The Influence of Moral Potency to Deviant Workplace Behaviors While Controlling for Generational Affiliation

December 3, 2025

The Influence of Moral Potency to Deviant Workplace Behaviors While Controlling for Generational Affiliation

Demetry Phanis Spiropoulos | 2025

Abstract

Leaders and followers make ethical judgments based on personal moral beliefs in dynamic organizations. However, when ethical codes contradict moral beliefs, individuals may succumb to organizational and individual deviant workplace behaviors (George & Gergen, 2015). The study conducted a hierarchical regression analysis to assess the predictability of moral courage, ownership, and efficacy for interpersonal and organizational deviance while controlling generational cohorts. A stratified cross-sectional survey screened for full-time, small business employees within the United States. Two hundred five valid responses were collected consisting of 109 participants for Generational Cohort 1 and 96 participants for Generational Cohort 2. Hypotheses were assessed for model fit (R2) and directionality of fit (β) using a 95% confidence interval (p value ≤ 0.05). Independent t tests were performed to confirm the null hypothesis that the mean scores between the groups were not significantly different μ1= μ2 at 95% confidence intervals. The findings were not significant for moral courage, ownership, or efficacy’s ability to predict interpersonal deviance but were significant for moral efficacy’s ability to predict organizational deviance while controlling for generational cohorts. The findings suggest that demographic control variables, along with moral courage, ownership, and efficacy, are weak predictors for interpersonal and organizational deviance. Additionally, right-skewed means for interpersonal and organizational deviation may have been influenced by participants’ social desirability bias and the use of formative and reflective instruments. Future research should compare and contrast the predictability of moral potency in workplace deviance between organizational structures and cultures of small, medium, and large corporations.

Keywords: Data Transformation, Followership, Leadership, Linear Regression, Organizational Theory

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