Morality binds and blinds:Examining the influence of moral foundations and moral foundations diversity on unethical pro-organisational decisions and behaviours

Abstract

People conceptualise ethics differently. To some, ethics involves displays of care and fairness to all individuals (individualising foundations). To others, it also encompasses displays of loyalty to in-groups and respect for authorities (binding foundations). According to moral foundations (MF) theory, people endorse both individualising and binding foundations, but to differing extents. However, organisation research has mainly examined ethics as if it merely involves the former considerations. Thus, I examine individuals’ endorsement of both types of MF and how it influences their (un)ethical decisions and behaviours that benefit their organisations.

In the first part of this thesis, I examine how MF and organisational identification interact to influence individuals’ unethical pro-organisational decisions and behaviours (UPB). I conducted five studies; each using different methodologies to extend the previous study. All studies, unless otherwise stated, measured MF and organisational identification. Study 1 surveyed students’ UPB intentions, Study 2, an experiment, captured students’ actual UPB, and Study 3 manipulated MF and measured students’ UPB intentions (3a) and evaluations of another’s UPB (3b). Further, in a cross-sectional (Study 4) and a two-wave (Study 5) survey, I assessed workers’ UPB intentions. Although findings were not fully consistent across studies, results tentatively show that binding foundations were more strongly associated with engagement in UPB, when individualising foundations were low and organisational identification was high.

The second part of my thesis extends the first part by examining how individuals’ decisions regarding UPB change when they encounter MF diversity (i.e., when individuals place varying degrees of importance on binding and individualising MF and thus have different ideas of right and wrong). I conducted two scenario studies using different designs with student and worker samples (Studies 6 and 7) to examine whether individuals faced with MF diversity change their initial decisions, by adopting opposing decisions and by making alternate creative decisions, to manage the ethical issues at hand. Results tentatively showed that compared to when there is no MF diversity, individuals were more likely to change their initial decisions by adopting opposing decisions when there is MF diversity.