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Employees who prize money are more likely to view unethical workplace behaviour as acceptable, but a stronger organisational ethical climate reduces that tendency; evidence comes from a 157-person cross‑sectional survey of Zimbabwean MBA students.

The relationship between attitudes towards money and beliefs towards unethical workplace behaviour: the moderating role of perceived organisational ethical climate
Emmanuel Nkomo, Adewale Adekiya · August 13, 2026 · Aposta
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Using a convenience survey of 157 Zimbabwean MBA students, the study finds that stronger positive attitudes toward money are associated with greater endorsement of unethical workplace behaviour, and that a perceived ethical organisational climate weakens this association.

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By relying on empirical evidence, this study aims to ascertain the relationship between attitude towards money and employees' beliefs towards unethical behaviour in organisational settings. In addition, it is focused on determining if employee beliefs towards organisational ethical climate can suppress or promote their beliefs towards unethical behaviour. Using convenience sampling, 157 Master of Business Administration students registered at a Zimbabwean university, who are employees and managers of their respective organisations, were selected to participate in the study. Through the self-administered and structured closed-ended questionnaire, responses were elicited from these participants. From the regression analysis that was carried out, results indicate that ethical climate significantly and negatively relates to unethical behaviour. Furthermore, while attitude towards money was found to be a significant driver for beliefs in unethical behaviour, belief in ethical climate was found to moderate the relationship between attitudes towards money and beliefs in unethical behaviour. These findings provide support for the theories that predict that organisational ethical climate can reduce unethical behaviour in the workplace, as well as exercise an influence on the type of moral orientations that are likely to be displayed by employees within the workforce. The findings, therefore, offer an important insight into the importance of ensuring that the ethical climate in the organisation is maintained through managerial and leadership action. By showing that unethical behaviour is to some extent related to attitudes towards money and the salience of organisational ethical climate, this study advances the theory of the antecedents of unethical behaviour in the workplace and therefore contributes to the scarce literature on the interplay between money attitudes and organisational ethics.

Assessment

Paper Typecorrelational Evidence Strengthlow — Findings are based on cross-sectional, convenience-sampled self-report data from a small (n=157) group, so observed associations are vulnerable to reverse causation, omitted variable bias, and common-method bias; the design does not support strong causal claims. Methods Rigorlow — Convenience sampling of MBA students limits representativeness; study is cross-sectional and relies on self-reported measures; no description of robustness checks, handling of common method variance, or sensitivity analyses in the supplied text; regression/moderation tests are standard but insufficient for causal inference. SampleConvenience sample of 157 Master of Business Administration students enrolled at a Zimbabwean university who are also employees/managers; data collected via a self-administered structured closed-ended questionnaire (cross-sectional). Themesorg_design governance IdentificationCross-sectional self-reported survey of 157 employed MBA students (convenience sample) analyzed with OLS/regression and a moderation test (perceived organisational ethical climate as moderator); associations reported but no exogenous variation, temporal ordering, instrumental variables, or other causal identification strategies. GeneralizabilityConvenience sample of MBA students limits representativeness to general worker populations, Single-country context (Zimbabwe) with distinct macroeconomic conditions (hyperinflation) that may amplify money salience, Small sample size reduces external validity and statistical power, Self-reported measures and cross-sectional design limit causal and behavioral generalization, Sectoral/job role diversity of participants not clearly described
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