Publication: Understanding the effects of situational factors on moral disengagement in organizations
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2024-01-09
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In the sales management context, the competition for benefits such as bonuses and the high quota demands in sales departments can instigate unethical behavior in salespeople. Since self-interest, developed by self-preservation motives, can influence ethical managerial behavior, then it is important to understand how people develop common responses like rationalization or justification for these behaviors. So, this investigation looks to understand what moral disengagement mechanisms gets activated in a sales manager in response to a risk of self-interest loss situation, and how having the sales manager to take the perspective of the stakeholder, have empathy towards the stakeholders, and work in a high or low power distance organization, affect the activation of such mechanisms.
In this dissertation empathy is understood mainly as an emotional and automatic process, and perspective-taking as a cognitive selective process that requires an intentional effort. Also, power distance is included in the model to check whether organizational culture has a role on the usage of moral disengagement mechanisms. Therefore, it is proposed that the impact for a person of being on a risk of self-interest loss situation on the usage of moral disengagement mechanisms is mediated by having empathy for the stakeholders, and that the relationship between risk of self-interest loss and empathy is moderated by the power distance relations the organization motivates and the perspective-taking of the sales manager towards the stakeholders.
For this, an experimental vignette methodology was implemented, by building a situation in which the self-interest loss situation, the stakeholder perspective-taking, and the power distance variables were manipulated, and moral disengagement and empathy, were measured. This research has an experimental phase and post-experimental phase with a correlational design. A total of 582 sales managers participated in all the phases.
It was found that risk of self-interest loss explained some of the variation in moral disengagement mechanisms, with moral justification and displacement of responsibility as some of the most influential mechanisms. Results suggests a moderation role of stakeholder perspective-taking, in such a manner that the more the sales manager engages in perspective-taking, the weaker the effect of risk of self-interest loss on empathy. Additionally, it was observed that empathy mediates the relation between risk of self-interest loss and moral disengagement. Finally, it was observed that power distance did not have a moderation effect, but it did have a significant relation with empathy.
This research motivates managers to have organizational cultures where people are expected to consider the stakeholders’ perspective so as to deter the development of unethical behavior.
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Attribution 4.0 International
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IE Business School
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Bradford Sicard, H. J. (2024) Understanding the effects of situational factors on moral disengagement in organizations (Doctoral dissertation, IE University)