Hierarchical rank and principled dissent: How holding higher rank suppresses objection to unethical practices

Jessica A. Kennedy and Cameron Anderson

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2017, vol. 139, issue C, 30-49

Abstract: When unethical practices occur in an organization, high-ranking individuals at the top of the hierarchy are expected to stop wrongdoing and redirect the organization to a more honorable path—this is, to engage in principled dissent. However, in three studies, we find that holding high-ranking positions makes people less likely to engage in principled dissent. Specifically, we find that high-ranking individuals identify more strongly with their organization or group, and therefore see its unethical practices as more ethical than do low-ranking individuals. High-ranking individuals thus engage less in principled dissent because they fail to see unethical practices as being wrong in the first place. Study 1 observed the relation between high-rank and principled dissent in an archival data set involving more than 11,000 employees. Studies 2 and 3 used experimental designs to establish the causal effect of rank and to show that identification is one key mechanism underlying it.

Keywords: Power; Status; Hierarchy; Ethics; Principled dissent; Identification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:139:y:2017:i:c:p:30-49

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.01.002

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