Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effects of Organizational and Ethical Climates on Misconduct at Work

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

Abstract

Questionnaire data obtained from 97 supervisory and nonsupervisory employees representing the Production, Production Services, Marketing, and Administration departments of an Israeli metal production plant were used to test the relationship between selected personal and organizational attributes and work related misbehavior. Following Vardi and Wiener's (1996) framework, Organizational Misbehavior (OMB) was defined as intentional acts that violate formal core organizational rules. We found that there was a significant negative relationship between Organizational Climate and OMB, and between the Organizational Climate dimensions (Warmth and Support, and Reward), and OMB. Also, the activities of misbehavior reported by both managers and employees were negatively related to the Rules, Instrumental and Caring dimensions of Ethical Climates as defined by Victor and Cullen (1988).

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackroyd, S. and P. Thompson: 1998, Organizational Misbehaviour (Sage, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, J. S: 1963, 'Toward an Understanding of Equity', Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (November), 422–436.

  • Analoui, F. and A. Kakabadse: 1992, 'Unconventional Practices at Work: Insight and Analysis Through Participant Observation', Journal of Managerial Psychology 7, 3–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashforth, B. E.: 1985, 'Climate Formation: Issues and Extensions', Academy of Management Review 10, 837–847.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badenhorst, J. A.: 1994, 'Unethical Behavior in Procurement: A Perspective on Causes and Solutions', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 739–745.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boye, M. W. and J. Jones: 1997, 'Organizational Culture and Employee Counterproductivity', in R. A. Giacalone and J. Greenberg (eds.), Antisocial Behavior in Organizations (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. S.: 1964, 'The Course of Cognitive Growth', American Psychologist 19, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr, A. Z.: 1968, 'Is Business Bluffing Ethical?', Harvard Business Review 46, 425–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, J. B., B. Victor and C. Stephens: 1989, 'An Ethical Weather Report: Assessing the Organization's Ethical Climate', Organizational Dynamics (Autumn), 50–62.

  • Fimbel, N. and J. S Burstein: 1990, 'Defining the Ethical Standard of the High Technology Industry', Journal of Business Ethics 9, 929–948.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedlander, F. and S. Greenberg: 1971, 'Effects of Job Attitudes, Training and Organizational Climate on Performance of Hard-Core Unemployed', Journal of Applied Psychology 55, 287–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedlander, F. and N. Margulies: 1969, 'Multiple Impacts of Organizational Climate and Individual Value Systems Upon Job Satisfaction', Personnel Psychology 22, 171–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, J. and L. Bishop: 1971, 'Relationship of Organizational Structure and Teacher Personality Characteristics to Organizational Climate', Administrative Science Quarterly 16, 467–476.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone, R. A. and J. Greenberg: 1997, Antisocial Behavior in Organizations ( Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, O.: 1992, Deviant Behavior in Work Organizations: Dimensions of the Construct and Factors Influencing Individual Involvement in Deviance. Unpublished master's thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J.: 1990, 'Employee Theft as a Reaction to Underpayment Inequity: The Hidden Cost of Pay Cuts', Journal of Applied Psychology 7(5), 561–568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J.: 1997, 'The STEAL Motive: Managing the Social Determinants of Employee Theft', in R. Giacalone and J. Greenberg (eds.), Antisocial Behavior in Organizations ( Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, R. W., A. O'Leary-Kelly and Collins, 1998: 'Dysfunctional Work Behaviors in Organizations', in C. L. Cooper and D. M. Rousseau (eds.), Trends in Organizational Behavior, Volume 5 ( John Wiley & Sons, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellriegel, D. and J. W. Slocum: 1974, 'Organizational Climate: Measures, Research and Contingencies', Academy of Management Journal 17, 255–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger, R. C. and J. P. Clark: 1982, 'Employee Deviance: A Response to the Perceived Quality of the Work Experience', Work and Occupations 10, 97–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger, R. C. and J. P. Clark: 1983, 'Deterrence in the Workplace: Perceived Certainty, Perceived Severity, and Employee Theft', Social Forces 62, 398–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaac, R. G.: 1993, 'Organizational Culture: Some New Perspectives', in R. T. Golembiewski (ed.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior (Marcel Dekker Inc., NY), pp. 91–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. M.: 1991, 'Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organization: An Issue-Contingent Mode', Academy of Management Review 16, 366–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, W. F. and J. W. Slocum, Jr.: 1984: 'Collective Climates: Agreement as a Basis for Defining Aggregate Climates in Organizations', Academy of Management Journal 27, 721–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemper, T. D.: 1966, 'Representative Roles and the Legitimation of Deviance', Social Problems 13, 288–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L.: 1984, The Philosophy of Moral Development (Harper and Row, NY).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunda, G.: 1992, Engineering Culture: Control and Commitment in a High Tech Corporation (Temple University Press, Philadelphia).

    Google Scholar 

  • Landau, A.: 1981, Organizational-Climate and Work Performance: Absenteeism and Performance Appraisal. Unpublished master's thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, S.: 1988, Ethical Education Today (Yachdav, Tel-Aviv) (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Litwin, G. H. and R. A. Stringer: 1968, Motivation and Organizational Climate (Harvard Business School., Boston).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, E. T. and J. F. Volkwein: 1992, 'The Cultural Approach to the Promotion of Organizational Climate', Human Relations 45, 19–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nystrom, P. C.: 1990, 'Differences in Moral Values Between Corporations', Journal of Business Ethics 9, 971–979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostroff, C.: 1993, 'The effects of Climate and Personal Influences on Individual Behavior and Attitudes in Organizations', Organizational Performance and Human Decision Processes 56, 56–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrick, J. A. and G. E. Manning: 1990: 'Developing an Ethical Climate for Excellence', Journal for Quality and Participation (March), 84–90.

