Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Do Unfair Procedures Predict Employees’ Ethical Behavior by Deactivating Formal Regulations?

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

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to extend the knowledge about why procedural justice (PJ) has behavioral implications within organizations. Since prior studies show that PJ leads to legitimacy, the author suggests that, when formal regulations are unfairly implemented, they lose their validity or efficacy (becoming deactivated even if they are formally still in force). This “rule deactivation,” in turn, leads to two proposed destructive work behaviors, namely, workplace deviance and decreased citizenship behaviors (OCBs). The results support this mediating role of RD, thus suggesting that it forms part of the generative mechanism through which unfair procedures influence (un)ethical behavior within organizations. The author ends the article by discussing behavioral ethics and managerial implications as well as suggestions for future research.

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

  • Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modelling in practice: a review and recommended two-step-approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 411-423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, G. A., Trevino, L. K., & Sims, H. P. (1994). Just and unjust punishment: Influences on subordinate performance and citizenship. Academy of Management Journal, 37: 299-322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 193-209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R.M. & Kenny, D.A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, R.J., & Robinson, S.L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance, Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 349-360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biel, A. & Thøgersen, J. (2007). Activation of social norms in social dilemmas, Journal of Economic Psychology, 28, 93-112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brief, A. P., Buttram, R. T., & Dukerich, J. M. (2001). Collective corruption in the corporate world: Toward a process model. In M. E. Turner (Ed.), Groups at work: Theory and research: 471-499, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Case, J. (2000). Employee Theft: The Profit Killer. Del Mar, CA: John Case & Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloward, R.A. (1959). Illegitimate Means, Anomie, and Deviant Behavior, American Sociological Review, 24, 164-179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coffin, B. (2003). Breaking the Silence on White Collar Crime. Risk Management, 50, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A.K. (1965). The Sociology of the Deviant Act: Anomie Theory and Beyond, American Sociological Review, 30, 5-14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D. (1995). Ethics and Crime in Business Firms: Organizational Culture and the Impact of Anomie, In Freda Adler and William Laufer, (Ed.), The Legacy of Anomie Theory, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 183-206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen-Charash, Y., & Spector, P.E. (2001). The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86, 278-321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J.A., Conlon, D.E., Wesson, M.J., Porter, C., Ng, K.Y. (2001). Justice at the Millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 425-445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J., & Greenberg, J. (2003). Organizational justice: A fair assessment of the state of the literature. In J. Greenberg (Ed.), Organizational behavior: The state of the science. 2nd ed: 165-210. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J. A., Greenberg, J., & Scott, B. A. (2005). Organizational justice: Where do we stand? In J. A. Colquitt & J. Greenberg (Eds.), The handbook of organizational justice (pp. 589–619). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conlon, D.E., Meyer, C.J. & Nowakowski, J.M. (2005) How Does Organizational Justice Affect Performance, Withdrawal, and Counterproductive Behaviour? In J Greenberg and JA Colquitt (eds.) Handbook of Organizational Justice. (pp. 301-327). Lawrence Erlbaum: New Jersey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cropanzano, R., Goldman, B., & Folger, R. (2004). Deontic justice: The role of moral principles in workplace fairness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 1019-1024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E.: [1893 (1984)]. The Division of Labor in Society, translated by W. D. Halls (Free Press, New York).

  • Durkheim, E.: [1897 (1951)]. Suicide: A Study in Sociology, translated by J. A. Spaulding and G. Simpson (Free Press, New York).

  • Farth, J.L., Podsakoff, P.M., and Organ, D.W. (1990). Accounting for organizational citizenship behavior: leader fairness and task scope versus satisfaction. Journal of Management, 16, 4, 705-721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (1991). Getting to YES: Negotiating agreement without giving in (2nd ed.). New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R. (1998). Fairness as a moral virtue. In M. Schminke (Ed.), Managerial ethics: Morally managing people and processes (pp. 13-34). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., (2001). Fairness as deonance. In S. Gilliland, D. D. Steiner, & D. P. Skarlicki (Eds.), Research in social issues in management: 3-31. Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., & Cropanzano, R. (1998). Organizational justice and human resource management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., & Cropanzano, R. (2001). Fairness theory: Justice as accountability. In J. Greenberg & R. Cropanzano (Eds.), Advances in organizational justice: 89-118. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folger, R., Cropanzano, R., Goldman, B. (2005) What is the relationship between justice and morality. In J. Greenberg, J. A. Colquitt. Handbook of Organizational Justice (pp. 215–246). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, R.A., Tidd, S.T., Currall, S.C. & Tsai, J.C. (2000). What goes around comes around: The impact of personal conflict styles on work conflict and stress. International Journal of Conflict Management, 11, 32-55.

