STEALING FOR GOOD? HOW MORAL JUSTIFICATION DRIVES ROBIN HOOD BEHAVIOR UNDER ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

The present study examines the influence of robo heedlessness on the efficacy of managerial decisions through the mediating role of moral justification and the moderating role of rule-following censure within the banking sector of Pakistan. Drawing upon Moral Justification Theory and ethical leadership literature, the study further investigates how managerial decision efficacy influences employees’ informal punishment and informal support toward managers. A quantitative explanatory research design was employed using survey data collected from 400 banking employees through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS 4 through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that robo heedlessness positively influenced managerial decision efficacy, while moral justification significantly mediated this relationship. Rule-following censure negatively moderated the relationship between robo heedlessness and moral justification as well as the indirect effect of robo heedlessness on managerial decision efficacy. Furthermore, managerial decision efficacy positively influenced both informal punishment and informal support toward managers, highlighting the complexity of employee moral evaluations. The study extends Moral Justification Theory into organizational leadership contexts and contributes to ethical leadership literature by demonstrating that employees evaluate managerial legitimacy through the combined influence of outcomes, intentions, and organizational ethical norms.