It is OK to Express Guilt: The Prosocial Interpersonal Effects of Leader Guilt Display

Beier Hong (), Jianghua Mao () and Wenxing Liu ()
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Beier Hong: Renmin University of China
Jianghua Mao: Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
Wenxing Liu: Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 201, issue 1, No 6, 93-110

Abstract: Abstract The role of other-directed moral emotions (e.g. anger) in constructing leadership ethics is well-discussed, yet the effects of leaders expressing self-directed moral emotions remain under-explored. This paper focuses on guilt, a typical self-conscious moral emotion, to investigate the interpersonal prosocial impact of a leader’s guilt expression. Drawing from the emotion as social information theory, we propose that a leader’s guilt expression can enhance followers’ forgiveness and organizational citizen behaviors by evoking followers’ moved emotions and delivering the leader’s benevolence information. Additionally, we examine the moderating role of the quality of leader–member exchange in these effects. Our results, obtained through a two-wave field survey (Study 1), a critical incident technique experiment (Study 2), and a scenario experiment (Study 3), provide support for most of our hypotheses. Our research contributes to the EASI theory and literature on emotions and provides practical guidance on leader emotional management.

Keywords: Guilt display; EASI theory; Moved emotion; Benevolence inference; Moral emotion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-05925-x

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