The duplicitous effect of organizational identification: applying social identity theory to identify joint relations with workplace social courage and unethical pro-organizational behaviors

Abstract

The value of courage has been discussed for over two millennia; however, courage remains understudied in empirical research relative to its potential workplace influence. The current article applies social identity theory (SIT) to hypothesize that antecedents of social courage do not only relate to overtly beneficial outcomes. Specifically, we hypothesize that organizational identification and moral identity not only relate to social courage, but also to unethical pro-organizational behaviors. We also use SIT to hypothesize that moral identity moderates these relations. Our study supports each of these proposals, with the exception of the moderating influence of moral identity on the relation of organizational identification and workplace social courage. The results demonstrate that SIT is a viable lens to understand courage, broadening the theoretical scope surrounding the construct. We also demonstrate that some antecedents of courage may produce duplicitous effects, and practitioners should not assume that courage’s antecedents are always beneficial.