When focus and vision become a nightmare: Bottom-line mentality climate, shared vision, and unit unethical conduct.

Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 108(12), Dec 2023, 2053-2069; doi:10.1037/apl0001111Drawing on goal shielding theory (Shah et al., 2002), our study highlights the roles of bottom-line mentality climates and shared vision in encouraging collective unethical conduct in pursuit of financial results. Consistent with the theory, we hypothesize that high bottom-line mentality leaders shape their unit’s bottom-line mentality climate by explicitly clarifying the importance of prioritizing financial results above all else and using motivational resources to encourage a sole focus on bottom-line attainment. We further hypothesize that a unit’s shared vision, which captures a collective sense of purpose and direction, is a critical aspect of the unit’s motivational context that increases the likelihood for collective bottom-line enhancing, unethical behaviors (i.e., concealing errors, bribery, and unethical pro-organizational behavior) in units with a salient bottom-line mentality climate. We test our hypotheses in a two-wave, multi-industry field study of work units in central Italy (N = 96). Results indicate that leaders with a bottom-line mentality foster a bottom-line mentality climate in the units they lead, and the linkages with unit unethical conduct are dependent on the unit’s shared vision. While shared vision strengthened the effects of bottom-line mentality climates on concealing errors, it served as a necessary condition to motivate more severe forms of unethical ...
Source: Journal of Applied Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research