The More You Care, the Worthier I Feel, the Better I Behave: How and When Supervisor Support Influences (Un)Ethical Employee Behavior

Francesco Sguera (), Richard P. Bagozzi (), Quy N. Huy (), R. Wayne Boss () and David S. Boss ()
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Francesco Sguera: UCP, Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics
Richard P. Bagozzi: University of Michigan
Quy N. Huy: INSEAD
R. Wayne Boss: University of Colorado at Boulder
David S. Boss: Ohio College of Business

Journal of Business Ethics, 2018, vol. 153, issue 3, No 1, 615-628

Abstract: Abstract This article investigates the effects of perceived supervisor support on ethical (organizational citizenship behaviors) and unethical employee behavior (counterproductive workplace behavior) using a multi-method approach (one experiment and one field survey with multiple waves and supervisor ratings of employees). Specifically, we test the mediating mechanism (i.e., supervisor-based self-esteem) and a boundary condition (i.e., employee task satisfaction) that moderate the relationship between support and (un)ethical employee behaviors. We find that supervisor-based self-esteem fully mediates the relationship between supervisor support and (un)ethical employee behavior and that employee task satisfaction intensifies the relationship between supervisor support and supervisor-based self-esteem.

Keywords: Perceived supervisor support; Ethical and unethical employee behavior; Supervisor-based self-esteem; Task satisfaction; Organizational citizenship behavior; Counterproductive workplace behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3339-8

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