Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior (UBP): Concept and Studies Evolution

Abstract

Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior was many times neglected in the organizational literature. But in the past few years, the phenomenon was introduced in the domain of organizational behavior and figures nowadays among the trendy topics of scientific interest. Several organizational scholars have conducted researches exploring the construct, and more and more scholarly papers about UPB have been published up to the current day. The present study has been developed based on examination and summary of the major works completed on Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior in order to trace the evolution of its concept since its infancy. Additionally, the paper gives readers a general review of Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior studies.

The Meaning of Gratification, Moral Credential, and the Value of Selflessness Action in Violations Committed by a Respected Person

“…Groups create norms that support corrupt behaviour (Vadera & Pratt, 2013;World Development Report, 2015), which is known as Unethical Pro-organizational Behaviour (UPB). UPB is a violation that is intentionally committed by members of an organization, to provide benefits for the organization or its members or to benefit both (Tsiavia, 2016;Umphress, Bingham, & Mitchell, 2010). Group members committing or knowing the occurrence of violations are perceived as co-offenders (Free & Murphy, 2013;Lantz, 2015;Lantz & Hutchison, 2015).…”

“…Groups that supposed to punish its members because of violating the norms, on the contrary, encourage the violation by creating norms supporting corruption (Gorsira, Steg, Denkers, & Huisman, 2018). Corrupt behaviour supported by a group is called Unethical Pro-organizational Behaviour (UPB), a behaviour that is deliberately performed by members of an organization, to provide benefits for the organization or its members, and for both simultaneously (Umphress, Bingham, & Mitchell, 2010;Tsiavia, 2016). The existence of group members committing or knowing the occurrence of violations plays a role as a cooffend (Free & Murphy, 2013;Lantz, 2015;Lantz & Hutchison, 2015).…”

Does narcissism encourage unethical pro‐organizational behavior in the service sector? A case study in Pakistan

“…Different beneficial unethical behaviors have been identified in the form of constructive deviance (Warren, 2003), organizational misbehavior (Vardi & Wiener, 1996), necessary evils (Molinsky & Margolis, 2005), and pro‐social rule‐breaking behavior (Morrison, 2006). Tsiavia (2016) examined the similarities and differences between such constructs and what is termed unethical pro‐organizational behavior.…”

“…Three boundary conditions must be satisfied to classify a behavior as unethical pro‐organizational behavior (Tsiavia, 2016). The first is that if the behavior is unethical and beneficial to an organization, but it is not done with intent, it cannot be considered as unethical pro‐organizational behavior.…”

Work ethic and organizational commitment as conditions of unethical pro‐organizational behavior: Do engaged workers break the ethical rules?

“…A growing number of studies show increasing scholarly interest in the concept of unethical pro‐organizational behavior (UPB) (Tsiavia, ), since the first publication of the original article by Umphress, Bingham, and Mitchell (). Because it is common and costly for organizations, the subject is of interest to practitioners and scholars alike (Matherne, III & Litchfield, ).…”