Leader’s integrity and interpersonal deviance: the mediating role of moral efficacy and the moderating role of moral identity

The purpose of this paper is to posit that leader’s integrity decreases employee’s interpersonal deviance by increasing moral efficacy in the workplace. Specifically, the authors propose that perceptions of moral efficacy serve as a mechanism through which leader’s integrity affects workplace deviance. The authors further argue that the modeled relationships are moderated by moral identity. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from ten universities in Turkey. The sample included 693 randomly chosen faculty members along with their department chairs. Findings – The results of this study supported the negative effect of leader integrity on employee’s interpersonal deviance as well as the mediating effect of moral efficacy. Moreover, when the level of moral identity is high, the relationship between leader integrity and interpersonal deviance is strong, whereas the relationship is weak when the level of moral identity is low. Practical implications – This study’s findings indicate that higher education administrators should be cautious in treating their subordinates, as this will lead to a favorable interpersonal relationship, which in turn will reduce the interpersonal deviance of the subordinate. In addition, the buffering role of the moral identity should be paid more attention, particularly to people with low moral efficacy and high interpersonal deviance. Originality/value – This study contributes to workplace deviance literature by revealing the relation between leader integrity and interpersonal deviance. Furthermore, it offers practical assistance to higher education employees and their leaders concerned with building trust, increasing the relationship between leaders and employees and reducing the interpersonal deviation. Furthermore, it offers practical assistance to higher education employees and their leaders concerned with building trust, increasing the relationship between leaders and employees and reducing the interpersonal deviation.