According to interpersonal interaction theory, relational harmony surfaces when two individuals have compatible interaction styles. Building from this theory, we propose that supervisor-employee power distance orientation incompatibility will be related to employees' experience of higher levels of relationship conflict with their supervisors. Additionally, we propose an asymmetrical incongruence effect such that relationship conflict will be highest when supervisors are high in power distance and employees are low in power distance. Furthermore, we address calls in interpersonal interaction research for more direct attention to the social context of the dyadic interaction and explore the moderating effects of supervisor-employee gender (dis)similarity on the relationship between this incompatibility and conflict. We propose that supervisor-employee gender dissimilarity (e.g., male-female or female-male pairs) acts as a conditional moderator, neutralizing the power distance incongruence effect and the asymmetrical incongruence effect. Using 259 supervisor-employee dyads in the physical therapy industry, the hypotheses were generally supported. Theoretical and practical implications regarding the unique benefits of power distance compatibility and gender diversity in supervisor-employee dyads are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
Do some employees engage in unethical behavior because they actually believe it is the right thing to do? We explore this question in this article. Unlike other forms of unethical behavior, unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) is aimed at benefiting the perpetrator’s organization. We propose that employees are increasingly likely to engage in UPB when they believe these acts are ethically appropriate, and that these ethicality beliefs are strongest among employees who work in departments with egoistic norms. Such norms lack guidance on the importance of protecting outside stakeholders’ interest, and provide limited moral knowledge about the broader implications of UPB. We further propose that organizational identification strengthens these effects. Across three field studies, we find support for the hypothesized effects. Ethical judgments of UPB were positively related to both self (Studies 1 and 3) and supervisor (Study 2) ratings of employee UPB. In turn, acts of UPB were judged more ethically appropriate in departments with egoistic norms, and these positive ethical judgments mediated the relationships between egoistic norms and employee UPB (Study 2). Finally, the indirect effects of egoistic norms were strongest among employees with high levels of organizational identification (Study 3). Implications for theory and research are discussed.
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