Abstract
Although prior research has directly linked an organization’s ethical climate to several positive organizational outcomes, surprisingly little research has examined why ethical climates have these effects or when they are more likely to occur. Drawing on social cognitive theory (SCT) as our overarching framework, we attempt to address this gap in the literature by developing and testing a model that indirectly links ethical climate to extra-role, proactive work behavior (i.e., taking charge and employee voice) via two distinct psychological mechanisms (i.e., duty orientation and moral potency). Based on results from an experiment and four field studies conducted in France, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam, we demonstrate that an ethical climate indirectly influences employees’ willingness to speak up and take charge through the dual mechanisms of duty orientation and moral potency. Additionally, we find that in the presence of an ethical climate, employees’ duty orientation and moral potency are strengthened when individuals also possess high levels of moral attentiveness. Together, these findings suggest that an ethical climate can be an important antecedent of employees’ proactive behavior by stimulating their sense of duty and enhancing their moral courage, particularly when employees are already highly attuned to moral issues. Keywords: Ethical climate, moral potency, duty orientation, moral attentiveness, employee voice, taking charge, cross-cultural