Abstract
Drawing on the perspective of causal reasoning and the social cognitive theory of moral thought and action, this study explores the mechanisms underlying the association between exposure to exploitative leadership and employee workplace deviance. The results of a time-lagged survey conducted in China reveal that exposure to exploitative leadership can evoke a moral justification process that leads to increased employee organizational and interpersonal deviance. A tendency toward hostile attribution bias reinforces the direct link between exploitative leadership and moral justification and the indirect effects of exploitative leadership on employee organizational and interpersonal deviance, via moral justification. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed and potential directions for future studies are proposed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 483–498 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Business Ethics |
Volume | 185 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 8 Aug 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Business and International Management
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Economics and Econometrics
- Law
User-Defined Keywords
- Exploitative leadership
- Hostile attribution bias
- Interpersonal deviance
- Moral justification
- Organizational deviance