A fault confessed is half redressed: The impact of deviant workplace behavior on proactive behavior

Zhang, Sen; Zhao, Mengru Article A fault confessed is half redressed: The impact of deviant workplace behavior on proactive behavior Administrative Sciences Provided in Cooperation with: MDPI – Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, Basel Suggested Citation: Zhang, Sen; Zhao, Mengru (2024) : A fault confessed is half redressed: The impact of deviant workplace behavior on proactive behavior, Administrative Sciences, ISSN 2076-3387, MDPI, Basel, Vol. 14, Iss. 7, pp. 1-22, https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14070141 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/320956 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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Administrative Sciences 14: 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/ admsci14070141 Received: 26 May 2024 Revised: 27 June 2024 Accepted: 2 July 2024 Published: 4 July 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). administrative sciences Article A Fault Confessed Is Half Redressed: The Impact of Deviant Workplace Behavior on Proactive Behavior Sen Zhang and Mengru Zhao * Graduate School of Commerce, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan; [email protected] *Correspondence: zhaomengr[email protected] Abstract: The extant research on deviant workplace behavior has mainly examined the consequences of such behavior from a “victim-centric” perspective, while ignoring the psychological and behavioral responses of the employees who engaged in it. Drawing upon moral cleansing theory, we adopt a “victimizer-centric” perspective and contend that employees experience moral deficits after engaging in deviant workplace behavior, which consequently lead to subsequent proactive behavior. We also propose that the indirect relationship between deviant workplace behavior and proactive behavior is contingent upon individuals’ moral courage. Specifically, employees with high moral courage are more inclined to perform subsequent proactive behavior upon perceiving a moral deficit than those with low moral courage. Our hypotheses are supported by empirical data from an experimental study involving 128 participants in the United Kingdom (Study 1) and a multi-wave survey-based field study with a sample of 180 employees conducted in the United States (Study 2). Our research provides contributions to the literature on deviant workplace behavior by demonstrating how and when deviant workplace behavior can lead to subsequent compensatory behavior, as well as practical insights for both employees and organizations. Keywords: deviant workplace behavior; moral cleansing; moral deficit; moral courage; proactive behavior 1. Introduction Deviant workplace behavior (DWB), conceptualized as “voluntary behavior that violates organizational norms and thereby threatens the well-being of the organization, its members, or both” (Robinson and Bennett 1995, p. 556), is a widespread manifestation of negative workplace behaviors (Bennett and Robinson 2000;Zhong and Robinson 2021), which includes theft, lying, or breaking workplace rules. As one pervasive form of negative workplace behaviors (Dhanani and LaPalme 2019;Zhong and Robinson 2021), many employees engage in such behaviors to some degree, which leads to numerous monetary and societal costs to the organization. Previous studies have extensively focused on the antecedents of DWB (e.g., Bolton et al. 2010;Ferguson et al. 2012;Mackey et al. 2021;Li et al. 2023) and the strategies that organizations can employ to curb it (e.g., Di Stefano et al. 2019;Thornton and Rupp 2016;Shahzad et al. 2023). However, most research on DWB has adopted a “victim-centric” perspective, with little attention given to the “victimizer-centric” perspective, which means we know little about how the “victimizers” view themselves and behave as a result (Fan et al. 2021). This is a critical omission because employees continuously engage in various behaviors, and their previous behaviors may shape how they behave later (e.g., Lin et al. 2016). Some scholars have adopted a “cognitive dissonance” perspective through which to view employees’ negative behaviors (see a review by Zhong and Robinson 2021). Specifically, following moral cleansing theory (Miller and Effron 2010;Mullen and Monin 2016), people may experience a dissonance between their desired moral self-image and their current moral level after engaging in immoral behaviors (e.g., Barkan et al. 2015;Ilies et al. 2013;Liao et al. Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14070141 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/admsci Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 2 of 18 2018), and the perceived moral deficit may motivate individuals to subsequently engage in compensatory behaviors to restore their moral self-concept (Zhong et al. 2009). Therefore, we propose that, after engaging in DWB, employees may subsequently act in ways that benefit organizational effectiveness to compensate for their previous morally questionable behaviors. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, there are few empirical studies that have investigated how and when DWB will lead to subsequent compensatory behaviors (e.g., Dadaboyev et al. 2023;Fan et al. 2021). Our research aims to fill this research gap by examining the underlying mechanism of the relationship between DWB and subsequently positive workplace behaviors. In this study, we focus on a specific form of positive workplace behavior, namely proactive behavior, defined as “anticipatory action that employees take to impact themselves and/or their environments” (Grant and Ashford 2008, p. 5). Examples of proactive behaviors include feedback-seeking (Ashford et al. 2003), personal initiative (Frese and Fay 2001), taking charge (Morrison and Phelps 1999), and voice (LePine and Dyne 1998). Moral cleansing theory posits that individuals are inclined to undertake reparative actions that are designed to compensate victims (Zhong et al. 2009;West and Zhong 2015) and, since organizations are generally the victims of employees’ DWB, employees may engage in proactive behaviors as a form of compensation towards the company because such behavior can enhance organizational efficiency, financial performance, innovation, and various other positive organizational outcomes (e.g., Bindl and Parker 2011;Thomas et al. 2010). In sum, we hypothesize that the victimizer exhibiting DWB will perceive a sense of moral deficit which, in turn, prompts them to subsequently engage in proactive behaviors to repair this deficit. Additionally, moral cleansing theory suggests that the moral cleansing process is contingent upon an individual’s moral characteristics (Liao et al. 2018). Specifically, we focus on an individual difference that reflects the level of morality in one’s behavior— moral courage—which refers to “the strength of will is needed to face and resolve ethical challenges and to confront barriers that may inhibit the ability to proceed toward right action” (Sekerka et al. 2009, p. 566). We contend that moral courage moderates the relationship between employees’ moral deficit and their subsequent proactive behavior; morally courageous employees are more likely to take a proactive approach (e.g., Sekerka 2015;Sekerka et al. 2009) and engage in compensatory behaviors than those with low moral courage. We offer a moderated mediation model to investigate how and when an employee’s DWB will predict subsequent proactive behavior. Our overall theoretical model is depicted in Figure 1. Adm. Sci. 2024, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 18 moral level after engaging in immoral behaviors (e.g., Barkan et al. 2015; Ilies et al. 2013; Liao et al. 2018), and the perceived moral deficit may motivate individuals to subsequently engage in compensatory behaviors to restore their moral self-concept (Zhong et al. 2009). Therefore, we propose that, after engaging in DWB, employees may subsequently act in ways that benefit organizational effectiveness to compensate for their previous morally questionable behaviors. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, there are few empirical studies that have investigated how and when DWB will lead to subsequent compensatory behaviors (e.g., Dadaboyev et al. 2023; Fan et al. 2021). Our research aims to fill this research gap by examining the underlying mechanism of the relationship between DWB and subsequently positive workplace behaviors. In this study, we focus on a specific form of positive workplace behavior, namely proactive behavior, defined as “anticipatory action that employees take to impact themselves and/or their environments” (Grant and Ashford 2008, p. 5). Examples of proactive behaviors include feedback-seeking (Ashford et al. 2003), personal initiative (Frese and Fay 2001), taking charge (Morrison and Phelps 1999), and voice (LePine and Van Dyne 1998). Moral cleansing theory posits that individuals are inclined to undertake reparative actions that are designed to compensate victims (Zhong et al. 2009; West and Zhong 2015) and, since organizations are generally the victims of employees’ DWB, employees may engage in proactive behaviors as a form of compensation towards the company because such behavior can enhance organizational efficiency, financial performance, innovation, and various other positive organizational outcomes (e.g., Bindl and Parker 2011; Thomas et al. 2010). In sum, we hypothesize that the victimizer exhibiting DWB will perceive a sense of moral deficit