Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Synergistic Effect of Descriptive and Injunctive Norm Perceptions on Counterproductive Work Behaviors

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 23 August 2018

This article has been updated

It is only by imitating the vices of others that I have earned my misfortunes.

—Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade

Abstract

This paper addresses the potentially interactive effects of descriptive and injunctive norm perceptions on an unethical workplace behavior: counterproductive work behavior (CWB) perpetration. We draw on the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct and its conceptual distinction between norm types to refine research on this topic. We also test a person-by-environment interaction to determine whether the interactive effects of these norms for CWB are enhanced among employees reporting a stronger need to belong to social groups (NTB). In two studies, predictors were assessed in an initial survey and the dependent variable was assessed weeks later. Individuals employed across a range of industries served as participants. In Study 1, descriptive and injunctive norm perceptions of CWB interacted to predict CWB perpetration. This finding was replicated in Study 2. Additionally, Study 2 demonstrated that the interaction between the two norm types was especially strong among individuals high in NTB. Results suggest that to decrease CWB perpetration, organizations may profitably leverage the persuasive effects of “social norms marketing” to alter employee perceptions of the typicality and level of approval for CWBs. This is the first study to demonstrate that both descriptive and injunctive norm perceptions predict CWB perpetration. The demonstrated three-way interaction between the two norm types and NTB advances existing theory regarding the cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying normative social influence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 23 August 2018

    The name of the third author was incomplete in the initial online publication. The original article has been corrected.

Notes

  1. Participant gender was not recorded due to a software programming error.

  2. Variance inflation factors (VIFs) were computed for this and all subsequent regression analyses to investigate the possibility of multicollinearity due to high correlations among our predictor variables—especially our norm perceptions variables. The VIF value for the norms predictors was 1.34 for Study 1 and values in Study 2 ranged from 1.47 to 1.49. None of the predictor variables was associated with a VIF of greater than 1.61 in any of the regression analyses for either study. As VIF values of greater than ten (e.g., Neter et al. 1989) are often described as a cutoff for indications of problematic multicollinearity, these results indicate that multicollinearity among predictor variables was not a problem in our studies.

  3. Survey completion time restrictions limited our use of control variables to a subset of the personality variables that have been previously demonstrated to predict CWB. Two personality models that have been used in past CWB research include the Five Factor Model and the Dark Triad. Based on prior meta-analytic evidence that agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and Machiavellianism are relatively robust predictors of CWB perpetration (e.g., Berry et al. 2007; O’Boyle et al. 2012), we chose to include these as control variables in our study.

  4. A test that omitted these controls led to an identical statistical conclusion.

  5. A test that omitted these controls led to an identical statistical conclusion.

References

  • Aquino, K., & Douglas, S. (2003). Identity threat and antisocial behavior in organizations: The moderating effects of individual differences, aggressive modeling and hierarchical status. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 90, 195–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) (2016). Report to the nations on occupational fraud and abuse: 2016 global fraud study. Retrieved from ACFE Website: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/acfepublic/2016-report-to-the-nations.pdf.

