Influence of Self-Sacrificial Leadership on the Pro-Organizational Unethical Behavior of Employees: A Moderated Mediating Model

Jianchun Yang; Hongming Wei; Ying Wu

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S339718

Influence of Self-Sacrificial Leadership on the Pro-Organizational Unethical Behavior of Employees: A Moderated Mediating Model

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2021 Dec 30:14:2245-2255. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S339718. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jianchun Yang¹, Hongming Wei², Ying Wu²

Affiliations

¹ Business Administration, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, the Guizhou Key Laboratory of Big Data Statistical Analysis, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550025, People's Republic of China.
² Business Administration, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550025, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: Based on the theory of social identity, this study focuses on the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees' pro-organization unethical behaviors, as well as the moderating effect of power distance and the mediating effect of organizational identity between self-sacrificing leadership and employees' pro-organization unethical behaviors.

Methods: This work surveyed 286 employees in 12 companies in Guizhou province to test the research hypothesis model. Statistical analysis methods were used for data analysis.

Results: The results reveal that self-sacrificial leadership has an indirect positive influence on unethical pro-organizational behavior of employees by positively influencing organizational identification. The higher the power distance of employees, the weaker the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity, and the lower the power distance of employees, the stronger the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity.

Conclusion: This study reveals the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees' pro-organization non-ethical behaviors from a new perspective and confirms the effects of power distance and organizational identity on creative performance. Unethical behavior under the cloak of "pro-organization" has a potential destructive effect on stakeholders, organizations and even the whole society. It is of great practical significance to identify its influencing factors and effectively avoid them.

Keywords: organizational identification; power distance; self-sacrificial leadership; the theory of social identity; unethical pro-organizational behavior.

Grants and funding

The funding for this study is provided by National Social Science Foundation of China [Number 20BMZ128], “A study on the Mechanism and path of Rural Revitalization guided by the High-quality Development of Tourism in ethnic villages”, and Guizhou Key Laboratory of Big Data Statistical Analysis (No.[2019]5103), Guiyang 550025, China.