity Approach 181 182

same ethical issues (Cullen et al., 1993). Moral Disengagement in Organizational Contexts

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Bandura (1990, 1991) introduced the concept of moral disengagement to identify several social-

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cognitive mechanisms that people use to justify or rationalize their wrongful and deviant antisocial

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behaviors. In particular, it is posited that individuals generally behave in ways that are consistent

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with their internal standards of morality because they may experience anticipatory negative emotions

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(e.g., remorse, guilt, and shame) when they deviate from those internal standards. However, under

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specific situations individuals might perform behaviors that violate such internal standards, even

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when these remain unchanged, thus effectively bypassing the negative emotions that would normally

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emerge from such violation. Moral disengagement is therefore a process that allows individuals to

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regard their negative behavior, and its consequences, in a socially acceptable way (Gibbs, Potter, &

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Goldstein, 1995). It can operate as an automatic and anticipatory mechanism preventing individuals

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from perceiving moral inconsistencies, or as a post-hoc rationalization (Ashforth & Anand, 2003;

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Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Bandura, Caprara, & Zsolnai, 2000; Fida et al.,

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2015; Martin, Kish-Gephart, & Detert, 2014). While some scholars focused on moral disengagement

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as a disposition (e.g., Moore et al., 2012), others have started to examine how situational or

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contextual factors may promote moral disengagement and unethical behaviors (Kish-Gephart, Detert,

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Trevino, Baker & Martin, 2014; Martin et al., 2014).

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In organizational contexts, researchers have ascertained the relationship between moral

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disengagement on the one hand and a number of misconducts on the other hand, including

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violations of legal and moral rules in the production process (Brief, Buttram, & Dukerich, 2001),

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unethical work behaviors (Barsky, 2011; Moore, 2008), and violation of safety rules (Barbaranelli &

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Perna, 2004; for a review, see Treviño, Weaver, & Reynolds, 2006). Deviance can have profound


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negative effects on organizational performance and can be very costly (Huang, Wellman, Ashford,

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Lee, & Wang, 2017). Ethical climates might influence the self-regulation process that reduces or

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increases negative behaviors, allowing workers to keep a positive view of themselves even if they

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undertake deviant actions (Baron, Zhao, & Miao, 2015; Christian & Ellis, 2014; Greenhalgh, Watt, &

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Schutte, 2015).

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Although the relationship between moral disengagement and Counterproductive Work

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Behaviors has been ascertained, far less attention has been devoted to the possible relationship

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between ethical climate and moral disengagement. Saidon, Galbreath, and Whiteley (2012) found

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that moral disengagement mediated the effect of ethical climate on interpersonal deviance.

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Nevertheless, as noted above, ethical climate has been acknowledged as a multi-dimensional

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construct, which underpins different ways of treating moral issues within organizations. Later,

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Paharia, Vohs, and Deshpande (2013) found that situations promoting self-interest fostered moral

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disengaged reasoning and behaviors. Thus, we are inclined to believe that the specific (individual and

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independent vs. collective and interdependent) nature of the ethical climate endorsed within an

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organization may favor moral disengagement towards that organization and subsequently promote

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anti-social behaviors. In particular, we suggest that the more the organization endorses a collective

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and interdependent way to treat moral issues (i.e., a friendship ethical climate), the less employees

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should morally disengage, the more they should display OCBs and the less they should display

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CWBs.

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In the present research we directly tested how two different kinds of ethical climate relate to

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employees’ affective identification with organization, cognitive moral disengagement, and (positive

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and negative) behaviors. In particular, considering that social identity approach stresses the

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importance of the psychological link with other ingroup members, we considered two particular

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ethical climates: An ethical organizational climate of self-interest, which underlines an individualistic

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way to deal with ethical issues within the organization, and an ethical organizational climate of

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friendship, which on the contrary subsumes a more collective and interdependent way to deal with

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the same ethical issues (Cullen et al., 1993). Our main proposition is that the more the ethical climate

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of an organization endorses a collective way to manage the ethical issues, the more employees should

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be encouraged to strengthen their psychological linkage with their peers and their organization as a

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whole, and the less they should therefore disengage from their own organization. As a result, they

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should behave in a way that benefits the organization as a whole rather than themselves as

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individuals. On the contrary, the more the ethical climate of an organization promotes individuality,

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the less employees should be encouraged to strengthen their psychological linkage with their peers

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and their organization as a whole, and the more they should consider correct to behave in an

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individualistic way, even in ways that threaten the organization as a whole. As a result, they should

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not invest time and energies in behaviors that benefit the organization as a whole.

