Assessing the moderating effects of ethical climate on the relation between social dominance orientation /right -wing authoritarianism and self -reported unethical behaviour

Using an anonymous self-report survey of 364 Canadian Forces Army Anglophone personnel, this study investigated the effect that ethical climate has in moderating the relations between social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and self-reported unethical behaviour. Ethical climate as it relates to supervisor behaviour moderated the relation between RWA and self-reported discriminatory behaviour. The nature of the interaction was such that respondents who scored low in RWA and perceived a strong supervisor climate, reported fewer instances of past discriminatory behaviour, and less likelihood that they would discriminate in the future compared with three other groups: people who were low in RWA but perceived a weak supervisor climate, and people who were high in RWA and perceived a weak or strong supervisor climate. Ethical climate as it relates to rules moderated the relation between SDO and self-reported unethical behaviour. The nature of this interaction was such that people who scored low in SDO and perceived a strong rules climate reported fewer instances of unethical behaviour in the past, or less likelihood that they would engage in unethical behaviour in the future, compared with: people who were low in SDO but perceived a weak rules climate, and people who were high in SDO and perceived a weak or strong ethical climate as it pertains to rules. These results suggest that people who score higher versus lower in SDO and RWA tend to report more unethical behaviour regardless of the situational cues relating to ethical climate. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.