which, in turn, prompts them to subsequently engage in proactive behaviors to repair this deficit. Additionally, moral cleansing theory suggests that the moral cleansing process is contingent upon an individual’s moral characteristics (Liao et al. 2018). Specifically, we focus on an individual difference that reflects the level of morality in one’s behavior— moral courage—which refers to “the strength of will is needed to face and resolve ethical challenges and to confront barriers that may inhibit the ability to proceed toward right action” (Sekerka et al. 2009, p. 566). We contend that moral courage moderates the relationship between employees’ moral deficit and their subsequent proactive behavior; morally courageous employees are more likely to take a proactive approach (e.g., Sekerka 2015; Sekerka et al. 2009) and engage in compensatory behaviors than those with low moral courage. We offer a moderated mediation model to investigate how and when an employee’s DWB will predict subsequent proactive behavior. Our overall theoretical model is depicted in Figure 1. Figure 1. Overall hypothesized model. We test our hypotheses across two studies, namely an experimental study conducted in the United Kingdom and a survey-based field study conducted in the United States. Our research contributes to the literature in several ways. First, the literature on DWB primarily focuses on the detrimental consequences, ignoring its potential positive outcomes; our research helps counter this imbalance by introducing a novel “victimizerFigure 1. Overall hypothesized model. We test our hypotheses across two studies, namely an experimental study conducted in the United Kingdom and a survey-based field study conducted in the United States. Our research contributes to the literature in several ways. First, the literature on DWB primarily focuses on the detrimental consequences, ignoring its potential positive outcomes; our research helps counter this imbalance by introducing a novel “victimizer-centric” perspective, through which we investigate the psychological and behavioral outcomes of DWB. In doing so, we suggest that DWB can subsequently lead to morally laudable acts (i.e., proactive behavior) once they experience a sense of moral deficit. Second, we integrate Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 3 of 18 the broader proactive behavior literature with the moral literature to provide additional insights into elaborating the antecedents of proactive behavior from a moral perspective. Finally, we contribute to the moral cleansing literature by identifying moral courage as a vital boundary condition that influences the relationship between a moral deficit and socially desirable outcomes. 2. Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development 2.1. Deviant Workplace Behavior (DWB) DWB is defined as any voluntary behavior where employees violate the expectations of the social context in the workplace (Kaplan 1975), and it comprises a range of behaviors, such as theft, harassment, and dishonesty, that go against workplace rules and regulations (Robinson and Bennett 1995). Employees may engage in DWB for both individual and organizational reasons, including self-interest, emotional exhaustion, mistreatment or injustice, unethical collogues or leadership, or issues with the organizational climate (Chen and King 2018;Mackey et al. 2021;Miao et al. 2020;Park et al. 2019;Shafer 2008;Scherer et al. 2001;Wilson et al. 2015). DWB has detrimental effects on both organizations and employees (Robinson and Bennett 1995). For instance, it can exacerbate workplace incivility among members (Meier and Spector 2013), contribute to abusive supervision (Lian et al. 2014), and even lead to insomnia (Yuan et al. 2018). However, recent research has also begun to explore the potential positive effects of DWB; for instance, Fan et al. (2021) found that DWB can positively contribute to the recovery of employees’ resources, which, in turn, enhances their work engagement. Similarly, Ilies et al. (2013) demonstrated that undesirable workplace behaviors are positively associated with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through the emotional mechanism of guilt. Diverging from these studies, our research seeks to explore the potential positive impacts of DWB on proactive behavior and the underlying mechanisms from a moral cognitive perspective. 