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In summary, we anticipated that the perception of an ethical organizational climate of self-

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interest would be negatively related to organizational identification (Hp1a) and positively related to

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moral disengagement within the organization (Hp1b). On the contrary, we anticipated that the

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perception of an ethical organizational climate of friendship should be positively related to

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organizational identification (Hp2a) and negatively related to moral disengagement within the

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organization (Hp2b). Moreover, we hypothesized that both organizational identification and moral

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disengagement should be related to employees’ positive and negative behaviors, in terms of OCB and

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CWB, although in opposite directions. That is, organizational identification should be positively

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related to OCB (Hp3a) and negatively related to CWB (Hp3b). On the contrary, moral

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disengagement should be negatively related to OCB (Hp4a) and positively related to CWB (Hp4b).

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Finally, in order to clarify whether the effects of ethical climate on OCB and CWB are driven by

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organizational identification and moral disengagement, we tested whether these effects are actually

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mediated by both organizational identification and moral disengagement (Hp5). We tested these

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hypotheses in a comprehensive structural equations modelling. Figure 1 depicts our research model

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and summarizes the main hypotheses.

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Method Participants and Procedure Data were collected among employees at eleven Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

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in different sectors: insurance, health, chemical, manufacturing, and welfare. We adopted this

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sampling procedure because SMEs are the typical Italian organization and this could help achieve the

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highest variability in responses.

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The final sample consisted of 376 workers, 215 (57.2%) of whom were women (9 missing

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cases). Mean age was 40.35 years (SD = 10.95), while average organizational tenure was 10.98 years

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(SD = 10.69). One hundred twenty-seven respondents (33.8%) were single, 212 (56.4%) were

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married/cohabitating and 18 (4.8%) were divorced or widowed (19 missing cases). 26 (6.9%) held a

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junior high school degree or less, 161 (42.8%) a high school degree and 175 (46.5%) a university

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degree (14 missing cases). As for employment contract, 258 (68.7%) held a permanent contract

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against 98 (26.1%) with a permanent contract (20 missing cases).

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Respondents received a copy of the questionnaire, along with a letter of research presentation

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and a sealable envelope in order to protect privacy (Italian Law No. 196/2003). Questionnaires were

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distributed within organizations by trained researchers and participation was voluntary. Researchers

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contacted the human resource managers of the companies, explained the topic under investigation to

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them, and these collectively distributed the questionnaires to the employees. Employees were asked 11


to fill in the questionnaires and return them within 2 weeks. Individuals had the opportunity to stop

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their participation at any time. The study complied with ethical standards and was approved by the

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Ethical Committee of the second author’s institution.

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Measures

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Ethical organizational climate of self-interest (Cullen et al., 1993; Italian version: Lo Presti,

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Pagliaro, Barattucci, & Marcato, 2017) was assessed through four items (e.g., “In this company,

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people are mostly out for themselves”). Responses were given through a 6-point scale (from 0 =

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“completely false” to 5 = “completely true”; Cronbach’s alpha = .75).

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Ethical organizational climate of friendship (Cullen et al., 1993; Italian version: Lo Presti et

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al., 2017) was assessed through six items (e.g., “In this company, people look out for each other’s

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good”). Responses were given through a 6-point scale (from 0 = “completely false” to 5 =

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“completely true”; Cronbach’s alpha = .90).

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Organizational identification was assessed through the Italian adaptation by Manuti and

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Bosco (2012) of the original 6-item scale by Mael and Ashforth (1992), adapted for organizational

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contexts (e.g., “When someone criticizes my organization, it feels like a personal insult”). Responses

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were given on a 6-point Likert scale (from 0 = “completely disagree” to 5 = “completely agree”;

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Cronbach’s alpha = .92).

