Abstract
Moral disengagement plays an important role in the routinization of counterproductive work behavior (CWB) as a key mediator. What remains unclear are the factors that could attenuate the power of moral disengagement in this process. Building on social-cognitive theory, we hypothesize the moderating role of moral self-efficacy and suggest the importance of two different dimensions: self-reflective and behavioral moral self-efficacies. While the former should buffer the CWB-moral disengagement path over time, the latter should buffer the moral disengagement-CWB path. After presenting the psychometric properties of the moral self-efficacy scale in two independent samples (Study 1: United Kingdom, N = 359; Study 2: Italy, N = 1308), we test the posited multi-wave moderated-mediated model. Results from a structural equation model supported our hypotheses. Results demonstrate that the routinization of CWB through the mediation of moral disengagement over time is conditionally influenced by the two moral self-efficacy dimensions. Employees high in capability to look back and question the assumptions that affected their behavior (i.e., self-reflective moral self-efficacy) are less likely to morally disengage as a result of previous engagement in CWB. Employees high in capability to morally self-regulate (i.e., behavioral moral self-efficacy) are less likely to engage in CWB as a result of their moral disengagement. Results of the conditional indirect effect suggest that previous engagement in CWB is not translated in future engagement in CWB for those individuals high in both moral self-efficacy dimensions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1096-1134 |
| Number of pages | 39 |
| Journal | Group and Organization Management |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 1 Mar 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Istituto Nazionale Infortuni sul Lavoro (INAIL) (BRIC-2016-n.51).
Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Dr. Carlo Tramontano for the contribution during the development of the moral self-efficacy scale and for the comments on a preliminary version of this paper. We would also like to thank Prof. Maria Luisa Farnese and Dr. Gaia Melloni for their comments on a preliminary version of this paper. We would also like to thank Dr. Anjay Pillai for his support in proof-reading the manuscript. We acknowledge the partial financial support from the Employment Systems and Institutions of the Norwich Business School (Study 1) and Istituto Nazionale Infortuni sul Lavoro (INAIL), Italy, under grant BRIC-2016-n.51 (PI: C. Barbaranelli; co-PI: R. Fida) (Study 2).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
Keywords
- counterproductive work behavior
- moderation
- moral disengagement
- moral self-efficacy
- self-reflection
- self-regulation
- slippery slope