Double-Edged Effects of Creative Personality on Moral Disengagement and Unethical Behaviors: Dual Motivational Mechanisms and a Situational Contingency

Xin Liu (), Byron Y. Lee (), Tae-Yeol Kim, Yaping Gong () and Xiaoming Zheng ()
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Xin Liu: Renmin University of China
Byron Y. Lee: China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)
Yaping Gong: The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
Xiaoming Zheng: Tsinghua University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2023, vol. 185, issue 2, No 11, 449-466

Abstract: Abstract Research shows that the effects of creative personality on moral disengagement and unethical behaviors are mixed. To reconcile the disparate findings, we draw on interdependence theory to unravel how and when creative personality is related to moral disengagement through countervailing pathways. Specifically, we propose competitive motivation and prosocial motivation as two distinct mechanisms that explain the double-edged effects of creative personality on moral disengagement and subsequent unethical behaviors. Furthermore, we hypothesize a cross-level moderating effect of competitive climate on the relationships between competitive/prosocial motivation and moral disengagement. Results based on three-wave data from 753 employees showed that creative personality increased moral disengagement and subsequent unethical behaviors through competitive motivation but decreased moral disengagement and subsequent unethical behaviors through prosocial motivation. In addition, competitive climate weakened the negative relationship between prosocial motivation and moral disengagement and the negative indirect relationship between creative personality and unethical behaviors via prosocial motivation and moral disengagement.

Keywords: Creative personality; Moral disengagement; Unethical behaviors; Motivation; Competitive climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05135-9

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