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Deviant Workplace Behavior and the Organization's Ethical Climate

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Abstract

While a number of previous studies have investigated the effects of personal characteristics and interpersonal factors on a specific type of deviant behavior, the present study examined how organizational factors, or more specifically ethical climates within organizations, are related to various types of deviant behavior. The results provided evidence that certain types of ethical climates were related to specific types of deviant behavior, suggesting that the causes for deviant behavior might depend on the specific type of deviant behavior. It was noted that the results of the present study have both theoretical relevance and practical implications with respect to workplace deviance.

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  1. College of Business Administration, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65804

    Dane K. Peterson

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  1. Dane K. Peterson
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Correspondence to Dane K. Peterson.

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Peterson, D.K. Deviant Workplace Behavior and the Organization's Ethical Climate. Journal of Business and Psychology 17, 47–61 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016296116093

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