Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior Across the Cultures: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents From 16 Countries

Abstract

This meta-analysis investigates the moderating effect of national culture dimensions, as delineated by Hofstede (1991), on the relationship between unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and its leading antecedents. Leveraging data from 91 published articles, with 175 effect sizes and 36,664 participants across 16 countries, the study investigates the extent to which national culture shapes employees’ inclination for UPB. The results highlight that specific cultural dimensions—power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and uncertainty avoidance—exhibit a pronounced impact on the relationships between UPB and specific antecedents, such as moral identity, reciprocity, and job satisfaction. The findings underscore that societies characterized by higher power distance, higher collectivism, more masculinity, and lower uncertainty avoidance are more conducive to UPB, where the pro-organizational element may exert a greater sense of obligation toward organizations among employees. These findings carry significant ramifications for multinational corporations and diverse teams in the context of cross-cultural management and leadership by elucidating how the variations in employees’ inclination toward UPB may be attributed to the moderating impact of their national culture.