Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2013
Abstract
In this research, we examine when and why organizational environments influence how employees respond to moral issues. Past research has proposed that social influences in organizations affect employees' ethical decision making, but has not explained when and why some individuals are affected by an organizational environment and some disregard it. To address this problem, we drew on research on power to propose that power makes people more self-focused, which, in turn, makes them more likely to act upon their preferences and ignore (un)ethical social influences. Using both experimental and field methods, we tested our model across the three main paradigms of social influence: informational influence (Studies 1 and 2), normative influence (Study 3), and compliance (Study 4). Results offer converging evidence for our theory.
Keywords
power/politics, conflict management, decision making, deviance/counterproductive behaviors, social influences, self-focus
Discipline
Organizational Behavior and Theory
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Academy of Management Journal
Volume
56
Issue
3
First Page
635
Last Page
658
ISSN
0001-4273
Identifier
10.5465/amj.2011.0891
Publisher
Academy of Management
Citation
PITESA, Marko and THAU, Stefan.
Compliant sinners, obstinate saints: How power and self-focus determine the effectiveness of social influences in ethical decision making. (2013). Academy of Management Journal. 56, (3), 635-658.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/4951
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0891