  • Aubé, C., & Rousseau, V. (2014). Counterproductive behaviors. Team Performance Management, 20, 202–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bacharach, S. B., Bamberger, P. A., & Sonnenstuhl, W. J. (2002). Driven to drink: Managerial control, work-related risk factors, and employee problem drinking. Academy of Management Journal, 43(4), 637–658.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, C. M., Carpenter, N. C., & Barratt, C. L. (2012). Do other-reports of counterproductive work behavior provide an incremental contribution over self-reports? A meta-analytic comparison. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(3), 613–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, C. M., Ones, D. S., & Sackett, P. R. (2007). Interpersonal deviance, organizational deviance, and their common correlates: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 410–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bicchieri, C. (2006). The grammar of society: The nature and dynamics of social norms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobek, D. D., Hageman, A. M., & Kelliher, C. F. (2013). Analyzing the role of social norms in tax compliance behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 115, 451–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borsari, B., & Carey, K. B. (2003). Descriptive and injunctive norms in college drinking: A meta-analytic integration. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64(3), 331–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowling, N. A., & Burns, G. N. (2015). Sex as a moderator of the relationship between predictor variables and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Business & Psychology, 30, 193–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burchell, K., Rettie, R., & Patel, K. (2013). Marketing social norms: Social marketing and the ‘social norm approach’. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12(1), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buunk, B. P., & Bakker, A. B. (1995). Extradyadic sex: The role of descriptive and injunctive norms. Journal of Sex Research, 32(4), 313–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahan, S. F., Chen, C., & Chen, L. (2017). Social norms and CSR performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 145, 493–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, P. Y., & Spector, P. E. (1992). Relationships of work stressors with aggression, withdrawal, theft and substance use: An exploratory study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 65, 177–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie, R., & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Basic social influence is underestimated. Psychological Inquiry, 16(4), 158–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th edn.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B. (2012). The focus theory of normative conduct. In P. van Lange, A. Kruglanski & T. Higgins. (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (Vol (2, pp. 295–312). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004). Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 591–621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1015–1026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., & Trost (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and compliance. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (pp. 151–192). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coffin, B. (2003). Breaking the silence on white collar crime. Risk Management, 50(9), 8–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Manzon, G. B., & Zamora, V. L. (2015). Contextual and individual dimensions of taxpayer decision making. Journal of Business Ethics, 126, 631–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, J. F., & Richter, A. W. (2006). Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression: Development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(4), 917–926.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Cremer, D., & Leonardelli, G. J. (2003). Cooperation in social dilemmas and the need to belong: The moderating effect of group size. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 7(2), 168–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Groot, J. I., Abrahamse, W., & Jones, K. (2013). Persuasive normative messages: The influence of injunctive and personal norms on using free plastic bags. Sustainability, 5(5), 1829–1844.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeShong, H. L., Grant, D. M., & Mullins-Sweatt, S. N. (2015). Comparing models of counterproductive workplace behaviors: The five-factor model and the dark triad. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 55–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51(3), 629–636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, J., Robinson, S. L., Folger, R., Baron, R. A., & Schulz, M. (2003). The impact of community violence and an organization’s procedural justice climate on workplace aggression. Academy of Management Journal, 46(3), 317–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, K., Joosse, A. P., Dukes, F., Willis, W., & Cowgill, K. H. (2015). Disrupting deliberative discourse: Strategic political incivility at the local level. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 32(3), 299–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2004). Third-party punishment and social norms. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25, 63–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fida, R., Paciello, M., Tramontano, C., Fontaine, R. G., Barbaranelli, C., & Farnese, M. L. (2015). An integrative approach to understanding counterproductive work behavior: The roles of stressors, negative emotions, and moral disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(1), 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine, S., Horowitz, I., Weigler, H., & Basis, L. (2010). Is good character good enough? The effects of situational variables on the relationship between integrity and counterproductive work behaviors. Human Resource Management Review, 20(1), 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, S., & Spector, P. E. (1999). A model of work frustration-aggression. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 915–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, S., Spector, P. E., & Miles, D. (2001). Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) in response to job stressors and organizational justice: Some mediator and moderator tests for autonomy and emotions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 59, 291–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillatly, I. R. (1995). Individual and group determinants of employee absenteeism: Test of a causal model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 469–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glomb, T. M., & Liao, H. (2003). Interpersonal aggression in work groups: Social influence, reciprocal, and individual effects. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 486–496.

