My coworkers tell me they are paid more than me! The I-EDM model perspective on time theft behaviors

Although the sharing of salary information between co-workers in the hospitality and tourism industry is common practice, the impact that higher-salaried coworkers’ pay-information-sharing has on employee time theft is unknown. Based on the integrated ethical decision-making (I-EDM) model, three experiments were conducted to investigate whether and why employees might increase time theft. The findings reveal that higher-salaried co-workers’ pay-information-sharing positively impacts employee time theft. The perceived organizational exploitation and perceived relationship conflict with co-workers play mediating roles. Prosocial motivation moderates the relationships mentioned above. This research offers practical suggestions to reduce the negative consequences produced when higher-salaried coworkers’ pay-information-sharing occurs.