2.2. Moral Cognitive Responses to DWB The fundamental argument of moral cleansing theory is based on a moral balance model (Nisan and Horenczyk 1990) that proposes that individuals have a moral self-regard, which refers to a self-assessment of their current moral degree; the level of moral selfregard increases when they engage in morally laudable behaviors and decreases when they engage in morally questionable behaviors. Every individual has a relatively stable moral equilibrium point, which is the ideal level for one’s moral self-regard, and people are motivated to maintain their moral self-regard so that it aligns with their equilibrium point (e.g., Ahmad et al. 2021;Sachdeva et al. 2009). When there is a discrepancy between people’s moral self-regard and their moral equilibrium point, they are more likely to act either morally or immorally to maintain the balance. Specifically, if individuals engage in morally commendable behaviors, this endows them with a psychological “license” that allows them to act in a morally questionable way without concerning their self-image (e.g., Loi et al. 2020;Yam et al. 2017). Conversely, the principle applies when their moral self-regard is lower than the moral equilibrium point. If individuals experience a decline in their moral self-regard due to engaging in immoral actions, they are inclined to engage in compensatory behaviors to “cleanse” their moral impurity and boost their moral self-regard to keep it consistent with the moral equilibrium point. Furthermore, moral cleansing theory suggests that previous unethical behaviors shape subsequently favorable behaviors via both emotional and cognitive mechanisms (Zhong et al. 2009). Several studies have demonstrated the emotional ramifications that occur after immoral behaviors. For instance, Ilies et al. (2013) showed that, when individuals realized their past behaviors violate organizational or social norms, they feel guilty. Unlike these studies, our research predominantly focuses on the cognitive mechanism. As we discussed above, DWB exerts detrimental consequences on the organizations and simultaneously jeopardizes the individual’s moral self-regard (e.g., Aquino and Reed 2002). Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 4 of 18 Therefore, following moral cleansing theory, we contend that, when employees engaged in DWB, they are more likely to perceive a high moral deficit, which refers to a deficit in personal moral credits resulting from one’s own unethical behaviors (Liao et al. 2023). The construct of moral credit is analogous to keeping a moral bank account. Individuals tend to evaluate their behaviors regarding ethicality, where good deeds accumulate moral credits that can be used to pay for subsequent immoral behaviors (Lin et al. 2016), and bad deeds lead to a moral debt, necessitating engagement in compensatory behaviors to “repay” this debt (Miller and Effron 2010;Zhong et al. 2009). Therefore, the fluctuation of moral credits in response to one’s actions mirrors an individual’s cognitive response to subsequent moral or immoral behaviors. Building on this, perpetrating DWB not only violates social norms but also inflicts harm on the organization and on colleagues (e.g., Robinson et al. 2014). Thus, employees may perceive a loss of moral credit (i.e., moral deficit). Supporting our argument, several studies have identified a positive relationship between moral deficit and previous ethical transgressions. For example, Zhong et al. (2010) conducted two experiments and found that individuals felt a moral deficit upon making an unethical choice. In a similar vein, Liao et al. (2018) showed that leaders experienced a loss of moral credit after perpetrating abusive leadership behaviors. We, therefore, hypothesize that employees are more likely to perceive moral deficit as a cognitive response to their DWB. Hypothesis 1 (H1). The act of engaging in DWB is positively associated with an increase in moral deficit. 2.3. Compensatory Response to Perceived Moral Deficit As previously discussed, moral cleansing theory suggests that individuals are inclined to align their moral self-regard with their moral equilibrium and are, therefore, motivated to engage in morally laudable behaviors to compensate for their previous immoral behaviors. A handful of empirical studies found that employees often engaged in multiple subsequent behaviors, such as apologizing and compensating (Ghorbani et al. 2013), OCB (Ilies et al. 2013), service-oriented helping behavior (Liao et al. 2023), and person-oriented leadership behavior (Liao et al. 2018), to repair their self-image and raise their moral self-regard. Although these studies imply that individuals proactively engage in reparative behaviors to atone for their past transgressions, it is surprising that few studies have, so far, empirically tested whether proactive behavior can “cleanse” a moral deficit (except Wang et al. 2022). Consequently, our research contends that proactive behavior is an appropriately compensatory behavior in response to a moral deficit caused by engagement in DWB. Proactive behavior involves employees’ acting in anticipation to bring about change in the workplace to enhance organizational