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Moral disengagement was evaluated through the Work Moral Disengagement Scale (Fida et

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al., 2015). The scale comprised 24 items (e.g. “Being absent from work frequently is acceptable since

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many people at work are not productive anyway”) through a 6-point Likert scale (from 0 =

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“completely disagree” to 5 = “completely agree”; Cronbach’s alpha = .93).

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Counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) were assessed through the Italian version

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(Barbaranelli, Fida, & Gualandri, 2013) of the original checklist by Spector et al. (2006). In This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

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particular, we assessed CWB towards organizations, that is behaviors targeting the organization as a

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whole, through 13 items (e.g., “stole something belonging to my employer”). Responses were

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collected via a 6-point frequency scale (from 0 = “never” to 5 = “always”; Cronbach’s alphas = .95).

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Finally, to assess Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) we administered the Italian

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version (Argentero, Cortese & Ferretti, 2008) of the original questionnaire by Podsakoff, MacKenzie,

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Moorman, and Fetter (1990). The scale includes 15 items (e.g., ‘Help others who have heavy

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workloads’). Participants responded by using a 7-point frequency scale (from 1 = ‘never’, to 7 =

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‘always’; Cronbach’s α = .97).

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Data Analysis

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Structural equation modeling analysis (Lisrel 9.3) using Maximum Likelihood estimation

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methods (along with the indicators’ covariance matrix) were used to evaluate the measurement and

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structural models concerning study variables and their associations.

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With regard to the measurement model, given the low ratio (5.52) between cases (i.e., 376)

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and the number of items (i.e., 68) we relied on the item parceling technique (Little, Cunningham,

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Shahar, & Widamon, 2002), which allows parcel creation on the basis of the calculated mean

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between different items referring to the same construct. Advantages of this technique include fewer

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instability risks in the parameters’ estimates, fewer estimation problems deriving from the small

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number of cases, and fewer risks deriving from items’ non-normality or the excessive number of

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parameters to be estimated.

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Item parceling was used for the following variables: moral disengagement (6 items for 24

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items), counterproductive work behaviors (6 parcels for 13 items), organizational citizenship

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behaviors (5 parcels for 15 items), increasing the cases/item ratio to 11.39.

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With regard to the models’ goodness-of-fit evaluation, we relied on both absolute and relative

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goodness-of-fit indices. In addition to referring to the chi-square and degrees of freedom to evaluate

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possible significant differences between alternative nested models, we reported the following indices:

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Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA; acceptable values lower than .08; Browne,

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Cudeck, & Bollen, 1993), Standardized Root Mean square Residual (SRMR; acceptable values lower

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than .08; Hu & Bentler, 1999), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Incremental Fit Index (IFI), for

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which scores higher than .90 are acceptable (Hoyle, 1995; Marsh, Balla, & Hau, 1996).

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Given that we measured all study variables through a single questionnaire, we addressed

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common method variance and response bias according to methods outlined by Podsakoff,

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MacKenzie, Lee, and Podsakoff (2003). Different scale endpoints and formats for the predictor and

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criterion measures were used in order to reduce method biases caused by commonalities in scale

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endpoints and anchoring effects. Moreover, we randomly inserted items into the questionnaire and

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scales were graphically separated from each other. Finally, two different versions of the

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questionnaire, containing a different scales’ sequence, were used for data collection.

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Table 1 reports the descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations among the variables of the study.

A measurement model was developed in order to examine the construct validity of study

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measures using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A common method is to compare different

353

models (nested models), from a one-factor model to a final one containing as many factors as

354

included measures (in our case six latent variables), passing over intermediate solutions. The

355

different models were compared on the basis of chi square/degrees of freedom scores, and on

356

different goodness of fit indices. This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

14


Three different measurement models were developed: A one single factor model, a three

358

factors model (predictors, mediators, outcomes), and finally the model to be confirmed, containing

359

six separate factors (Table 2).

