The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996)

Thomas Rhys Evans; James Edward Bartlett; Amelie Gourdon-Kanhukamwe; Tim Allen; Georgia Antoniou; Sara Arent; Dea Asmarani; Neelo Binns; Clara Boulton; Joshua Bowhay; Linnea Cederlund; Ramnik Chana; Yu Yang Chou; Kevina Dookheea; Gurbani Guglani; Abi Hamson-Ford; Holly Hood; Eci Balim Hostafci; Suha Jahanzeb; Kaylie Jones; Gemma Katie M. Joseph; Tephilla Kemalesh; Lamiss Roya Karoui; Soha Khan; Renata Kviatkoyskyte; Jing Xuan Lee; Rahimah Lewis; Odelia Logan; Georgia Martin; Samaneh Vahedi Moghadam Masuleh; Rebecca McCulloch; Pragya Modi; Susan Nakro; Vy Nguyen; Minh Phan; Edward Philcox; Ana B. Pliego; Sasha Raman; Anusha Vaithianathan Ramji; Anna M.H. Ramsay; Natasha E. Rhone-Parkinson; Tayla Rizzo-Powell; Attila Simony; Roksana A. Sobolak; Maia Thompson; Believe Ujobundo; Bhagyashree Vijayakumar; Natalja Wells-Dean; Michaela Natasha Wernick; Gemma Wood; Chan Young Yang; Zareen Zahid; Colleen Addicott; Hazel Bending; Elisabeth E.F. Bradford; Peter Edward Branney; Joanna Butler; Irene Chu; Oliver Clark; Laura Dean; Yannick Griep; Tom Hatton; Caroline Heard; Olivia Kowalczyk; Alexandra Lautarescu; Tony McCarthy; Kimberly R. More; John Sabo; Joyce Elena Schleu; Dora Scholarios; Rosalind Searle; Ilham Sebah; Laura Wallis; Ruijie Wang; Jérémy E. Wilson-Lemoine; Emma Wilson-Lemoine; Calvin Burns

doi:10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434

The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996)

Thomas Rhys Evans (Lead / Corresponding author), James Edward Bartlett, Amelie Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, Tim Allen, Georgia Antoniou, Sara Arent, Dea Asmarani, Neelo Binns, Clara Boulton, Joshua Bowhay, Linnea Cederlund, Ramnik Chana, Yu Yang Chou, Kevina Dookheea, Gurbani Guglani, Abi Hamson-Ford, Holly Hood, Eci Balim Hostafci, Suha Jahanzeb, Kaylie JonesGemma Katie M. Joseph, Tephilla Kemalesh, Lamiss Roya Karoui, Soha Khan, Renata Kviatkoyskyte, Jing Xuan Lee, Rahimah Lewis, Odelia Logan, Georgia Martin, Samaneh Vahedi Moghadam Masuleh, Rebecca McCulloch, Pragya Modi, Susan Nakro, Vy Nguyen, Minh Phan, Edward Philcox, Ana B. Pliego, Sasha Raman, Anusha Vaithianathan Ramji, Anna M.H. Ramsay, Natasha E. Rhone-Parkinson, Tayla Rizzo-Powell, Attila Simony, Roksana A. Sobolak, Maia Thompson, Believe Ujobundo, Bhagyashree Vijayakumar, Natalja Wells-Dean, Michaela Natasha Wernick, Gemma Wood, Chan Young Yang, Zareen Zahid, Colleen Addicott, Hazel Bending, Elisabeth E.F. Bradford, Peter Edward Branney, Joanna Butler, Irene Chu, Oliver Clark, Laura Dean, Yannick Griep, Tom Hatton, Caroline Heard, Olivia Kowalczyk, Alexandra Lautarescu, Tony McCarthy, Kimberly R. More, John Sabo, Joyce Elena Schleu, Dora Scholarios, Rosalind Searle, Ilham Sebah, Laura Wallis, Ruijie Wang, Jérémy E. Wilson-Lemoine, Emma Wilson-Lemoine, Calvin Burns

