While considerable attention has been devoted to understanding how individual characteristics influence unethical actions, far less research has examined the role of social and organisational processes. We introduce the concept of organisational moral disengagement (OrgMD), drawing on Bandura’s moral agency theory, to explain how unethicality may be fostered in organisations. OrgMD is a multilevel construct, capturing perceptions of the mechanisms through which morality can be suspended in an organisation allowing unethical practices to flourish. Using four empirical studies, we validated OrgMD at both individual and organisational levels. The first three studies were conducted at individual level (Study 1: two waves, 301 workers; Study 2: two waves, 297 workers; Study 3: 297 workers), while the fourth adopted a multilevel design (3050 workers nested in 113 organisations). OrgMD, although highly correlated with personal moral disengagement, emerges as a distinct construct that operates both at individual and organisational levels. We show that when members perceive their organisation to be morally disengaged, they are more likely to engage in unethical pro-organisational behaviour and silence. The concept of OrgMD advances understanding of the social processes through which unethical organisational activities can be normalised as acceptable in organisations.

中文翻译：

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组织中道德的悬置：概念化组织道德脱离并测试其与不道德行为和沉默的关系


虽然人们投入了大量精力来了解个人特征如何影响不道德行为，但很少有研究考察社会和组织过程的作用。我们引入了组织道德脱离 （OrgMD） 的概念，借鉴了班杜拉的道德能动性理论，以解释如何在组织中培养不道德。OrgMD 是一个多层次的结构，它捕捉了对道德可以在组织中暂停道德的机制的看法，从而允许不道德的行为蓬勃发展。使用四项实证研究，我们在个人和组织层面验证了 OrgMD。前三项研究是在个人层面进行的（研究 1：两波，301 名工人;研究 2：两波，297 名工人;研究 3：297 名工人），而第四项研究采用多层次设计（3050 名工人嵌套在 113 个组织中）。OrgMD 虽然与个人道德脱离高度相关，但作为一个独特的结构出现，在个人和组织层面都起作用。我们表明，当成员认为他们的组织在道德上不参与时，他们更有可能从事不道德的亲组织行为和沉默。OrgMD 的概念促进了对社会过程的理解，通过这些过程，不道德的组织活动可以在组织中正常化为可接受的。