Thick as Thieves: The Effects of Ethical Orientation and Psychological Safety on Unethical Team Behavior

Matthew J. Pearsall; Aleksander P.J. Ellis

doi:10.1037/a0021503

Thick as Thieves: The Effects of Ethical Orientation and Psychological Safety on Unethical Team Behavior

Matthew J. Pearsall, Aleksander P.J. Ellis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

122 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to uncover compositional and emergent influences on unethical behavior by teams. Results from 126 teams indicated that the presence of a formalistic orientation within the team was negatively related to collective unethical decisions. Conversely, the presence of a utilitarian orientation within the team was positively related to both unethical decisions and behaviors. Results also indicated that the relationship between utilitarianism and unethical outcomes was moderated by the level of psychological safety within the team, such that teams with high levels of safety were more likely to engage in unethical behaviors. Implications are discussed, as well as potential directions for future research.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	401-411
Number of pages	11
Journal	Journal of Applied Psychology
Volume	96
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021503
State	Published - Mar 2011

Keywords

Decision making
Psychological safety
Teams
Unethical behavior

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Applied Psychology

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10.1037/a0021503

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Thick as Thieves: The Effects of Ethical Orientation and Psychological Safety on Unethical Team Behavior

Abstract

Keywords

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