Who Gets the Moral Credit? The Source of Moral Recognition Shapes Unethical Workplace Intentions Beyond Moral Justification

Abstract

Moral licensing research suggests that prior moral behavior can sometimes relax self-regulation, increasing openness to subsequent misconduct. Yet moral recognition may also foster moral consistency, particularly when moral credit is clearly attributable to the self or conveyed through norm-relevant authority. In a controlled experimental study, we tested whether the source of moral recognition—individual, team-based, or leader-based—differentially predicts unethical workplace behavioral intentions and moral justification, and whether any effects on unethical intentions persist beyond moral justification. Overall, condition influenced both outcomes. Planned contrasts indicated lower unethical intentions following personal (individual) recognition compared to team-based recognition and a neutral control condition. Moral justification was positively associated with unethical intentions, consistent with moral disengagement accounts, but it did not mediate the effects of moral recognition cues. Multicategorical models further showed residual inhibitory effects of individual- and leader-based recognition on unethical intentions after controlling for moral justification. Together, these findings challenge a simple licensing interpretation and instead suggest that moral recognition tied to personal agency or authority-based norms may function as a self-regulatory cue, reducing unethical intentions through self-regulatory processes not fully captured by explicit moral justification. Implications for moral licensing theory and organizational recognition practices are discussed.