    Google Scholar 

  • Göckeritz, S., Schultz, P., Rendón, T., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2010). Descriptive normative beliefs and conservation behavior: The moderating roles of personal involvement and injunctive normative beliefs. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(3), 514–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, N. J., & Cialdini, R. B. (2011). Managing normative influences in organizations. In D. De Cremer, R. van Dick & J. K. Murnighan (Eds.), Social Psychology and Organizations (pp. 67–85). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(3), 472–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J. (1990). Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 561–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greve, H. R., Palmer, D., & Pozner, J. E. (2010). Organizations gone wild: The causes, processes, and consequences of organizational misconduct. Academy of Management Annals, 4(1), 53–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griskevicius, V., Goldstein, N. J., Mortensen, C. R., Cialdini, R. B., & Kenrick, D. T. (2006). Going along versus going alone: When fundamental motives facilitate strategic (non) conformity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(2), 281–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F., & Matthes, J. (2009). Computational procedures for probing interactions in OLS and logistic regression: SPSS and SAS implementations. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 924–936.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershcovis, M. S., Turner, N., Barling, J., Arnold, K. A., Dupré, K. E., Inness, M., … Sivanathan, N. (2007). Predicting workplace aggression: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 228–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A. (2010). Influence and leadership. In S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology (5th edn., pp. 1166–1207). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iliescu, D., Ispas, D., Sulea, C., & Ilie, A. (2015). Vocational fit and counterproductive work behaviors: A self-regulation perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1), 21–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivancevich, J. M., Duening, T. N., Gilbert, J. A., & Konopaske, R. (2003). Deterring white-collar crime. Academy of Management Executive, 17, 114–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, R. P., Jacobson, K. J. L., & Hood, J. N. (2015a). Norm perceptions predict citizenship behaviors. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(8), 894–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, R. P., Mortensen, C. R., & Cialdini, R. B. (2011). Bodies obliged and unbound: differentiated response tendencies for injunctive and descriptive social norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(3), 433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, R. P., Mortensen, C. R., Jacobson, K. J. L., & Cialdini, R. B. (2015b). Self-control moderates the effectiveness of influence attempts highlighting injunctive social norms. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 718–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jermier, J. M., Knights, D., & Nord, W. (1994). Resistance and power in organizations. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. L. (1991). The big five inventory—Versions 4a and 54. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Personality and Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kallgren, C. A., Reno, R. R., & Cialdini, R. B. (2000). A focus theory of normative conduct: When norms do and do not affect behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(8), 1002–1012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kredentser, M. S., Fabrigar, L. R., Smith, S. M., & Fulton, K. (2012). Following what people think we should do versus what people actually do elaboration as a moderator of the impact of descriptive and injunctive norms. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3(3), 341–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lance, C. E., & Sloan, C. E. (1993). Relationships between overall and life facet satisfaction: A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) study. Social Indicators Research, 30(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larimer, M. E., & Neighbors, C. (2003). Normative misperception and the impact of descriptive and injunctive norms on college student gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17(3), 235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, V. C. S., Au, W. T., & Ho, J. M. C. (2003). A qualitative and quantitative review of antecedents of counterproductive behavior in organizations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 18(1), 73–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leary, M. R., Kelly, K. M., Cottrell, C. A., & Schreindorfer, L. S. (2013). Construct validity of the need to belong scale: Mapping the nomological network. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(6), 610–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C. M., Geisner, I. M., Lewis, M. A., Neighbors, C., & Larimer, M. E. (2007). Social motives and the interaction between descriptive and injunctive norms in college student drinking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(5), 714–721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levine, E. L. (2010). Emotion and power (as social influence): Their impact on organizational citizenship and counterproductive individual and organizational behavior. Human Resource Management Review, 20(1), 4–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linkenbach, J. W., & Perkins, H. W. (2003). Most of us are tobacco free: An eight-month social norms campaign reducing youth initiation of smoking in Montana. In W. Perkins (Ed.), The social norms approach to preventing school and college age substance abuse: A handbook for educators, counselors, and clinicians (pp. 224–234). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litt, D. M., Lewis, M. A., Linkenbach, J. W., Lande, G., & Neighbors, C. (2014). Normative misperceptions of peer seat belt use among high school students and their relationship to personal seat belt use. Traffic injury prevention, 15(7), 748–752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D., Rhemtulla, M., Gibson, K., & Schoemann, A. M. (2013). Why the items versus parcels controversy needn’t be one. Psychological Methods, 18(3), 285–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinko, M. J., Gundlach, M. J., & Douglas, S. C. (2002). Toward an integrative theory of counterproductive workplace behavior: A causal reasoning perspective. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 10(1-2), 36–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meterko, M., Osatuke, K., Mohr, D., Warren, N., & Dyrenforth, S. (2007). Civility: The development and psychometric assessment of a survey measure. Paper presented at the Academy of Management, Philadelphia, PA.

