The role of moral disengagement in the effect of ethical climate on unethical pro-organizational behaviors

More and more companies around the world are faced with major ethical scandals such as Worldcon and Enron. Ethical problems experienced by businesses result in the collapse of businesses or major sanctions. The source of these problems can be individual or organizational. Behaviors that are unethical but in favor of the organization are mostly of individual origin. In this research, the role of ethical climate and moral disengagement on pro-organizational unethical behavior in hotel businesses was examined. For this purpose, survey technique, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the research. Validity and reliability were previously established and scales in the literature were used. 600 surveys were sent to 5-star hotel employees in Antalya and Muğla provinces, and analyzes were carried out with 450 returned and usable surveys. SPSS program and PROCESS macro plug-in were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistical analyzes of the models and hypotheses within the scope of the research were performed and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to verify the research model. PROCESS Model 4 was preferred in testing the determined hypotheses. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there was a negative relationship between ethical climate and pro-organizational unethical behavior and moral disengagement. In addition, it has been determined that moral disengagement has a positive effect on pro-organizational unethical behavior. Finally, it was determined that moral disengagement had a mediating role on pro-organizational unethical behavior. The findings were evaluated in terms of their theoretical and practical contributions and suggestions were presented for managers and practitioners.