360

There was a remarkable improvement from model 1 to model 3, demonstrated by all the

361

included indices. Such results supported a measurement model in which items and parcels referred to

362

their respective latent variables making it possible to estimate the subsequent structural model. We

363

subsequently verified scales’ internal consistencies through Cronbach alphas. Cronbach alpha values

364

were satisfactory for all scales (see Measures section).

365

The subsequent structural model contained all hypothesized relationships (see Figure 2):

Eliminato: 1

l a n o si

366

direct links from the two predictors (organizational ethical climates of self-interest and friendship) to

367

organizational identification and moral disengagement as intermediate and mediating variables, while

368

these two latter variables linked to counterproductive work behaviors and organizational citizenship

369

behaviors as outcomes.

370

i v o r P

Such model (χ2 = 1225.58, df = 484) showed acceptable goodness of fit indexes: RMSEA =

371

.064, CFI = .924, IFI = .924, SRMR = .0604 and, being consistent with our hypotheses and research

372

model, was retained. Organizational ethical climate of self-interest was negatively related to

Eliminato: predicted

373

organizational identification (β = -.16, p < .05; Hp1a) and positively related to moral disengagement


374

(β = .21, p < .01; Hp1b), while friendship climate was only positively related to organizational


375

identification (β = .31, p < .001; Hp2a). Contrary to Hp2b, friendship climate was not reliably

376

associated with moral disengagement, although the relationship between these variables was in the

Eliminato: to

377

predicted direction. Thus, our data seems to suggest that friendship climate impacts more on positive

Eliminato: it seems

378

(i.e., identification) than negative (i.e., disengagement) reactions. Organizational identification was

379

positively related to organizational citizenship behaviors (β = .29, p < .001; Hp3a) and negatively


380

related to counterproductive work behaviors (β = -.27, p < .001; Hp3b); a reverse pattern emerged


15


concerning moral disengagement, which was negatively related to organizational citizenship


390

behaviors (β = -.40, p < .001; Hp4a) and positively related to counterproductive work behaviors (β =


391

.41, p < .001; Hp4b). Organizational ethical climates of self-interest and friendship showed a

392

significant correlation (r = -.47, p < .001), as well as counterproductive work behaviors and

393

organizational citizenship behaviors (r = -.15, p < .001), while moral disengagement and

394

organizational citizenship behaviors did not show any reciprocal correlation. Moreover, with regard

395

to the indirect effects, according to Hp5 our proposed mediators (i.e., organizational identification

396

and moral disengagement) totally mediated the effects of self-interest climate on counterproductive

397

work behaviors (indirect β = .13, p < .01), and organizational citizenship behaviors (indirect β = -.13,

398

p < .01), as well as the effects of friendship climate on counterproductive work behaviors (indirect β

399

= -.11, p < .01) and organizational citizenship behaviors (indirect β = .11, p < .01). Finally, the links

400

inserted in the model explained the following variances for dependent variables: Moral

401

disengagement = 6%, organizational identification = 17%, counterproductive work behaviors = 26%,

402

organizational citizenship behaviors = 27%.

403 404

l a n o si

i v o r P Discussion

In the present paper we dealt with the impact of ethical climate on employees’ behavior.

405

Relying on the Social Identity Approach, we proposed that the effects of different ethical climates on

406

employees’ behavioral tendencies may be driven by a process of affective identification with one’s

407

organization and, in parallel, by cognitive moral disengagement toward the organization itself. Our

408

findings showed that an ethical organizational climate of self-interest, which underlines an

409

individualistic way of dealing with ethical issues within the organization, reduces organizational

410

affective identification and enhances a cognitive process of moral disengagement. This, in turn,

411

facilitates counterproductive work behaviors and inhibits organizational citizenship behaviors among

412

employees. Conversely, an ethical organizational climate of friendship, which subsumes a collective This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

16


way of dealing with the same ethical issues, strengthens affective identification with the organization:

416

This produces more tendencies to organizational citizenship behaviors and reduces counterproductive

417

work behaviors among employees. Thus, our findings suggest that the effects of ethical climate on

418

individual’s behavioral reactions are driven by the psychological link with the organization (see also