effectiveness. It has three vital attributes; self-initiation, change-oriented, and future-focused (Parker et al. 2010;Parker and Collins 2010). Proactive employees take the initiative to make things happen, rather than waiting for things happen, and it is considered to be a specific form of prosocial behavior (e.g., Belschak and Den Hartog 2017;Mackenzie et al. 2011), which means it overlaps to some extent with OCB. However, a consensus in much of the proactive behavior literature is that proactive behavior is not an extra role behavior like OCB. As proactivity is a “goal-driven process” (Parker et al. 2010), individuals engaging in it broadly comprehend and redefine their roles so that they can encapsulate the desirable future (i.e., goals) that they wish to achieve (Frese and Fay 2001;Grant and Ashford 2008;Griffin et al. 2007;Parker et al. 2006). In other words, both in-role and extra-role performance can, to some extent, be manifested in a proactive way. We posit that proactive behavior may be a plausible behavioral response to redress a perceived moral deficit for two reasons. First, when employees experience a moral deficit in themselves, the compensatory behaviors they subsequently use to amend their past immoral behaviors are typically self-started. Second, since organizations are often the primary victims of DWB (e.g., Zhong and Robinson 2021), individuals are likely to Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 5 of 18 prioritize compensating the organization and enhancing its efficiency as their foremost goal (Cryder et al. 2012;Wang et al. 2022). Proactive behavior, which is dedicated to changing the status quo for a better future, can yield numerous positive organizational outcomes, including innovations, resilience, and improved organizational effectiveness (e.g., Detert and Burris 2007;Liang et al. 2012;Moon et al. 2008), that can counterbalance the harm inflicted by a previous engagement in DWB. Furthermore, employees frequently receive tangible rewards, such as promotions or increased salaries, from engaging in proactive behaviors (e.g., Seibert et al. 2001;Thompson 2005), which can serve to enhance their moral self-regard. Employees can leverage proactive behavior to repair the perceived moral deficit resulting from their previous DWB. Based on these arguments, we propose the following: Hypothesis 2 (H2). A perceived moral deficit is positively associated with subsequent proactive behavior. Combining H1 with H2, we contend that a perceived moral deficit is the underlying mechanism that elaborates the positive relationship between DWB and subsequent proactive behavior. Hypothesis 3 (H3). The act of engaging in DWB is positively associated with subsequent proactive behavior via a perceived moral deficit. 2.4. The Moderating Role of Moral Courage Thus far, we have emphasized the underlying mechanism of the moral cleansing process from a “within-employee” perspective. However, moral cleansing theory also suggests that the mediation effect of this process may differ among individuals who possess varying moral characteristics (Mullen and Monin 2016). A recent study showed that individuals activated a “double-distancing mechanism” to their immoral behaviors, treating the morally questionable behaviors of others overly harshly, rather than engaging in compensatory behaviors themselves (Barkan et al. 2012). Drawing upon these insights, we identify moral courage as a vital factor in shaping ethical decision-making. Moral courage refers to the extent to which individuals are committed to moral principles and their willingness to act in response to their own immoral acts (Liao et al. 2018). Prior studies have shown that moral courage can appear both as a stable personal trait (e.g., Peralta et al. 2021;Sekerka et al. 2009) and as a malleable state (e.g., Jonas et al. 2007;Hannah et al. 2011;Hannah et al. 2013). For example, moral courage can be enhanced by training (Jonas et al. 2007) or a positive leadership style (e.g., Alshehri and Elsaied 2022; Cheng et al. 2019), and morally courageous individuals are more likely to intentionally conduct in morally good ways, despite any perceived risks or obstacles (e.g., Peralta et al. 2021). Building on these arguments, we propose that employees with high moral courage are more likely to engage in proactive behavior when they perceive a moral deficit caused by their previous DWB than those with low moral courage; indeed, proactive behaviors that contrast with prior DWB are an implicit and public acknowledgment of an employee’s previous misconduct. Therefore, it may be more expedient for employees to ignore their moral deficits or state that their engagement in DWB is attributed to several contextual factors (e.g., work stress, unfair treatment) (e.g., Dhanani and LaPalme 2019;Li et al. 