Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : This study investigated the growing phenomenon of counterproductive work behaviour, and how personality and integrity affects this. It was deemed important to establish what contributes to counterproductive work behaviour. The aim of this study was to develop a new ethical integrity test and to investigate existing relationships between constructs that play a significant role in behavioural integrity. These constructs include honesty, conscientiousness, and counterproductive work behaviour. This study was therefore undertaken to develop an ethical integrity test and to determine the initial construct validity of the new test. Based on existing literature, a theoretical model depicting how the different constructs are related to one another was developed and various hypotheses were formulated. Data for the purpose of the quantitative study were collected by means of an electronic web-based questionnaire. A total of 318 completed questionnaires were returned. The final questionnaire comprised the newly developed ethical integrity test, HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R), and the Interpersonal and Organisational Deviance Scale. The postulated relationships and the conceptual model were empirically tested using various statistical methods. Reliability analysis was done on all the measurement scales and satisfactory reliability was found. The content and structure of the measured constructs were investigated by means of confirmatory factor analyses. The content and structure of the newly developed Ethical Integrity Test was also investigated by means of exploratory factor analysis. The results indicated that reasonable good fit was achieved for all the refined measurement models. Subsequently, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to determine the extent to which the conceptual model fitted the data obtained from the sample and to test the hypothesised relationships between the constructs. The results indicated positive relationships between honesty and ethical integrity; conscientiousness and ethical integrity; and conscientiousness and honesty. Furthermore, the results indicated negative relationships between ethical integrity and counterproductive work behaviour; as well as honesty and counterproductive work behaviour. The present study contributes to existing literature on counterproductive work behaviour by providing insights into the relationships between honesty, conscientiousness, ethical integrity. This study developed an Ethical Integrity Test based on recent ethics literature. Preliminary evidence of reliability and construct validity for the Ethical Integrity Test was found. The limitations and recommendations present additional insights and possibilities that could be explored through future research studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Hierdie studie ondersoek die groeiende verskynsel van teenproduktiewe gedrag in die werksomgewing en hoe persoonlikheid en integriteit dit beïnvloed. Dit was dus belangrik om vas te stel wat tot teenproduktiewe werksgedrag bydra. Die doel van hierdie studie was om 'n etiese integriteitstoets te ontwikkel en bestaande verwantskappe tussen konstrukte wat 'n beduidende rol in teenproduktiewe werksgedrag speel, te ondersoek. Hierdie konstrukte sluit eerlikheid, konsensieusheid en integriteit in. Hierdie studie is dus uitgevoer om meer duidelikheid oor hierdie aspekte te verkry, sowel as om ‘n etiese integriteitstoets te ontwikkel. ‘n Teoretiese model wat voorstel hoe die verskillende konstrukte aan mekaar verwant is, is op grond van die navorsing oor die bestaande literatuur ontwikkel. Verskeie hipoteses is hiervolgens geformuleer. Data vir die doel van die kwantitatiewe studie is deur middel van ‘n elektroniese web-gebaseerde vraelys ingesamel. ‘n Totaal van 318 voltooide vraelyste is terug ontvang. Die finale vraelys is uit drie subvraelyste saamgestel, naamlik die nuut ontwikkelde etiese integriteitstoets, HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R), en die Interpersonal and Organisational Deviance Scale. Die gepostuleerde verwantskappe en die konseptuele model is empiries met behulp van verskeie statistiese metodes getoets. Betroubaarheidsanalise is op die betrokke meetinstrumente uitgevoer en voldoende betroubaarheid is gevind. Die inhoud en die struktuur van die konstrukte wat deur die instrumente gemeet is, is verder deur middel van verkennende en bevestigende faktorontledings ondersoek. Die resultate het redelike goeie passings vir al die hersiene metingsmodelle getoon. Daarna is struktuurvergelykingsmodellering (SVM), gebruik om te bepaal tot watter mate die konseptuele model die data pas, en om die verwantskappe tussen die verskillende konstrukte te toets. Die resultate het positiewe verwantskappe tussen eerlikheid en etiese integriteit; konsensieusheid en etiese integriteit; asook konsensieusheid en eerlikheid getoon. Die resultate het verder negatiewe verwantskappe tussen etiese integriteit en teenproduktiewe werksgedrag; asook eerlikheid en teenproduktiewe werksgedrag getoon. Hierdie studie dra by tot die bestaande literatuur betreffende teenproduktiewe werksgedrag, deurdat dit insig bied in die aard van die verwantskappe tussen die konstrukte. ‘n Etiese Integriteit Toets is ontwikkel gebasseer op onlangse etiek literatuur. Voorlopige bewyse van betroubaarheid en konstruk geldigheid is bewys in hierdie studie. Die beperkings en aanbevelings van die studie dui op verdere insigte en moontlikhede wat in toekomstige navorsing ondersoek kan word.

