The relationship between ethical pressure, relativistic moral beliefs and organizational commitment

Questionnaire data from 161 business professionals were analyzed to investigate a proposed interaction between pressure to engage in unethical work activity and relativistic moral beliefs with respect to business professionals’ organizational commitment and intentions to leave the organization. The results indicated that organizational commitment was lower and intention to leave was higher for professionals who felt pressured by their employer to engage in unethical work activity. The proposed interaction was also significant for organizational commitment demonstrating that organizational commitment was generally high, except for business professionals who felt pressured to engage in unethical behavior and did not adhere to a belief that ethics are relative.