  • Miller, D. T., & Prentice, D. A. (1996). The construction of social norms and standards. In E. T. Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles (pp. 799–829). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. T., & Prentice, D. A. (2016). Changing norms to change behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 339–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira, M. T., Smith, L. A., & Foxcroft, D. (2009). Social norms interventions to reduce alcohol misuse in University or College students. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, CD006748.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, M. W., Hong, Y. Y., Chiu, C. Y., & Liu, Z. (2015). Normology: Integrating insights about social norms to understand cultural dynamics. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 129, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, E. W. (2006). Doing the job well: An investigation of Pro-social rule breaking. Journal of Management, 32(1), 5–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mount, M., Ilies, R., & Johnson, E. (2006). Relationship of personality traits and counterproductive work behaviors: The mediating effects of job satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 59(3), 591–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neighbors, C., Geisner, I. M., & Lee, C. M. (2008). Perceived marijuana norms and social expectancies among entering college student marijuana users. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(3), 433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neter, J., Wasserman, W., & Kutner, M. H. (1989). Applied linear regression models. Homewood: Irwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, J. H., & Baron, R. A. (1998). Workplace violence and workplace aggression: Evidence concerning specific forms, potential causes, and preferred targets. Journal of Management, 24(3), 391–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. (2012). Outcomes of exposure to workplace bullying: A meta-analytic review. Work & Stress, 26(4), 309–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J. M., Schultz, P. W., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). Normative social influence is underdetected. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(7), 913–923.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Boyle, E. H., Forsyth, D. R., Banks, G. C., & McDaniel, M. A. (2012). A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and work behavior: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(3), 557–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary-Kelly, A. M., Griffin, R. W., & Glew, D. J. (1996). Organization-motivated aggression: A research framework. Academy of Management Review, 21(1), 225–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ones, D. S., Viswesvaran, C., & Schmidt, F. L. (1993). Comprehensive meta-analysis of integrity test validities: Findings and implications for personnel selection and theories of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(4), 679–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostroff, C., Kinicki, A. J., & Clark, M. A. (2002). Substantive and operational issues of response bias across levels of analysis: An example of climate-satisfaction relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 355–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panagopoulos, C., Larimer, C. W., & Condon, M. (2014). Social pressure, descriptive norms, and voter mobilization. Political Behavior, 36(2), 451–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulin, D., & Griffin, B. (2017). Team Incivility Climate Scale: Development and validation of the team-level incivility climate construct. Group & Organization Management, 42(3), 315–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, H. W., Craig, D. W., & Perkins, J. M. (2011). Using social norms to reduce bullying: A research intervention among adolescents in five middle schools. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14(5), 703–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rego, A., & Souto, S. (2009). Does the need to belong moderate the relationship between perceptions of spirit of camaraderie and employees’ happiness? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(2), 148–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Restubog, S. L. D., Scott, K. L., & Zagenczyk, T. J. (2011). When distress hits home: The role of contextual factors and psychological distress in predicting employees’ response to abusive supervision. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(4), 713–729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rimal, R. N., & Real, K. (2005). How behaviors are influenced by perceived norms a test of the theory of normative social behavior. Communication Research, 32(3), 389–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S. L., & O’Leary-Kelly, A. M. (1998). Monkey see, monkey do: The influence of work groups on antisocial behavior of employees. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 658–672.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaubroeck, J. M., Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Kozlowski, S. W., Lord, R. G., Treviño, L. K., … Peng, A. C. (2012). Embedding ethical leadership within and across organization levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1053–1078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, P. W., Kazian, A. M., & Zaleski, A. C. (2008). Using normative social influence to promote conservation among hotel guests. Social Influence, 3(1), 4–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemsen, E., Roth, A., & Oliveira, P. (2010). Common method bias in regression models with linear, quadratic, and interaction effects. Organizational Research Methods, 13(3), 456–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simha, A., & Cullen, J. B. (2012). Ethical climates and their effects on organizational outcomes: Implications from the past and prophecies for the future. