Intersections of organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors: Empirical evidence of moral licensing and cleansing theories

BACKGROUND: Our research offers an empirically supported contribution regarding the co-occurrence of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) and Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWBs). Traditionally, OCBs and CWBs are considered to be mutually exclusive types of organizational behaviors. However, the same employee may engage in both behaviors, as explained by the moral licensing and cleaning theories. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to validate that the moral licensing theory (which posits that one may feel authorized to behave badly due to previous positive behaviors) and the moral cleansing theory (which posits feelings of guilt for previous negative behaviors) stand behind the paradox of an individual member of an organization engaging in both OCBs and CWBs. METHODS: The analysis is based on the findings from a questionnaire survey conducted on a sample of employees of local government units in Poland (N = 736). RESULTS: Our results show the positive relations between moral licensing and CWBs (the Abuse and Withdrawal dimensions) and between moral cleansing and OCBs (the Altruistic dimension), thus providing empirical evidence of both theories in an organizational context. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest complex relationships between positive and negative behaviors depending on whether employees feel authorized or not to compensate for positive behaviors or feel a moral obligation to repair for negative ones.