Blessing or curse? The link between firm CSR practices and leaders’ unethical decisions: The mediating role of moral cognition

Leying Wang (), Jun Li (), Yiyuan Mai () and Zhuxin Ye ()
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Leying Wang: Nanjing Audit University
Jun Li: University of New Hampshire
Yiyuan Mai: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Zhuxin Ye: Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 2024, vol. 41, issue 4, No 23, 2405-2435

Abstract: Abstract When a firm actively engages in CSR practices, does the leader always make ethical decisions? Drawing on social cognitive theory and the ethical decision-making literature, we develop a model to explain how a leader makes unethical decisions in an active CSR-practicing environment. Specifically, we argue that a firm's CSR practices do not necessarily translate into the leader's ethical decisions, and on the contrary, it may lead to the opposite. The relationship between a firm's CSR practices and its leader's unethical decisions is mediated by the leader's moral cognitive process (moral licensing and moral imagination) toward the firm's CSR practices, and this relationship is further moderated by the leader's altruistic values. Results from multi-method studies largely support our predictions.

Keywords: CSR; Unethical decision; Moral licensing; Moral imagination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10490-023-09920-6

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