419

DeConinck, 2011), and point to the fact that different ethical climates impact differently on

420

organizational identification and moral disengagement. In this way, the present research contributes

421

to the literature by showing the positive association between organizational identification and

422

employees’ attitudes and behaviors (Ashforth & Mael 1989; 1996; Ellemers et al., 2011; Haslam et

423

al., 2000; Riketta, 2005; Smith et al., 2012), and provides support to the idea that ethical climates

424

relate to different levels of organizational identification (Briggs et al., 2012; DeConinck, 2011;

425

DeConinck et al., 2013; Walumbwa et al., 2011).

l a n o si

426

The present research also shows that organizational identification and moral disengagement

427

play their roles in a rather independent way. This result has a strong applied value, since it suggests

428

that organizational identification is not an antecedent of moral disengagement. Moreover, the fact

429

that the ethical climate of friendship was not reliably associated with moral disengagement is

430

theoretically significant too, suggesting that different facets of ethical climate affect employees’

431

reactions for different reasons (identifying with one’s own organization on the one hand, morally

432

disengaging from it on the other hand).

i v o r P

433

Particular attention should be devoted to an ethical climate based on self-interest,

434

individualism and competitiveness, because our results suggest that it may negatively influence

435

identification with the organization and lead to morally disengage from the organization: Thus,

436

recognizing individualistic tendencies in ethical climate appears crucial for the organization.

437

Practical Implications

Eliminato: null effect of Eliminato: on

Eliminato: to

17


Modern working environments can be profitably understood through ethical context and

442

morality terms. Many companies are currently engaged in the contrast of unethical behaviors of their

443

own managers and employers, and they are increasingly stimulated to be guided by ethical principles

444

and environments. Institutions, organizations and magazines started to watch over companies’ ethical

445

behavior or offering ethical code advice and consulting.

446

Our results suggest some general guidelines for HR staff and managers. First, companies are

447

called to pay more attention to developing adequate ethical infrastructures, in order to reduce their

448

effects on moral disengagement processes and its subsequent behaviors: Organizations need to

449

strengthen those processes that subsume the development of positive ethical cultures and climates.

450

More specifically, in spite of organizational efforts to use and practice ethical codes, a competitive

451

context and culture may be responsible for counterproductive behavior. When formal (e.g., reward

452

systems) and informal (e.g., rumors) signals spread the organization and prompt that individualistic,

453

result-oriented, aggressive practices are recommended, good codes and regulations may not work

454

properly.

455

l a n o si

i v o r P

Furthermore, it has become increasingly clear that assessing ethical climate in organizations is

456

critical and that it should be done periodically, in order to share and discuss results and perceptions

457

together. HR managers should be aware that the communication of the results may have a critical

458

impact on employee’s perceptions and thus influence other organizational outcomes. Based on our

459

findings, organizations would also benefit from understanding how identification can be enhanced, as

460

a powerful tool to engage individuals within the organization, suggest how to recognize signals and

461

antecedents of ethical problematical situations, and lead to proper solutions.

462

Perceptions of ethical climate are a basic requirement for the effective functioning of

463

organizations and may influence several outcomes (e.g., Cullen, Parboteeah, & Victor, 2003;

464

Schwepker, 2001; Tanner, Tanner, & Wakefiled, 2015). Ethical climate becomes a strategic variable This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

18


for the efficient overall operation of the company, commitment, reward system, corporate identity

466

construction processes and organizational citizenship (Ostroff, Kinicki, & Clark, 2002; Schneider,

467

Ehrhart, & Macey, 2013).

468

Limitations and future directions

469

Even though our findings support our main hypotheses, the present research presents some

470

limitations that need to be addressed in future studies. First, we compared two specific ethical

471

climates that, in our opinion, could lead the interviewed employees to differentially identify with the

472

organization and, in contrast, to show moral disengagement. Although, based on the social identity

473

approach, we chose to compare an individualistic and independent (i.e., self-interest) with a

474

collectivistic and interdependent (i.e., friendship) ethical climate, a natural extension of the present

475

research would be to check how the other facets of ethical climate impact upon employees’

476

tendencies to broaden their collective self to incorporate core aspects of the organization they belong

477

to. Moreover, it is worth nothing that we assessed perceptions of ethical climate as an individual-

478

level variable, as abundant literature did, but future research could also consider ethical climate as a

479

contextual variable beyond the perceptions of employees.

