Relationship of ethical leadership and performance pressure on unethical selling behavior and moral justification

Purpose This study examines the relationships among ethical leadership (EL), performance pressure (PP) and unethical selling behavior (USB), with moral justification (MJ) serving as the mediating mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 411 salespeople in Vietnam and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) Findings The results demonstrate that PP increases MJ and unethical selling behavior, whereas EL reduces both. Moreover, MJ significantly increases unethical selling behavior. Originality/value Theoretically, this study identifies moral justification as the central cognitive mechanism through which PP and ethical leadership shape unethical selling behavior. The findings show that performance pressure increases moral justification and unethical selling, whereas ethical leadership reduces both directly and indirectly. In doing so, the study integrates goal-setting and social learning perspectives. It clarifies why sales goals can trigger misconduct and how ethical leadership can curb it, particularly in a high – power – distance context such as Vietnam.