  • Pritchard, R. and B. Karasick: 1973: 'The Effects of Organizational Climate on Management Performance and Job Satisfaction', Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 9, 126–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Puffer, S. M.: 1987, 'Prosocial Behavior, Noncompliant Behavior, and Work Performance among Commission Sales People', Journal of Applied Psychology 72, 625–621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahamim, Y.: 1979, Organizational Climate as a Mediator Between Personal Capability and Individual Behaviors, and Between Performance and Satisfaction. Unpublished master's thesis, The Technion Institute, Haifa, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichers, A. E. and B. Schneider: 1990, 'Climate and Culture: An Evolution of Constructs', in B. Schneider (ed.), Organizational Climate and Culture (Jossey-Bass San-Francisco, CA), pp. 5–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renwick, P. A.: 1975, 'Perception and Management of Superior Subordinate Conflict', Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 13, 444–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reschef, M.: 1983, Psychological Differentiation, Priority and Organizational Climate Perception and their Influence on Job Satisfaction. Unpublished master's thesis, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S. L. and R. J. Bennett: 1995, 'A Typology of Deviant Workplace Behaviors: A Multidimensional Scaling Study', Academy of Management Journal 38, 555–572.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S. L. and J. Greenberg: 1998, 'Employees Behaving Badly: Dimensions, Determinants and Dilemmas in the Study of Workplace Deviance', in C.L. Cooper and D.M. Rousseau (eds.), Trends in Organizational Behavior, Volume 5 ( John Wiley & Sons, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H.: 1984, 'Coming to a New Awareness of Organizational Culture', Sloan Management Review 25, 3–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E. H.: 1992, Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd ed. (Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B.: 1972, 'Organizational Climate: Individual Differences and Organizational Realities', Journal of Applied Psychology 56, 211–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B.: 1975, 'Organizational Climate: An Essay', Personnel Psychology 28, 447–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B.: 1978, 'Person-Situation Selection: A Review of Some Ability-Situation Interaction Research', Personnel Psychology 31, 281–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B.: 1980, 'The Service Organization: Climate is Crucial', Organizational Dynamics 9, 52–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. and C. Y. Bartlett: 1970, 'Individual Differences and Organizational Climate II: Measurement of Organizational Climate by Multi-Trait-Multirater Matrix', Personnel Psychology 23, 493–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. and D. Hall: 1972, 'Toward Specifying the Concept of Work Climate: A Study of Roman Catholic Diocesan Priests', Journal of Applied Psychology 56, 447–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. and J. Rentsch: 1988, 'Managing Climates and Cultures: A Futures Perspective', in J. Hage (ed.), Futures of Organizations (Lexington Books, Lexington, MA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims, R. L. and T. L. Keon: 1997, 'Ethical Work Climate as a Factor in the Development of Person-Organization Fit', Journal of Business Ethics 16, 1095–1105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steers, R. M. and L. W. Porter: 1979, Motivations and Work Behavior (McGraw, New-York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Trice, H. M. and J. M. Beyer: 1993, The Cultures of Work Organizations (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NY).

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K.: 1986, 'Ethical Decision Making in Organizations; A Person-Situation Interactionist Model', Academy of Management Review 11, 601–617.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turnipseed, D. L.: 1988, 'An Integrated, Interactive Model of Organizational Climate, Culture and Effectiveness', Leadership & Organizational Development Journal 9, 17–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vardi, Y. and Y. Wiener: 1992, Organizational MisBehavior (OMB): A Calculative-Normative Model. A paper presented at the Academy of Management Meetings, Miami, Florida.

  • Vardi, Y. and Y. Wiener: 1996, 'Misbehavior in Organizations: A Motivational Framework', Organization Science 7, 151–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B. and J. B. Cullen: 1987, 'A Theory and Measure of Ethical Climate in Organizations', Research in Corporate Social Performances and Policy 9, 51–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B. and J. B. Cullen: 1988, 'The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates', Administrative Science Quarterly 33, 101–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, Y.: 1988, 'Forms of Value Systems: A Focus on Organizational Effectiveness and Cultural Change and Maintenance', Academy of Management Review 13, 534–545.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, Y. and Y. Vardi: 1990, 'Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Individual Motivation: A Conceptual Integration', Psychological Reports 67, 295–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimbush, J. C. and J. M. Shepard: 1994, 'Toward an Understanding of Ethical Climate: Its Relationship to Ethical Behavior and Supervisory Influence', Journal of Business Ethics 13, 637–647.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wimbush, J. C., J. M. Shepard, and S. E. Markham: 1997, 'An Empirical Examination of the Multi-Dimensionality of Ethical Climate in Organizations', Journal of Business Ethics 16, 67–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weitzman, M.: 1985, The Relationship Between Climate Dimensions and Performance Measures in Military Operational Units. Unpublished master's thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel (Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Labor Studies, The G. Gershon Faculty of Social Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Yoav Vardi

Authors
  1. Yoav Vardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vardi, Y. The Effects of Organizational and Ethical Climates on Misconduct at Work. Journal of Business Ethics 29, 325–337 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010710022834

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010710022834

Search

Navigation