Salespeople Moral Disengagement and Duty Orientation: Examining the Influence of Peers’ Unethical Behavior and Customer Incivility

Bindu Gupta (), Aastha Dhoopar (), Rakesh Singh () and Sandeep Puri ()
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Bindu Gupta: Institute of Management Technology
Aastha Dhoopar: Thapar University, LM Thapar School of Management
Rakesh Singh: Institute of Management Technology
Sandeep Puri: Asian Institute of Management

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 202, issue 3, No 11, 646 pages

Abstract: Abstract Moral disengagement among salespeople is a psychological mechanism that enables individuals to rationalize unethical behavior, often in response to competitive pressures and organizational demands. This study examines how salespeople's moral disengagement affects their sense of duty orientation while also analyzing the role of social context in shaping moral disengagement. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, we propose a model wherein peers' unethical behavior induces moral disengagement among salespeople, subsequently influencing their duty orientation. Additionally, we suggest that customer incivility moderates the relationship between the peers' unethical behavior and moral disengagement. We tested our hypotheses using data gathered across three waves from salespeople employed in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) firms. The findings indicate that peers' unethical behavior positively impacts the moral disengagement of salespeople and that moral disengagement negatively influences their duty orientation. The results also suggest that moral disengagement acts as a mediator connecting peers' unethical behavior and duty orientation. Furthermore, the impact of peers' unethical behavior on moral disengagement is moderated by customer incivility, with a more substantial effect observed when the levels of customer incivility are high. Our study provides deeper understanding of the factors contributing to moral disengagement among salespeople, highlighting the role of peers' unethical behavior and customer incivility. These findings offer practical guidance for organizations seeking to mitigate the detrimental impact of negative workplace behaviors and emphasize the importance of managing both internal and external social influences to promote ethical conduct among sales teams.

Keywords: Customer incivility; Duty orientation; Moral disengagement; Peers' unethical behavior; Salespeople (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-06010-z

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