Unethical leader behavior and employee performance: a deontic justice perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of deontic justice in the relationship between unethical leader behavior and employee performance, and whether leader–member exchange (LMX) moderates the effect. Design/methodology/approach A two-time-point questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 225 employees of nine firms in China at two points in time separated by approximately three weeks. Findings The hypothesized moderated mediation model used in this study was supported. Deontic justice mediates the negative relationship between unethical leader behavior and employee performance, and higher LMX tends to strengthen this indirect relationship. Originality/value Previous scholars mainly focused on the cognitive and conscious thought process to explain employees’ reactions to unethical leader behavior, and largely ignored the research on the nonconscious thought process. Drawing on deontic justice theory, this study extends the previous research on the nonconscious system of moral decision-making processing by introducing employee deontic justice as a mediator in the relationship between unethical leader behavior and employee performance and further exploring LMX as a boundary condition of this indirect relationship.