Gender Matters: Psychological Drivers of Unethical Pro-organizational Behavior in India

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), a phenomenon that has emerged through corporate misconduct worldwide, stands as a challenge to organizational and societal sustainability. Despite its impact, the influence of gender on UPB and other related psychological variables remains underexplored. This study tries to understand the role of gender, particularly on how UPB, often related to masculine traits, is affected by psychological ownership and psychological contract (relational). Given the predominantly patriarchal society of India, this study gains relevance as ethical decision-making might be affected by traditional gender roles, where nurturance, frequently associated with women, might have a say. A sample of 300 employees working as sales executives, team leads, and managers from various Ed-tech institutes in India were selected and employed the UPB scale, psychological contract scale, and psychological ownership scale. The data were then subjected to correlation, regression, t-test, and moderation using SPSS-24 and Hayes Process Macro. Results revealed a significant association between UPB, psychological ownership, and psychological contract, where the latter two significantly predicted UPB. A significant gender difference was found among all three variables, where the relationship between psychological ownership and UPB was significantly higher among males. These findings are then explained using various theoretical and historical antecedents and ultimately shedding light on what needs to be done for its alleviation.