Abstract
Existing research has demonstrated that prosocial rule-breaking behavior (PSRB) generates positive outcomes for employees and organizations. However, scholars know little about the potential dark side of PSRB. This article draws upon the moral balance model to explore the potential double-edged sword effect of PSRB. We propose that when the rules climate is high, employees who engage in prosocial rule-breaking behavior will perceive the loss of moral credits and increase organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, when the rules climate is low, employees who engage in prosocial rule-breaking behavior will produce psychological entitlement, fueling counterproductive behavior. Results from an experiment and a multisource field study support our hypotheses. Our research provides new insight into understanding the perils and benefits of employees’ prosocial rule-breaking behavior and reveals the importance of exploring organizational moral climate in this distinct process. Finally, implications for theory and implementation are discussed.
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Data availability
The datasets used in this research are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to restrictions, i.e., privacy or ethical.
Notes
Constructs and definitions used in the current study are listed in Appendix A Table 7.
I represents the PSRB condition and J represents the control condition.
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Funding
This work was supported by National Social Science Foundation of China [22BGL126], National Natural Science Foundation of China [72272053], and General Foundation Program of the Ministry of Education of Humanities and Social Science [17YJA630101].
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Zhu, Y., Nong, M., Wang, Y. et al. When and why does prosocial rule-breaking behavior fall into dilemma? A moral balancing perspective. Curr Psychol 42, 31461–31477 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03923-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03923-0