2017). Even if employees perceive a moral deficit, they might opt to engage in compensatory behaviors that are directed towards individuals outside of the workplace (Sachdeva et al. 2009) or find a plausible excuse to justify their immoral behaviors, rather than proactively helping the organization and make amends for their mistakes. However, employees with high moral courage are more likely to bravely acknowledge their previous wrongdoings without fearing the risks associated with such an admission. Moreover, such employees tend to confront their immoral deeds and are more likely to conduct effective compensatory behaviors to assuage their moral deficit. In addition, scholars have argued that Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 6 of 18 engaging in proactive behavior is not easy (e.g., Griffin et al. 2007), as employees need to be courageous in challenging the status quo, overcoming difficulties, and obstacles, eventually contributing to a more desirable future. Based on these arguments, we hypothesize that: Hypothesis 4 (H4). Employees’ moral courage moderates the relationship between perceived moral deficit and proactive behavior, such that, the positive relationship is stronger when their moral courage is high rather than low. Integrating our theoretical arguments about the moderating role of moral courage and the mediating role of moral deficit, we contend the following first stage moderated mediation hypothesis: Hypothesis 5 (H5). Employees’ moral courage moderates the indirect effect of their DWB on subsequent proactive behavior via perceived moral deficit, such that the indirect effect is stronger when their moral courage is high rather than low. 3. Method We conducted two studies to test our hypotheses. In Study 1, we used experimental settings to test the causal effects of DWB on employees’ subsequent perceived moral deficit and proactive behavior, since previous research has found that employees will engage in unethical behavior subsequent to exhibiting pro-social behavior (e.g., Yam et al. 2017;Loi et al. 2020). In Study 2, we employed a multi-wave survey-based study to examine our entire hypothesized model. 3.1. Study 1 3.1.1. Design and Participants We recruited 130 full-time employees working across the United Kingdom using Prolific, an online survey platform widely used for research purposes (Peer et al. 2017). The participants were from various industries, including manufacturing, retail, and finance, and were randomly allocated to either the experiment group or the control group. Participants in the experimental condition were presented with an overview of DWB, supplemented by some examples, such as “taking an additional or longer break” (Bennett and Robinson 2000). Subsequently, they were required to recall and detail any such actions that they had exhibited in the past month. Two sample responses were “I took a longer lunch break so I could have a nap” and “I have a daydream when I should have been writing functional specs”. On the contrary, participants in the control condition were asked to recall and describe a routine work activity they had performed. Two sample responses were “creating reports and analyzing data to provide insights to stakeholders,” and “using project management software to manage budgets”. We meticulously examined all of the responses to ensure they aligned with our instructions. Two participants were excluded, as their responses did not meet our minimum word-count requirement, resulting in a final sample of 128 participants, of whom 51.6% were male; their average was 43.81 (SD = 11.33); 86.5% of them had a bachelor’s degree or higher; 51.6% did not hold a managerial position, and the average organizational tenure was 10.37 years (SD = 8.67). After completing the text item, they were asked to respond to questions about manipulation check, moral deficit, and subsequent proactive behavior. 3.1.2. Measures Unless otherwise stated, the specific variables that are described below were rated on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The mediator is moral deficit. We adopted a five-item scale developed by Yuan et al. (2018) to measure moral deficit ( α = 0.97). The participants were instructed to indicate their agreement with each item based on how they thought about themselves after engaging in Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 7 of 18 DWB. One representative item was, “When I engaged in this behavior, I lost moral credit for performing a morally questionable behavior”. The dependent variable is proactive behavior. We measured proactive behavior using nine items from Griffin et al. (2007) ( α = 0.91). The participants were asked to indicate how frequently they have engaged in proactive behaviors after exhibiting DWB on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). A sample item was, “I initiate better ways of doing my core tasks”. 