Ethical Behavior in Organizations: Personal Values and the Moderating Role of Ethical Climate in Counterproductive Work Behavior and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This study analyzes the relationship between personal values and (un)ethical behavior in organizations, and the moderating role of perceived ethical climate. We integrate Schwartz's theory of personal values with the Victor and Cullen model of ethical climate, following the recent reformulation proposed by Weber and Opoku-Dakwa, thereby offering a novel perspective not previously explored in empirical research. Relying on the Person-Organization Fit model, we test whether perceived ethical climate (specifically Egoism and Principled dimensions) moderates the relationship between personal values (Self-Transcendence and Self-Enhancement) and (un)ethical behavior, operationalized by Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). To this end, we conducted a semi-longitudinal study involving a heterogeneous sample of workers from different organizations (Wave 1: <i>N</i> = 212; Wave 2: <i>N</i> = 84). The analyses supported that personal values and ethical climate are associated with (un)ethical behavior. Furthermore, significant interaction effects between ethical climate and personal values predicting CWB and OCB were found. This study contributes to a better understanding and management of ethical behavior, providing a theoretical contribution and plausible practical guidelines from a person-in-context approach. Limitations and challenges of this work are discussed.