An Empirical Study on the Relationship Between Organisational Support and Unethical Pro-Organisational Behaviour of Medical Staff: The Mediation of Organisational Identification

Abstract

Background Due to the particularity of the services provided by the medical industry, medical staff need to not only be proficient in their professional skills, but also pay attention to the cultivation of ethical qualities. However, at present, the performance-oriented management system of medical institutions, imbalanced allocation of medical resources, and other problems are likely to cause unethical pro-organisational behaviour (UPB) among medical staff. Objective To explore the causes of pro-organizational unethical behaviors among health care workers from the perspective of employee-organizational relationships and to investigate the mechanism of organizational support perception on pro-organizational unethical behaviors. Methods A multi-stage sampling method was used to assess 322 health care workers from several tertiary and above public hospitals in China, using the Sense of Organizational Support Scale, the Organizational Identity Scale and the Pro-Organizational Unethical Behavior Scale. Results All dimensions of perceived organisational support (job support, concerns about employee interests, and value identification) significantly positively predicted organisational identification and UPB (p < 0.05). Organisational identification significantly positively predicted UPB (p < 0.05), and partially mediated the relationship between all three dimensions of perceived organisational support and UPB. Conclusion Medical institutions in China could positively guide medical staff through professional training to effectively avoid their UPB. Digital technologies, such as internet platforms, can also be used to increase job support for medical staff from outside the organisation. The recognition of the contributions of medical staff could be strengthened to enhance their sense of social identity and social responsibility, which may help effectively reduce their UPB.