    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 

  • Greenberg, J. (2002). Who stole the money and when? Individual and situational determinants of employee theft. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89, 985-1003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, J.E. (1990). Methodological problems and policy implications in sexual harassment research. Population Research and Policy Review, 9, 235-254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruys, M.L., & Sackett, P.R. (2003). Investigating the dimensionality of counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 11, 30-42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hemmingsson, T. & Lundberg, I. (1998). Work control, work demands, and work social support in relation to alcoholism among young men. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 921-927.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodson, R. (1999). Organizational Anomie and Worker Consent. Work and Occupations, 26 (8), 292-323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger, R.C., & Clark, J.P. (1982). Deterrence in the Workplace: Perceived Certainty, Perceived Severity, and Employee Theft. Social Forces, 62, 398-418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger, R.C., & Clark, J.P. (1983). Theft by Employees. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyatt, D.E., & Ruddy, T.M. (1997). An examination of the relationship between work group characteristics and performance: Once more into the breech. Personnel Psychology, 50, 553-585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jehn, K.A. (1995). A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 256-282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konovsky, M.A & Organ, D.W. (1996). Dispositional and contextual determinants of organizational citizenship behavior”. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 3, 253-266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K., & Allen, N.J. (2002). Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 131-142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, G.S. (1980). What Should Be Done with Equity Theory? New Approaches to the Study of Fairness in Social Relationships. In: K.J. Gergen, M.S. Greenbers, and R.H. Willis, eds., Social Exchange: Advances in Theory and Research, pp. 27-53. Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, V.K.G. (2002). The IT way of loafing on the job: cyberloafing, neutralizing and organizational justice. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 675-694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lind, E.A. & Tyler, T.R. (1988). The social psychology of interactional justice, New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masterson, S.S., Lewis-McClear, K., Goldman, B.M., & Taylor, M.S. (2000). Integrating justice and social exchange: The differing effects of fair procedures and treatment on work relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 67, 738-749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellor, S. (1992). The influence of layoff severity on post layoff union commitment among survivors: The moderating effect of the perceived legitimacy of a layoff account, Personnel Psychology, 45, 579-600.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R.H. (1991). The relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behavior: Do fairness perceptions influence employee citizenship? Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 845-855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R., & Byrne, Z.S. (2005). What is the Role of Justice in Promoting Organizational Citizenship Behavior? In J. Greenberg and J. A. Colquitt (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Justice: Fundamental Questions about Fairness in the Workplace (pp. 355-382). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, R.H., Niehoff, B.P., & Organ, D.W. (1993). Treating employees fairly and organizational citizenship behavior: sorting the effects of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and procedural justice. Employee Rights and Responsibilities Journal, 6, 3, 209-226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K. R. (1993) Honesty in the Workplace. Brooks/Cole Publishing Co, Pacific Grove.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niehoff, B.P. & Moorman, R.H. (1993). Justice as a mediator of the relationship between methods of monitoring and organizational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 527-556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Soldier Syndrome. Lexington Books, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organ, D.W. (1997). Organizational citizenship behavior: It’s construct clean-up time. Human Performance, 10, 85-97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P.M., & MacKenzie, S.B. (1997). Impact or organizational citizenship behavior on organizational performance: A review and suggestions for future research. Human Performance, 10, 133-151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B. Morrman, R. H. & Fetter, R. (1990). Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on follower’s trust in leader satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors. Leadership Quarterly, 1, 107-142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puffer, S.M. (1987). Pro-social behavior, non compliant behavior, and work performance among commission sales people. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72, 615-621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S.L., & Bennett, R J. (1995). A typology of deviant workplace behaviors: A multidimensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 555-572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S.L., & Greenberg, J. (1998). Employees behaving badly: Dimensions, determinants, and dilemmas in the study of workplace deviance. In C. L. Cooper & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), Trends in organizational behavior, 5, 1-30. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotundo, M., & Sackett, P.R. (2002). The relative importance of task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance to global ratings of job performance: a policy-capturing approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 66-80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. (1986). Perceived control by employees: A meta-analysis of studies concerning autonomy and participation at work. Human Relations, 39, 1005-1016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: a theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22, 664-670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tenbrunsel, A.E., & Messick, D.M. (1999). Sanctioning systems, decision frames, and cooperation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 684-707.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treviño, L.K., Weaver G. R., & Reynolds S.J. (2006). Behavioral Ethics in Organizations: A Review. Journal of Management, 32, 951-990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turillo, C.J., Folger, R., Lavelle, J.J., Umphress, E. E., & Gee, J.O. (2002). Is virtue its own reward? Self-sacrificial decisions for the sake of fairness. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89, 839-865.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, J. (1990). Knowing what to think by knowing who you are: Self-categorization and the nature of norm formation, conformity and group polarization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 97-119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T.R. (2006). Why people obey the law: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and compliance. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R., Blader, S. L. (2000) Cooperation in groups: Procedural Justice, Social Identity, and Behavioral Engagement. Psychology Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T.R., & Blader, S.L., (2005). Can businesses effectively regulate employee conduct? The antecedents of rule following in work settings, Academy of Management Journal, 48, 1143-1158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T.R, and Lind, E.A. (1992). A relational model of authority in groups. In Advances in experimental social psychology, edited by M. P. Zanna. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ury, W. L., Brett, J. M., Goldberg, S. B. (1993). Getting disputes resolved (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Bos, K. (2005). What is responsible for the fair process effect? in J. Greenberg & J. A. Colquitt (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Justice, Mahwah, NJ, Erlbaum, pp. 273-300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyne, L., Cummings, L.L., and Parks, J.M. (1995). Extra-role behaviors: in pursuit of construct and definitional clarity (a bridge over muddied waters). Research in Organizational Behavior, 17, 215-285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, G. R., & Treviño, L. K. (1999). Compliance and values oriented ethics programs: Influences on employees’ attitudes and behavior. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9, 315-337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17, 601-617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zoghbi, P. (2008). Anomic employees and deviant workplace behaviour: An organisational study. Estudios de Psicología, 29(2), 181-95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament of Economics and Management, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (The Canary Islands), Spain

    Pablo Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara

Authors
  1. Pablo Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pablo Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zoghbi-Manrique-de-Lara, P. Do Unfair Procedures Predict Employees’ Ethical Behavior by Deactivating Formal Regulations?. J Bus Ethics 94, 411–425 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0273-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0273-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation