Peer reporting of unethical behavior: The influence of justice evaluations and social context factors

Abstract

A field survey in a fast food restaurant setting tested the hypothesized influences of 2 social context variables (role responsibility and interests of group members) and justice evaluations (distributive, procedural, and retributive) on respondents' inclinations to report theft and their theft reporting behavior. The results provided mixed support for the hypotheses. Inclination to report a peer for theft was associated with role responsibility, the interests of group members, and procedural justice perceptions. Actual reporting behavior was associated with the inclination to report and with retributive justice evaluations. Implications for future research and for management are discussed.