ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
主办:中国心理学会
   中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理学报 ›› 2023, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (5): 844-860.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00844

• 研究报告 • 上一篇    

下属亲领导非伦理行为的持续与消退:基于领导反应的视角

付博1, 彭坚1(), 梁潇杰2, 陈丽芳3, 于桂兰3   

  1. 1广州大学管理学院, 广州 510006
    2首都经贸大学劳动经济学院, 北京 100070
    3吉林大学商学与管理学院, 长春 130015
  • 收稿日期:2021-07-13 发布日期:2023-02-14 出版日期:2023-05-25
  • 通讯作者: 彭坚, E-mail: pengjiannut@163.com
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(72002055);教育部人文社科项目(18YJC630033)

Reinforcement and extinction of unethical pro-supervisor behavior: Based on the perspective of supervisor response

FU Bo1, PENG Jian1(), LIANG Xiaojie2, CHEN Lifang3, YU Guilan3   

  1. 1School of Management, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    2School of Labor Economics, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
    3School of Business and Management, Jilin University, Changchun 130015, China
  • Received:2021-07-13 Online:2023-02-14 Published:2023-05-25

摘要:

下属做出亲领导非伦理行为后, 该行为究竟会持续还是消退?本研究以领导“报”为切入点, 检验领导反应(感激驱动的资源回报与愧疚驱动的惩罚)在下属亲领导非伦理行为持续与消退中的关键作用。情景模拟实验(研究1, N = 120)结果表明, 当领导正直水平较低时, 亲领导非伦理行为诱发领导感激之情与资源回报, 进而导致下属的后续亲领导非伦理行为增加; 然而, 当领导正直水平较高时, 亲领导非伦理行为诱发领导愧疚之情与惩罚行为, 进而导致下属的后续亲领导非伦理行为减少。为提高研究结果的外部效度, 本文开展了两项互补的实地问卷调查, 即四轮问卷调查(研究2, N = 277)与持续2周的日记调查(研究3, N个体内 = 733, N个体间 = 87), 再次重复支持了上述研究结果。本研究从领导反应视角拓展了学界对下属亲领导非伦理行为的认识与理解。

关键词: 亲领导非伦理行为, 领导资源回报, 领导惩罚, 领导感激, 领导愧疚, 领导正直, “报”文化

Abstract:

Unethical pro-supervisor behavior refers to actions that are intended to promote the effective functioning of leaders and violate core societal values, mores, laws, or standards of proper conduct. Although subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior protects the personal interest of supervisors in the short term, it can be detrimental to the reputation of the supervisor and the company in the long term, thus hindering the high-quality development of the organization. Existing research has devoted considerable efforts to the antecedents of unethical pro-supervisor behavior. However, few studies have explored the consequences of unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which leads to an unanswered research question: will a subordinate engaging in unethical pro-supervisor behavior persist in this behavior in the future? This study aims to investigate supervisors’ responses to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior and how these responses shape subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Drawing on the “Bao” theory, we proposed that supervisors have two paradoxical responses (gratitude-driven resource rewards versus guilt-driven punishment) to their subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which depends on supervisors’ integrity. Supervisors with high levels of integrity will respond to their subordinates who engage in unethical pro-supervisor behavior with guilt-driven punishment (a negative “Bao”), which reduces subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. In contrast, supervisors with low levels of integrity will respond to their subordinates who engage in unethical pro-supervisor behavior with gratitude-driven resource rewards (a positive “Bao”), which increases subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. We conducted three studies. In Study 1, we conducted a scenario-based experiment to explore initial evidence for our hypotheses. In the scenario-based experiment, 120 pairs of subjects played the supervisor role and employee role. The results showed that when the level of supervisors’ integrity was lower, subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior increased supervisors’ resource rewards through supervisors’ gratitude, which, in turn, increased subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior (i.e., the positive change in UPSB). However, when the level of supervisors’ integrity was higher, subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior increased supervisors’ punishment through supervisors’ guilt, which, in turn, reduced subordinates’ subsequent unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Study 1 established the internal validity of our findings. However, its external validity is limited. Hence, we conducted a cross-sectional survey study (Study 2: four-wave data from 277 supervisor-subordinate dyads) and a diary survey study (Study 3: data from 87 supervisor-subordinate dyads over 10 working days). Mplus 8.0 was used to analyze the data. Our hypotheses were supported again. This research has several theoretical implications. First, we introduced the perspective of supervisor response (i.e., supervisors’ emotional and behavioral responses) to examine the consequences of subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior, which advances the literature on unethical pro-supervisor behavior. Second, based on Bao’s theory, we explain how supervisors paradoxically respond to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior. In doing so, this research contributes to the development of Chinese indigenous management theory. Third, we identified that the moral quality of supervisors (supervisors’ integrity) plays an important role in determining supervisors’ responses to subordinates’ unethical pro-supervisor behavior.

Key words: unethical pro-supervisor behavior, supervisor resource reward, supervisor punishment, gratitude, guilt, supervisor integrity, Bao theory.

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