Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1172

Date

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Admin

Major

Business Administration

Concentration

Management

Committee Chair

Robert Renn

Committee Member

George Deitz

Committee Member

Robert Taylor

Committee Member

Michele Kacmar

Abstract

Scholars have recently started to assess mentors’ influence on protégés’ ethics. This dissertation joins this conversation by investigating how mentors shape their protégés’ moral disengagement. Current conceptualizations of moral disengagement focus primarily on individual characteristics as predictors and downplay environmental factors. However, moral disengagement theory is rooted in social cognitive theory, which hypothesizes that learning results not only from its consequences but also from observing others in the social environment. Because mentors are a key part of a protégés “social environment”, I reason that protégés’ moral disengagement is affected by mentors’ ethical leadership skills, moral identity, moral awareness, and moral disengagement and that this effect is stronger if the dyads share a high quality exchange relationship. The findings suggest that mentors’ ethical leadership, moral identity internalization, and moral awareness influence their protégés’ moral disengagement and thereby contribute to research in moral disengagement and mentoring. The findings are also expected to have practical implications.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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