Title: The influence mechanism of goal content on employees' ethical sensitivity

Authors: Dalong Zhang; Jian Zhang; Ying Zhang

Addresses: Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China ' Department of Business Administration, Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China; Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China ' Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

Abstract: Ethical sensitivity is the initial logical component of ethical behaviour. Only if individuals recognise the ethical problems in a situation can they make ethical judgements and perform ethical behaviours. Ethical sensitivity is affected by many factors. Therefore, to promote the ethical behaviour of employees, it is necessary to explore the key factors of employees' ethical sensitivity. Based on a framework of self-determination theory, this study analyses the effects of goal contents on ethical sensitivity and the mediating role of basic psychological needs. A total of 149 employees were surveyed and the results demonstrate the following: 1) intrinsic goals are positively related to ethical sensitivity; 2) the intrinsic goals and basic psychological needs are significantly positively related; 3) basic psychological needs fully mediate the relationship between intrinsic goals and ethical sensitivity. Finally, the practical contributions of the research and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Keywords: basic psychological needs; ethical sensitivity; mediator model; goal content.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISCM.2018.093202

International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 2018 Vol.10 No.1, pp.40 - 54

Received: 18 Oct 2017
Accepted: 08 Apr 2018
Published online: 13 Jul 2018 *

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