Influence of star employees’ role stress on their unethical pro-organizational behavior: A perspective from the transactional theory of stress and coping

Star employees are typically expected to perform in-role (i.e., core job tasks) and extra-role (i.e., colleague assistance and guidance) tasks, which can affect their individual performance and the overall performance of their group and organization. Current research showed that engagement in multiple tasks can induce role stress, which can influence the ethical behavior of star employees. Based on transactional theory of stress and coping, this study develops a model to examine the underlying mechanism linking the role stress of star employees with their unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). The model explains how the role stress of star employees can affect their UPB through stress appraisal (challenge appraisal or hindrance appraisal) and moral disengagement. The results of the analysis of survey data from 294 star employees in China reveal the serial mediating effect of challenge/hindrance appraisal and moral disengagement on the relationship between role stress and UPB. Moreover, the results show that the effect of role stress on challenge/hindrance appraisal is moderated by perceived organizational support. This study discusses the theoretical and practical implications in the last section.