Exploring the Role of Internal Communication in Facilitating Employee Ethical and Unethical Endorsements in an Organisational Crisis

ABSTRACT Employees' communication with external stakeholders has a megaphoning effect that can easily enhance or damage an organisation's reputation during a crisis. It is essential for organisations to have employees' support and endorsement to successfully get through and recover from an organisational crisis. This study examines the impact of internal crisis communication and perceived organisational ethics on both ethical and unethical employee endorsements during organisational crises. A total of 296 participants were recruited in the study. The results showed that internal crisis communication positively influenced both ethical and unethical employee endorsements, while perceived organisational ethics enhanced ethical endorsement but had no significant effect on unethical endorsement. The study raises concerns that, although engaged employees are willing to defend the organisation during crises, they may unintentionally engage in unethical endorsement, overlooking ethical boundaries in an effort to protect organisational reputation. These findings highlight the need for organisations to integrate ethical considerations into internal crisis communication strategies to mitigate long‐term reputational damage. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.