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The More You Care, the Worthier I Feel, the Better I Behave: How and When Supervisor Support Influences (Un)Ethical Employee Behavior

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Abstract

This article investigates the effects of perceived supervisor support on ethical (organizational citizenship behaviors) and unethical employee behavior (counterproductive workplace behavior) using a multi-method approach (one experiment and one field survey with multiple waves and supervisor ratings of employees). Specifically, we test the mediating mechanism (i.e., supervisor-based self-esteem) and a boundary condition (i.e., employee task satisfaction) that moderate the relationship between support and (un)ethical employee behaviors. We find that supervisor-based self-esteem fully mediates the relationship between supervisor support and (un)ethical employee behavior and that employee task satisfaction intensifies the relationship between supervisor support and supervisor-based self-esteem.

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Notes

  1. Because of their potential relatedness, the correlation between supervisor support and task satisfaction may raise concerns about multicollinearity. However, as shown in Table 2, the correlation between supervisor support and task satisfaction is significant yet moderately low 0.34**, thus further excluding evidence of multicollinearity if any.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCP, Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Palma de Cima, 1649-023,, Lisbon, Portugal

    Francesco Sguera

  2. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Richard P. Bagozzi

  3. INSEAD, Singapore, Singapore

    Quy N. Huy

  4. Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, USA

    R. Wayne Boss

  5. Ohio College of Business, Athens, USA

    David S. Boss

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  1. Francesco Sguera
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  2. Richard P. Bagozzi
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  5. David S. Boss
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Correspondence to Francesco Sguera.

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Sguera, F., Bagozzi, R.P., Huy, Q.N. et al. The More You Care, the Worthier I Feel, the Better I Behave: How and When Supervisor Support Influences (Un)Ethical Employee Behavior. J Bus Ethics 153, 615–628 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3339-8

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