Purpose: Based on the theory of social identity, this study focuses on the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees’ pro-organization unethical behaviors, as well as the moderating effect of power distance and the mediating effect of organizational identity between self-sacrificing leadership and employees’ pro-organization unethical behaviors.
Methods: This work surveyed 286 employees in 12 companies in Guizhou province to test the research hypothesis model. Statistical analysis methods were used for data analysis.
Results: The results reveal that self-sacrificial leadership has an indirect positive influence on unethical pro-organizational behavior of employees by positively influencing organizational identification. The higher the power distance of employees, the weaker the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity, and the lower the power distance of employees, the stronger the positive correlation between self-sacrificing leaders and organizational identity.
Conclusion: This study reveals the influence mechanism of self-sacrificing leadership on employees’ pro-organization non-ethical behaviors from a new perspective and confirms the effects of power distance and organizational identity on creative performance. Unethical behavior under the cloak of “pro-organization” has a potential destructive effect on stakeholders, organizations and even the whole society. It is of great practical significance to identify its influencing factors and effectively avoid them.
Keywords: unethical pro-organizational behavior, self-sacrificial leadership, organizational identification, power distance, the theory of social identity