Leadership position

due to the peculiarities of their work challenges. Nevertheless, we did not perform the analyses of latent means due to the metric variance between these groups. The MGCFA of idealism for leadership position groups presented metric variance for item 4 ("one should never psychologically or physically harm another person") and item 5 ("one should not perform an action which might in any way threaten the dignity and welfare of another individual"). The analyses of these items showed that factor loadings were lower in managers (0.307 for item 4 and 0.436 for item 5) than in non-managers (0.635 and 0.688, respectively). This comparison shows a lower correlation of these items with the idealism factor for managers (Hair et al., 2010).

In addition, for a sample of 111 individuals, as is the case with the managers, this group's factor loadings for items 4 and 5 do not present statistical significance, as they are below 0.5 (Hair et al., 2010). Thus, in a hypothetical EFA of the managers' group, treated in an isolated way, these items could also be excluded from the factor. Besides, harming others or threatening their welfare is contrary to a fundamental characteristic of idealism because idealists believe that harming others can always be prevented (Forsyth, 1992). In conclusion, even though we could not test H6a, the findings corroborate the primary idea of H6a that managers would present lower idealism scores than non-managers. As we see, the special care not to harm or threaten others is not categorically existent in the formation of the idealism from those in leadership positions.

Finally, the MGCFA of relativism related to leadership position groups presented MI.

We compared the groups and found that the relativism latent means between them were equivalent. Thus, we conclude that no significant difference appears in measurement or degree of relativism between managers and non-managers. Therefore, we did not support H6b.

This study reliably analyzed the equivalences and differences of measurement and means of idealism and relativism for variables such as age, gender, level of education, ethics training, career type, and leadership position.

As seen, relativism showed MI in four of the six analyses. We found no support for three hypotheses because the groups did not present differences in latent means (age, ethics training, and leadership position). We found support for one hypothesis given the equivalence of latent means expected between men and women. The results show that relativism proved to be a relatively stable construct in different sociodemographic groups. However, this same construct was noninvariant between the groups differentiated by level of education and career type, showing that these attributes can produce some relevant variation in their measurement when compared.

As for idealism, out of the six analyses, only two presented MI, one in accordance with the literature (gender, H1a, supported) and the other contrary to our expectations (career type, H5a, not supported). The latent means were equivalent in these two. Therefore, the validation of the construct was relatively sensitive to sociodemographic changes in four analyses (age, education, ethics training, and leadership position), revealing hints of each group's differences in the construct measurement.

Ultimately, we were able to test only half of the twelve hypotheses. In other words, if we had used a T-test or ANOVA, about six hypotheses would have been potentially biased.

This observation reinforces the importance of confirming the MI analysis before comparing latent means between groups, subject to the risk of obtaining biased final results in groups that measure a construct in a noninvariant form (Van de Schoot et al., 2012).

using the MGCFA. The measuring of idealism and relativism in the division of sociodemographic groups could be better understood. Doing so would enable the confirmation of the indications of ethical profile differences between the groups according to the conclusions made in this study.

Finally, given the verified relevance of idealism and relativism in relation to the employee profiles to an organization, studies such as this may favor the proper use of Forsyth's (1980) scales in academic or organizational research.

4.8 Limitations

This study presents several limitations. First, we surveyed a Brazilian organization.

Thus, the sample cannot represent other organizations' conclusions because the results may contain specific biases from the institution studied or even from Brazilian culture. Besides, the comparison with other studies' results must be interpreted cautiously for the same reasons: our sample's possible biases or other studies' possible biases. Thus, the results are not conclusive, and other studies testing the MI of the same constructs could usefully be performed.

Results of the MGCFA tests

Summary of main results

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5 Fourth Paper: The Impact of Idealism, Relativism, and Ethical Climate on Production Deviance

Abstract

Workplace deviance relevance has been in evidence due to its impact on organizations, raising their productivity loss costs. This study aims to assess the relationships between a workplace deviance dimension, production deviance (PD), and idealism, relativism, and ethical climate.

In order to study this relationship, we surveyed public sector employees from a Brazilian federal agency, using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to assess measurement invariance and compare groups. The results show that higher idealism is related to lower PD, and a higher ethical climate correlates with lower PD. However, we did not find a relationship between relativism scores and PD.