3.1.3. Manipulation Check Prior to the primary analysis, we conducted an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to check the validity of the effectiveness of our manipulation check using the item “The behavior you have recalled was ethical” (Wang et al. 2022). The results show that participants in the experimental condition rated this item lower (M = 2.75, SD = 0.78) than those in the control condition (M = 4.63, SD = 0.63; F [1, 126] = 225, p< 0.01, ηp2 = 0.64), indicating that DWB was successfully manipulated in our experiment. 3.1.4. Study 1 Results We conducted a one-way ANOVA to examine whether the participants in the experimental condition perceived more of a moral deficit than those in the control condition. H1 posits that the act of engaging in DWB is positively associated with an increase in moral deficit. Figure 2reveals that those who recalled a DWB reported a higher degree of moral deficit (M = 2.47, SD = 0.86) than those who recalled a routine workplace behavior (M = 1.20, SD = 0.46; F [1, 126] = 107.43, p< 0.01, ηp2 = 0.46), suggesting that employees’ DWB has an impact on perceived moral deficit, thereby supporting H1. Furthermore, we tested whether the participants in the experimental condition engaged in more proactive behavior than those in the control condition. The results show that those who recalled a DWB reported more proactive behaviors (M = 3.52, SD = 0.61) than those who recalled a routine workplace behavior (M = 3.22, SD = 0.78; F [1, 126] = 5.83, p< 0.05, ηp2 = 0.04), providing preliminary support for H3. Overall, we leveraged Study 1 to demonstrate the causal effect of DWB on moral deficit and subsequent proactive behavior. Adm. Sci. 2024, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 18 Figure 2. Outcomes of experimental conditions on moral deficit and proactive behavior (Study 1). 3.2. Study 2 3.2.1. Design and Participants We conducted a survey-based study to test all our hypotheses. We recruited full-time employees working in the United States through Prolific and employed a multi-wave survey design to collect data across two different time points, separated by a one-week interval, to mitigate common method bias (Podsakoff et al. 2003). At Time 1, 203 participants responded to questions regarding demographic information, DWB, and moral deficit. After removing the respondents who failed the attention check, we retained 197 effective responses. One week later, at Time 2, 180 participants (response rate 91.4%) completed a follow-up survey including questions on proactive behavior, moral courage, and the control variables. Each participant was compensated with GPB 0.50 (approximately USD 0.65) at Time 1 and GBP 0.63 (approximately USD 0.80) at Time 2. The final sample of 180 valid participants worked in various industries, including finance, insurance, retail, manufacturing, and IT. Among them, 51.7% were female; 79.4% were identified as Caucasian; the average age was 38.29 (SD = 10.80); 78.4% held a degree of bachelor’s degree or higher; and 59.4% held a non-managerial position. Their average tenure at their current organization was 6.91 years (SD = 6.96). 3.2.2. Measures Unless otherwise noted, the specific variables described below were rated on a fivepoint Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The independent variable is DWB. We measured DWB using the six-item self-reported measure developed by Bennett and Robinson (2000) on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) (α = 0.83). A sample item was “I take an additional or longer break than is acceptable at my workplace”. The moderator is moral courage. Moral courage was assessed using the three-item scale from Hannah and Avolio (2010) (α = 0.73). An example item was, “I demonstrate courage to do the right thing, even at personal cost”. For the mediator and dependent variable, we used the same items from Study 1 to measure moral deficit (α = 0.97) and the employee’s proactive behavior (α = 0.90). For the control variables, we included a range of control variables to enhance the validity of the relationships among the core constructs (Bernerth and Aguinis 2016). First, referring to previous studies on DWB (e.g., Yuan et al. 2018), we controlled for demographic variables, specifically gender, age, education, organizational tenure, and position, as these variables have impacts on DWBs and proactive behaviors. Further, we controlled Figure 2. Outcomes of experimental conditions on moral deficit and proactive behavior (Study 1). 