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 26(4), 20–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D. P., & Folger, R. (1997). Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 434–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarlicki, D. P., Folger, R., & Tesluk, P. (1999). Personality as a moderator in the relationship between fairness and retaliation. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 100–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. R., Louis, W. R., Terry, D. J., Greenaway, K. H., Clarke, M. R., & Cheng, X. (2012). Congruent or conflicted? The impact of injunctive and descriptive norms on environmental intentions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(4), 353–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (1977). What to do with significant multivariate effects in multivariate analyses of variance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(2), 158–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (1998). A control theory of the job stress process. In C. L. Cooper (Ed.), Theories of organizational stress (pp. 153–169). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E. (2006). Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend? Organizational Research Methods, 9(2), 221–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E., Coulter, M. L., Stockwell, H. G., & Matz, M. W. (2007). Perceived violence climate: A new construct and its relationship to workplace physical violence and verbal aggression, and their potential consequences. Work & Stress, 21(2), 117–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E., Fox, S., Penney, L. M., Bruursema, K., Goh, A., & Kessler, S. (2006). The dimensionality of counterproductivity: Are all counter-productive behaviors created equal? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 446–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprung, J. M., & Jex, S. M. (2012). Work locus of control as a moderator of the relationship between work stressors and counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Stress Management, 19(4), 272–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tepper, B. J., Henle, C. A., Lambert, L. S., Giacalone, R. A., & Duffy, M. K. (2008). Abusive supervision and subordinates organizational deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(4), 721–732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tesser, A., Campbell, J., & Mickler, S. (1983). The role of social pressure, attention to the stimulus, and self-doubt in conformity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 13(3), 217–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vardi, Y., & Weitz, E. (2016). Misbehavior in organizations: A dynamic approach. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, B. M., Magley, V. J., Reeves, D. W., Davies-Schrils, K. A., Marmet, M. D., & Gallus, J. A. (2012). Assessing work-group norms for civility: The development of the Civility Norms Questionnaire-Brief. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27, 407–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, K., & Simpson, B. (2013). When do (and don’t) normative appeals influence sustainable consumer behaviors? Journal of Marketing, 77(2), 78–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J., & Treadway, D. C. (2018). A social influence interpretation of workplace ostracism and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(4), 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, L. Q., Caughlin, D. E., Gazica, M. W., Truxillo, D. M., & Spector, P. E. (2014). Workplace mistreatment climate and potential employee and organizational outcomes: A meta-analytic review from the target’s perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(3), 315–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaleski, A. C., & Aloise-Young, P. A. (2013). Using peer injunctive norms to predict early adolescent cigarette smoking intentions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(S1), E124–E131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to express deep appreciation to the research assistants of UNM's Anderson Behavioral Laboratory for their help with data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anderson School of Management, University of New Mexico, MSC05 3090, 1, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001, USA

    Ryan P. Jacobson, Lisa A. Marchiondo, Kathryn J. L. Jacobson & Jacqueline N. Hood

Authors
  1. Ryan P. Jacobson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lisa A. Marchiondo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kathryn J. L. Jacobson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jacqueline N. Hood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryan P. Jacobson.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All of the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

The original article has been revised: the name of the third author has been corrected.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jacobson, R.P., Marchiondo, L.A., Jacobson, K.J.L. et al. The Synergistic Effect of Descriptive and Injunctive Norm Perceptions on Counterproductive Work Behaviors. J Bus Ethics 162, 191–209 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3968-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3968-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation