The Dark(er) Side of Ostracizing Wrongdoers: An Organizing Framework and Review

Teams in organizations often ostracize (reject, exclude) members as a form of informal sanction against unethical behavior, a response that can carry complex consequences. Building on the theoretical infrastructure provided by autoregulatory feedback loops from biology, we synthesized findings from a diverse range of literatures—from management to ethology—to develop an organizing framework that explains how ostracism can either curb unethical behavior in teams or inadvertently sustain or intensify it. We use this framework to make propositions and identify future directions for research to advance the socially dynamic understanding of ostracism and unethical behavior within organizational teams.