480

l a n o si

i v o r P

A further extension would be to consider other outcomes of the processes we highlighted.

481

Here we focus on behavioral positive and negative tendencies, in the form of organizational

482

citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors, respectively. It would be interesting to

483

consider how the different facets of ethical climate influence employees’ wellbeing – in terms of

484

stress or empowerment perception – through organizational identification. According to the social

485

identity approach, this could be particularly important when employees compare their own

486

organization (that is, their ingroup) with what happens in a competitor context (that is, their

487

outgroup). This intergroup context could enhance ingroup identification in case of a “collective”

19


ethical climate, but could foster disengagement in case of an “individualistic” ethical climate, for

489

instance.

490

Third, data collection through a self-report questionnaire could have inflated common method

491

variance bias, although we adopted several strategies suggested by the literature in order to, at least

492

partially, counterbalance such bias. Moreover, given that our research was cross-sectional, cause-

493

effect relationships can be only justified by previous evidence and available theory. The size of our

494

sample represents a further limitation that needs to be taken into account: Future research may

495

therefore focus on confirming the pattern of relations we presented here with a larger and more

496

heterogeneous sample.

497

l a n o si

Finally, an other intriguing question that could be addressed in future studies is whether

498

different components of identification are involved in the relation between ethical climate and

499

employees’ reactions. In fact, researchers highlighted the multidimensional nature of organizational

500

identification (see, for instance, Ellemers et al., 2004), acknowledging that it expresses self-definition

501

via cognitive and affective ties with the employing organization (Kreiner & Ashforth, 2004). Thus,

502

future studies may disentangle whether both components of the organizational identification are at

503

stake in the relation between ethical climate and employees’ reactions.

504

i v o r P

Overall, the present research is consistent with the idea that the social identity approach could

505

be fruitfully applied to the organizational contexts. In particular, we provided evidence that even the

506

effect of ethical climate on individual’s behavior depends upon the level of (personal vs. social) self-

507

categorization, an early assumption that still proved to be valid and efficient in explaining group

508

processes.

509 510 This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

20

Eliminato: ¶


Author Contributions Statement: All the authors developed the present research and equally

513

contributed to this paper. ALP collected and analysed the data.

514

Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest

515

with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

516 517 518 519 520 521

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Table 1. Descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations among the variables of the study M (SD) 1) Org. climate

1

2

3

4

5

6

16.15 (7.91)

friendship 2) Org. climate self-

11.94 (5.08)

-.41***

2.88 (1.38)

.34***

-.29***

.84 (.80)

-.15**

.21***

-.10*

5.65 (.98)

.30***

-.20***

.30***

interest 3) Organizational identification 4) Moral

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disengagement 5) Organizational citizenship behaviors

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6) Counterproductive

.33 (.73)

work behaviors 751 752

Note: *** p < .001, ** p < .01, * p < .05.

.02

.10

-.22***

-.39***

.36***

-.25***

33


Table 2. Alternative measurement models on study variables, including goodness of fit indices Chi square

df

RMSEA CFI

IFI SRMR

model 1 – one factor

6952.35

495

.186

.338 .340

.203

model 2 – three factors

4389.71

492

.145

.600 .602

.180

model 3 – six factors

1199.84

480

.063

.926 .927 .0507

754 755 756

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757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765

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766 767 768 769 770 771 This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

34


Figure Captions.

773

Figure 1. Research model and hypotheses

774

Figure 2. Structural model on study variables

Eliminato: 1

775 776 777 778 779 780 781

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782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790

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791 792 793 794 795 796 35


Figure 1. Research model and hypotheses.

800

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i v o r P This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article

36


Figure 2. Structural model on study variables

Eliminato: 1

802

803

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804 805 806 807

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37