A representational predicament for an employee is a negative experience in which that employee believes that a key authority, such as his/her supervisor, has unfavorable perceptions about himself/herself caused by misconception, bias, or ignorance. That implies he/she is experiencing injustice at the workplace. Drawing for underlying explanations on the theories of interactional justice and equity, this study examines, through quantitative and qualitative methods, how autocratic leadership influences subordinates’ representational predicaments and in turn adversely affects subordinates’ behaviors in the workplace. The model developed in this thesis proposes that a subordinate is likely to have a stronger experience of representational predicaments if his/her supervisor adopts an autocratic leadership approach. It also predicts that a subordinate’s workplace behaviors are more likely to be influenced if he/she perceives that he/she has a representational predicament vis-a-vis his/her supervisor. To test the hypotheses, a total of 222 employees from 7 business enterprises in mainland China were surveyed through multi-wave questionnaires. Among this sample, 14 subordinates who scored high and 7 subordinates who scored low on a scale for representational predicaments were interviewed one to one and face to face. Results of structural equation modeling supported the mediating role of representational predicaments between autocratic leadership and subordinates’ workplace behaviors. In other words, the whole hypothesized model was well supported by both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings of this research bear both theoretical and practical implications, for the research not only examines representational predicaments in a new geographical context, but also advances the understanding of the underlying mechanisms that explain the mediating effect of representational predicaments. Furthermore, by having deeper insights into the adverse impacts of both autocratic leadership and representational predicaments, managers may be encouraged to seek to understand their subordinates better and thus avoid the adverse impacts that this research identifies.

While common in South Africa, workplace protest actions frequently lead to losses on both sides: productivity losses for organisations and loss of income for protesting employees. It is therefore important to investigate which factors may contribute to low-income workers' decision to protest for higher wages. Based on the theoretical integration of social exchange theory and fairness heuristic theory it was argued that fairer treatment (organisational justice) decreases workers' willingness to engage in protest actions through its positive influence on organisational trust. The researcher examined employees' perceptions of fairness shown by their employer, supervisor and co-workers. A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was employed to test this assumption. Data was collected from low-income employees working in South African factories and retail stores who completed a self-report survey (N = 147). The results of a regression analysis confirmed that employees' perceptions of organisational justice predicted their willingness to engage in protest actions for higher wages when gender and previous involvement in protest actions were kept constant. Perceptions of interpersonal justice as shown by the supervisor was the unique predictor of willingness to engage in protest action, indicating that the decision to protest is not primarily driven by monetary concerns (distributive justice) but rather by how low-income workers feel treated in the workplace. Mediation analysis results revealed that the relationship between organisational justice and willingness to engage in protest action is not through mutual trust. Taken together, this research demonstrated that there is a need for organisations to invest in fairness in the workplace. Most specifically, organisations could focus on training supervisors to treat employees with respect and dignity as it could contribute to employees' decision to refrain from protesting at work.

Identifying behaviors that are either counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) or organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) may assist law enforcement agencies in selecting and aligning police officers for the various roles asked of them. The 6 dimensions of personality are not currently being used in law enforcement agencies to predict overall job performance of police officers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent to which the 6 personality dimensions as measured by the HEXACO Personality Inventory Revised (HEXACO-PI-R) predicted overall indicators (OCB and CWB) of police officer job performance. A sample of 51 police officers from a variety of Canadian police agencies completed a survey that included the HEXACO-PI-R, the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, and the Workplace Deviant Behavior Scale. Findings from Pearson and Spearman correlations and multiple regression models indicated statistically significant relationships between the HEXACO-PI-R and OCB and CWB scores in police officers. Findings may be used to inform the law enforcement community on best practices for utilizing the 6 dimensions of personality to predict indicators of police officers' job performance.

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There is a void that exists within the discretionary behavior literature as it pertains to the counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) relationship, respectively. The present study examined the moderating effects of moral identity on the relationship between CWB and OCB. In addition, exploratory analyses using moral identity sub-dimensions, organizational fairness, and job satisfaction were conducted. The study recruited 254 participants using MTurk. Using moderated multiple regression, a moderating effect for internalization (a moral identity sub-dimension) was revealed for the relationship between the organizational sub-dimensions of CWB and OCB. Other moderation analyses proved to be non-significant. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed. Future research should implement a longitudinal design to help determine causality for the moderation finding, as the current study used cross-sectional data. Findings from this study could be used to help fill the CWB to OCB literature void previously mentioned.

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Although suspected to be a widespread phenomenon, workplace favoritism is an under-researched area of study. Scholars have queried the effects of perceived favoritism on employee outcomes through only a handful of studies, and the majority of those studies have been conducted at private firms in Middle Eastern countries where tribalism (i.e., loyalty to one's family or social group) is conventional. Further, differences in conceptual definitions of favoritism and subsequent subdimensions have muddied the understanding of what elements are considered essential to each phenomenon. Finally, favoritism research lacks examinations of conditional indirect effects of favoritism on employee outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this research is three-fold. The first aim is to develop a comprehensive, multidimensional measure of favoritism that will capture essential elements of the phenomenon that are specific to its subdimensions. Additionally, this study aims to increase our understanding of favoritism by examining the its indirect effects on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, counterproductive work behavior, and turnover intention through organizational justice, as well as explore differences in these effects among the supervisor's ingroup/outgroup members and among employees who vary in their perceptions of permeability to their supervisor's ingroup.