Too Grateful to be Unethical? The Role of Employee Gratitude in the Shaping of their Ethical Decision-making

Drawing on affective events theory and the affect theory of social exchange, this research investigates whether receiving servant leadership behaviours gives rise to employee state gratitude, which then positively impacts their ethical decision-making. The study included psychological entitlement and perspective taking as moderators. While highlighting the role servant leaders play in nurturing employee gratitude, this research found boundary conditions impinge on the relationship between employee state gratitude and their ethical decision-making. The findings challenge the notion that grateful people are less selfish and offers that as a moral emotion gratitude may not always play a leading role in ethical decision-making.