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Ethical leadership and employee pro-social rule-breaking behavior in China

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Abstract

Chinese people generally show flexibility in obeying formal rules and emphasize rules in terms of virtue. In such a cultural background, we explore the effects of ethical leadership and ethical idealism on employee pro-social rule-breaking behavior (PSRB). Our study incorporates individual traits and situational factors to present a holistic view of the antecedents of pro-social rule-breaking behavior. Our findings shed light on a new cognitive mechanism—perceived norms—of social cognitive theory and show the boundary condition—moral idealism—of social cognitive theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China

    Jinqiang Zhu

  2. School of Labor and Human Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

    Shiyong Xu

  3. Department of Human Resource Management, School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China

    Kan Ouyang

  4. Management Programs, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    David Herst

  5. School of Labor & Employment Relations, Pennsylvania State University, 501c Keller, University Park, State College, PA, 16802, USA

    Elaine Farndale

  6. Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Elaine Farndale

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  1. Jinqiang Zhu
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  2. Shiyong Xu
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  3. Kan Ouyang
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  4. David Herst
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  5. Elaine Farndale
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Correspondence to Shiyong Xu.

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Zhu, J., Xu, S., Ouyang, K. et al. Ethical leadership and employee pro-social rule-breaking behavior in China. Asian Bus Manage 17, 59–81 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-018-0031-0

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