Keywords: production deviance, idealism, relativism, ethical climate, measurement invariance.

5.1 Introduction

Workplace deviance (WD) is a problem that leads organizations to lose billions of dollars annually due to productivity loss and other expenses (Bennett, Marasi, & Locklear, 2019). Scholars have sought to identify the probabilities of employee involvement in WD (Guay et al., 2016). Wang et al. (2020) state that it would be vital for companies to identify the potential causes of WD because its effects are severe and undesirable. Production deviance (PD) is a dimension of WD (Stewart et al., 2009). It is related to employees' waste of time, procrastination, and low commitment, which directly affects their productivity (Liu & Ding, 2012).

Andrade (2020) affirms that the general population views Brazilian public servants as little-engaged, thus compromising efficiency in providing public services. The Brazilian public sector presents several inefficiencies, delivering a deficient level of service compared to the high costs of running it (e.g., Laurinho, Dias & Mattos, 2017; Neto, Silva & Silva; 2017). One of the reasons for inefficiency in organizations is WD, which remains a serious and widespread problem (Guay et al., 2016). Considering PD as a dimension of WD, this exploratory study examines the relationship between PD and other measurable constructs.

Liu and Ding (2012) affirm that bad behavior predictors include personal factors and situational factors. Dark and Rix (2015) state that the combination of organizational climate and the individual's ethical system comprise the key variables influencing employee ethical conduct. Thus, we assessed the relationship between PD and two personal ethical dimensions related to individual ethics positions: idealism and relativism. In addition, we studied the association between PD and the perception of organizational ethical climate. To this end, we surveyed the public sector employees from a Brazilian federal agency.

This study is relevant because of the importance of the topic it discusses and the information it can reveal. Researches have sought to understand the WD phenomenon (which includes PD) and its adverse monetary, psychological, and social costs (Mackey et al., 2019).

Any study that enhances the understanding of PD and its relationships can help the field advance and organizations to address the problem. Thus, we intend to understand ethical climate, idealism, and relativism in relation to PD, in hopes that PD can be better understood and treated by organizations, including the Brazilian public sector.

5.2 Literature Review and Hypotheses

5.2.1 Workplace deviance

Workplace deviance (WD), also called counterproductive work behavior (CWB), characterizes employee behaviors that violate norms, affecting the organizations or their coworkers (Robinson and Bennett, 1995). In a measurement methodology, Bennett and Robinson (2000) divided WD into two dimensions: interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance. The first reveals deviant acts directed toward individuals, while the second shows deviant acts that affect the institution. Interpersonal deviance includes behaviors such as making fun of another employee at work or verbally abusing a coworker. Organizational deviance includes actions such as making personal phone calls during work hours or wasting company resources (Bennett et al., 2019).

Many researchers have sought to understand WD and its causes and effects (Wang et al., 2020). Dalal (2005) found that job satisfaction and organizational commitment have been negatively associated with WD. Bowling and Eschleman (2010) found that work stressors, such as organizational constraints and interpersonal conflict, were positively associated with WD.

These authors also found that conscientiousness and agreeableness were negatively related to WD.

Darrat, Amyx, and Bennett (2017) confirmed that job satisfaction plays an important role in reducing WD. Qi, Liu, and Mao (2020) found that authoritarian leadership in Chinese contexts can positively trigger WD. Chernyak-Hai, Kim, and Tziner (2018) confirmed previous studies that found men are more likely to engage in WD than women. Pletzer, Oostrom, and Voelpel (2017) found that age was negatively correlated with WD. Finally, Chen et al. (2020) found that work-family conflict was positively associated with WD.

5.2.2 Production deviance

Investigating Bennett and Robinson's (2000) WD scale, Stewart et al. (2009) found that the dimension organizational deviance could helpfully be seen as the combination of two factors, which they called property deviance and production deviance (PD). The first factor, which involves the misappropriation of property, includes the illegal removal of the organization's material goods or financial resources. The second factor comprises deviations of human resources, such as wasting work time, procrastination, taking additional breaks, etc.

5.2.3 Idealism and Relativism

Forsyth (1980) created a methodology for capturing an individual's ethics position by measuring two dimensions: idealism and relativism. The method includes the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), which is capable of measuring the incidence of these dimensions in individual consciousness.

