The relationship between affective commitment and unethical pro-organizational behavior: the role of moral disengagement

Abstract

Purpose -  As one of the few studies on unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), this study hypothesizes that affective commitment predicts UPB through the mediation of moral disengagement. It was also proposed that ethical leadership affects the hypothesized relationship. Methodology - 208 employees (98 males and 110 females) from different companies located in Istanbul, Turkey formed the sample of this study. A multidimensional questionnaire with seven-point interval scale was applied to measure all substantive variables used in this study. Findings- The results of mediation analysis revealed that people with higher affective commitment engaged in more UPB, and that this effect was mediated by moral disengagement. In addition, the results of moderated mediation analysis showed that the mediation relationship was stronger when employees perceived a lower level of ethical leadership in the organization. Conclusion- We found that affective commitment encourages UPB through the mechanism of moral disengagement. Besides, this effect is stronger when the ethical leadership is perceived to be low as opposed to being high. Our results extend knowledge of UPB by highlighting the  importance of ethical leadership, and open up new avenues of research on the ethical challenges of prosocial motives, attitudes, and behaviors. Further theoretical and practical implications are discussed.