Supervisor expediency to employee expediency: The moderating role of leader–member exchange and the mediating role of employee unethical tolerance

Abstract

We utilize social learning theory to test the role-modeling effect of supervisor expediency (i.e., a supervisor's use of unethical practices to expedite work for self-serving purposes). In particular, we examine the relationship between supervisor expediency and employee expediency, as moderated by leader-member exchange (LMX) and mediated by employee unethical tolerance. We predict that employees are more likely to model their supervisors' expedient behaviors when their relationship is characterized by high-LMX (a high-quality exchange relationship that is rich in socioemotional support). Furthermore, we argue that supervisor expediency, especially when LMX is high, influences employees' attitudes of unethical tolerance, which then affects employees' expedient behaviors. Across 2 multisource field studies and a third time-lagged field study, we found general support for our theoretical predictions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A business frame perspective on why perceptions of top management's bottom‐line mentality result in employees’ good and bad behaviors

“…Specifically, extant research suggests that business frames spawn self‐interested thoughts that result in unethical conduct (Kouchaki et al., ; Tenbrunsel & Messick, , ; Tenbrunsel & Smith‐Crowe, ). In this case, the business situation encourages people to satisfy their self‐interests by engaging in unethical conduct because such conduct can make them appear more successful when business matters most (Greenbaum, Mawritz, Bonner, Webster, & Kim, ; Mitchell et al., ).…”

“…In customer service occupations, employees may engage in customer‐directed unethical conduct by submitting false invoices to customers, fabricating product quality, and violating contract terms with customers (Kaptein, ). These behaviors may serve employees’ short‐term self‐interests, success, and survival by allowing them to maximize their benefits and rewards when the environment suggests the sole importance of the bottom‐line (e.g., Greenbaum et al., ). For example, service employees may submit false invoices to customers to retain higher sales or lie about product quality to close a deal.…”

When Dark Triad Personality leads to Supervisors Expediency: An Islamic work Perspective

“…DL is defined as supervisor, leader or manager behavior that disrupts the legitimate interests of organization by undermining organizational goals, resources, tasks, and effectiveness (Einarsen, Aasland, & Skogstad, 2007). In recent times, Greenbaum, Mawritz, Bonner, Webster and Kim (2018) identified another such leadership behavior and labelled it Supervisor Expediency (SE). They defined SE as supervisor's involvement in immoral practices to accelerate work for self-centered purpose in an organization.…”

“…Researchers for last 30 years are trying to define why individual at workplace make unscrupulous choices. The current research is a response to recent call by Greenbaum, Mawritz, Bonner, Webster, and Kim (2018) who suggested conducting research for validating and identifying outcomes and antecedents of supervisor expediency. As supervisor expediency is a recently conceptualized construct, research on this leadership behavior is scarce.…”

“…In present research, unethical leadership practices particularly refer to supervisor expediency. Greenbaum et al (2018) discussed that supervisor expediency can be a critical issue for an organization.…”