Warding Off Cognitive Dissonance: How Supervisor Perspective Taking Shapes the Responses of Employees Who Engage in Unethical Behavior

Bulin Zhang (), Xiangmin Liu () and Zhengtang Zhang ()
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Bulin Zhang: University of Northern Iowa
Xiangmin Liu: Rutgers University
Zhengtang Zhang: Nanjing University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 199, issue 1, No 5, 84 pages

Abstract: Abstract Prior research in behavioral ethics suggests that supervisors may influence employees’ ethical decision-making. However, the extent to which supervisors shape the recurrence of employees’ unethical behaviors remains underexplored. By integrating cognitive dissonance theory with social information processing theory, we provide new insights into how supervisors influence employees’ responses to their past ethical violations. We hypothesize that when supervisors exhibit a high level of perspective taking, employees are less likely to perceive organizational intolerance of unethical behaviors and, in turn, are more likely to repeat these behaviors in the future. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a field investigation using objective data from organizational records and survey responses collected from 276 sales professionals and 108 supervisors in a large firm over a nine-month period. Our results support our predictions. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, limitations, as well as future directions.

Keywords: Unethical behavior; Cognitive dissonance; Social information processing; Perspective taking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05802-z

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