3.2. Study 2 3.2.1. Design and Participants We conducted a survey-based study to test all our hypotheses. We recruited full-time employees working in the United States through Prolific and employed a multi-wave survey design to collect data across two different time points, separated by a one-week interval, to Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 8 of 18 mitigate common method bias (Podsakoff et al. 2003). At Time 1, 203 participants responded to questions regarding demographic information, DWB, and moral deficit. After removing the respondents who failed the attention check, we retained 197 effective responses. One week later, at Time 2, 180 participants (response rate 91.4%) completed a follow-up survey including questions on proactive behavior, moral courage, and the control variables. Each participant was compensated with GPB 0.50 (approximately USD 0.65) at Time 1 and GBP 0.63 (approximately USD 0.80) at Time 2. The final sample of 180 valid participants worked in various industries, including finance, insurance, retail, manufacturing, and IT. Among them, 51.7% were female; 79.4% were identified as Caucasian; the average age was 38.29 (SD = 10.80); 78.4% held a degree of bachelor’s degree or higher; and 59.4% held a non-managerial position. Their average tenure at their current organization was 6.91 years (SD = 6.96). 3.2.2. Measures Unless otherwise noted, the specific variables described below were rated on a fivepoint Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The independent variable is DWB. We measured DWB using the six-item self-reported measure developed by Bennett and Robinson (2000) on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) ( α = 0.83). A sample item was “I take an additional or longer break than is acceptable at my workplace”. The moderator is moral courage. Moral courage was assessed using the three-item scale from Hannah and Avolio (2010) ( α = 0.73). An example item was, “I demonstrate courage to do the right thing, even at personal cost”. For the mediator and dependent variable, we used the same items from Study 1 to measure moral deficit (α= 0.97) and the employee’s proactive behavior (α= 0.90). For the control variables, we included a range of control variables to enhance the validity of the relationships among the core constructs (Bernerth and Aguinis 2016). First, referring to previous studies on DWB (e.g., Yuan et al. 2018), we controlled for demographic variables, specifically gender, age, education, organizational tenure, and position, as these variables have impacts on DWBs and proactive behaviors. Further, we controlled for three personality traits that may influence proactive behavior, namely agreeableness, consciousness, and proactive personality (e.g., Fuller and Marler 2009;Parker et al. 2010). Agreeableness ( α = 0.69) and consciousness ( α = 0.81) were measured using the scale developed by Soto and John (2017), and proactive personality was measured using Seibert et al.’s (1999) ten-item scale (α= 0.87). 3.2.3. Study 2 Results For the confirmatory factor analysis, prior to testing the hypotheses, we performed a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) using RStudio and the Lavaan package (Rosseel 2012) to examine the construct validity of the measures (i.e., DWB, moral deficit, moral courage, and proactive behavior). Table 1shows that the hypothesized four-factor model had a better fit ( χ2 = 473.04, df = 225, χ2 /df = 2.10; comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.91 , incremental fit index [IFI] = 0.91, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.06, root-mean-square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.08) to the data than any other alternative models, such as a three-factor model that combined moral courage and moral deficit ( χ2 = 594.65, df = 227, χ2 /df = 2.62; CFI = 0.86, IFI = 0.86, SRMR = 0.09, RMSEA = 0.10 ) and a two-factor model that combined DWB, moral courage, and moral deficit ( χ2 = 918.49, df = 229, χ2 /df = 4.01; CFI = 0.74, IFI = 0.74, SRMR = 0.14, RMSEA = 0.13). The results demonstrate the discriminant validity of our focal constructs. Adm. Sci. 2024,14, 141 15 of 18 Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.Z. and M.Z.; methodology, S.Z. and M.Z.; software, S.Z.; validation, M.Z.; formal analysis, S.Z. and M.Z.; investigation, S.Z. and M.Z.; resources, S.Z.; data curation, S.Z. and M.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, S.Z. and M.Z.; writing—review and editing, S.Z. and M.Z.; visualization, S.Z.; supervision, S.Z. and M.Z.; project administration, S.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Funding: The research received no external funding. Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to informed consent obtained from all subjects involved in this research. Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects included in the study. Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request. 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