Beyond the universal perception: Unveiling the paradoxical impact of ethical leadership on employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior

Impact of Leadership on Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions

“…For example, authoritarian leadership has been asserted to have a positive impact on employees' UPB propensity because their subordinates find it easier to morally disengage (Shaw et al, 2020), specifically to displace the responsibility of their unethical actions on their leaders (Liu et al, 2021). Similarly, ethical leadership has been referred to as a determinant of employee UPB, as employees feel psychologically empowered while working under such leadership, where employees' moral identity moderates this relationship (Ahmed & Khan, 2023). Empowering leadership has also been referred to as an antecedent of employees' UPB through moral disengagement (Dennerlein & Kirkman, 2022).…”

“…For instance, ethical leadership-driven UPB may be attributed to employees' organizational identification (Kalshoven et al, 2016) leading to moral disengagement from its unethical nature (Hsieh et al, 2020), while trying to reciprocate toward their leader (Tang & Li, 2021). Additionally, employee psychological empowerment can also act as a mediation mechanism to enhance employee UPB under ethical leadership (Ahmed & Khan, 2023). Researchers also agree that supervisor or organizational identification explains the increased willingness of employees working under moral leadership (Wang & Li, 2019), benevolent leadership (Shaw et al, 2020), and transformational leadership (Effelsberg et al, 2014) to engage in UPB.…”