The idealism dimension refers to an individual's inherent interest in others' well-being (Clouse et al., 2017). According to Ismail and Rasheed (2019), the extremely idealistic individual assumes that desirable consequences can always be obtained with the "right" action.

Thus, most idealistic individuals believe that hurting others is always preventable, while the least idealistic individuals assume that hurting someone may be necessary to obtain another good (Everaert, Bouten, & Baele, 2019).

The relativism dimension emphasizes the denying of principles and norms as moral action guidelines (Forsyth, 2020). Individuals with high relativism reject universal moral rules, are skeptical, and tend to disregard moral rules in their decisions (Clouse et al., 2017). On the other hand, individuals with low relativism believe that moral rules should guide ethical decisions (Everaert et al., 2019).

Several studies have examined the relationship between behavioral deviations and idealism and relativism. Among the most recent, idealism has confirmed itself as a positive factor for the construction of ethical judgments (Ismail & Rasheed, 2019; Li, Chao, Chen, &

Zhang, 2018) and ethical behavior (Ismail & Yuhanis, 2018), while relativism has shown the opposite in most cases. Clouse et al. (2017) identified a negative relationship between idealism and the acceptance of inappropriate financial practices, while relativism was positively related to the same behavior. Ahadzadeh, Wu, Ong, and Veeraiah (2020) described a high Machiavellianism association with a high relativism score, in contrast, idealism showed the opposite association.

Idealistic CEOs gave more relevance to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities than non-idealistic CEOs (Everaert et al., 2019). Workers with high idealism were more inclined to follow the rules and to socialize in the workplace, whereas workers with high relativism were more associated with the rejection of rules and were indifferent to socialization (McClaren & Vocino, 2017). Forsyth (2020) found a significant positive relation between relativism and COVID-19 health mandates noncompliance. Idealism was related to the ethic of caring (White, Peirce, & Jacobowitz, 2019) and could significantly predict civic engagement attitude (Sunill & Verma, 2018). Given those findings, we formulate the following hypotheses:

H1: Individuals with high idealism present lower PD means.

H2: Individuals with high relativism present higher PD means.

5.2.4 Ethical Climate

Organizational climate consists of employees' shared perceptions of their work environment (Zacher & Yang, 2016). The ethical climate is part of the organizational climate

in those matters related to the experience of ethics in organizations (Ribeiro et al., 2016). The ethical climate comprises employees' perceptions about the work climate regarding procedures, policies, and organizational practices with moral consequences (Martin & Cullen, 2006). Thus, the ethical climate represents the moral atmosphere and the ethics practiced in the organizations (Mulki & Lassk, 2019) and is formed according to the environment and the general context in which employees are inserted (Mayer et al., 2010).

The ethical climate is considered the most manageable factor to encourage employees' ethical behavior (Schwepker et al., 1997), influencing both decision-making and subsequent action in response to ethical dilemmas (Martin & Cullen, 2006). Some studies point to favorable factors associated with a positive ethical climate: employees' perception of job meaningfulness (Mulki & Lassk, 2019); more significant commitment to providing superior customer value (Schwepker, 2017); better performance (Itani, Jaramillo & Chonko, 2017); better interaction between the worker and the supervisor (Schwepker, 2017); and lower turnover intention (Mulki

& Lassk, 2019). The ethical climate was positively related to the growth of employee self-efficacy, generating ethical concerns in fulfilling work demands (Shacklock et al., 2011).

Ghosh (2015) found a positive relationship between organizational citizenship and the ethical climate. A strong ethical climate is also related to a decrease in selfish and opportunistic behaviors (Tanner, Tanner & Wakefield, 2015), corruption (Gorsira et al., 2018), and behavioral deviations (Yi et al., 2012). Thus, we formulate the following hypothesis:

H3: Individuals who perceive a high ethical climate present lower PD means.

5.3 Methodology

This research has exploratory characteristics. We sent a questionnaire to approximately 1,700 workers from a Brazilian federal entity. We eventually received 410 valid responses (Leys et al., 2018), forming a satisfactory sample (MacCallum & Austin, 2000). The

This research has exploratory characteristics. We sent a questionnaire to approximately 1,700 workers from a Brazilian federal entity. We eventually received 410 valid responses (Leys et al., 2018), forming a satisfactory sample (MacCallum & Austin, 2000). The