It’s sheer greed! How does greed lead to counterproductive work behaviors in the case of mortality salience?

Marc Ohana

Journal of Business Research, 2025, vol. 199, issue C

Abstract: Recent research suggests that employees’ perceptions of their company’s commitment to virtuous practices can influence their attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. However, it remains unclear why and when employees’ perceptions of their organization’s negative motives lead to counterproductive work behaviors. This study aims to address this gap by examining the role of collective shame as mediator in the relationship between perceived greed and counterproductive work behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we examine the moderating effect of death anxiety on this process. The results from a vignette-based experiment and a study conducted during the pandemic in the US provide strong support for our proposed hypotheses. Specifically, employees with high levels of death anxiety are more susceptible to the effects of greed, resulting in heightened collective shame.

Keywords: Greed; Shame; Death anxiety; Counterproductive work behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:199:y:2025:i:c:s0148296325003790

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115556

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