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Intentions to act unethically in the workplace are purported to be driven by a number of situational and individual factors. Across two seminal vignette experiments, Jones and Kavanagh reported inconsistent effect sizes for manager and peer influence and locus of control, consistent significant effects for work quality and Machiavellianism, and consistent non-significant effects for gender. Using an innovative multi-site collaboration, the current Registered Report represents a direct replication of these experiments (N = 2218), and adds a longitudinal conceptual replication capturing self-reported unethical work behaviour (N = 1747). Both replications found a consistent small effect of having a more external locus of control and male identity, and a consistent moderate effect of machiavellianism, for increasing unethical intentions and behaviour. The situational factors, whilst consistent in direction with that of the original study, varied more substantively in effect size. Our results highlight the value of multi-site collaborations and different replication types in developing conceptual, methodological, measurement and theoretical clarity to ensure future works can progress more rapidly to minimize the negative impacts of unethical workplace behaviour and improve individual’s working lives. All materials, code and data for this project can be found here: osf.io/d3arx.

Original language	English
Journal	Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology
Early online date	27 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 27 Jul 2025

Keywords

Machiavellianism
registered report
Unethical behaviour
workplace ethics
workplace influence

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology

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10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Evans, T. R., Bartlett, J. E., Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, A., Allen, T., Antoniou, G., Arent, S., Asmarani, D., Binns, N., Boulton, C., Bowhay, J., Cederlund, L., Chana, R., Chou, Y. Y., Dookheea, K., Guglani, G., Hamson-Ford, A., Hood, H., Hostafci, E. B., Jahanzeb, S., ... Burns, C. (2025). The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996). Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434

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title = "The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones \& Kavanagh (1996)",

abstract = "Intentions to act unethically in the workplace are purported to be driven by a number of situational and individual factors. Across two seminal vignette experiments, Jones and Kavanagh reported inconsistent effect sizes for manager and peer influence and locus of control, consistent significant effects for work quality and Machiavellianism, and consistent non-significant effects for gender. Using an innovative multi-site collaboration, the current Registered Report represents a direct replication of these experiments (N = 2218), and adds a longitudinal conceptual replication capturing self-reported unethical work behaviour (N = 1747). Both replications found a consistent small effect of having a more external locus of control and male identity, and a consistent moderate effect of machiavellianism, for increasing unethical intentions and behaviour. The situational factors, whilst consistent in direction with that of the original study, varied more substantively in effect size. Our results highlight the value of multi-site collaborations and different replication types in developing conceptual, methodological, measurement and theoretical clarity to ensure future works can progress more rapidly to minimize the negative impacts of unethical workplace behaviour and improve individual{\textquoteright}s working lives. All materials, code and data for this project can be found here: osf.io/d3arx.",

keywords = "Machiavellianism, registered report, Unethical behaviour, workplace ethics, workplace influence",

author = "Evans, \{Thomas Rhys\} and Bartlett, \{James Edward\} and Amelie Gourdon-Kanhukamwe and Tim Allen and Georgia Antoniou and Sara Arent and Dea Asmarani and Neelo Binns and Clara Boulton and Joshua Bowhay and Linnea Cederlund and Ramnik Chana and Chou, \{Yu Yang\} and Kevina Dookheea and Gurbani Guglani and Abi Hamson-Ford and Holly Hood and Hostafci, \{Eci Balim\} and Suha Jahanzeb and Kaylie Jones and Joseph, \{Gemma Katie M.\} and Tephilla Kemalesh and Karoui, \{Lamiss Roya\} and Soha Khan and Renata Kviatkoyskyte and Lee, \{Jing Xuan\} and Rahimah Lewis and Odelia Logan and Georgia Martin and Masuleh, \{Samaneh Vahedi Moghadam\} and Rebecca McCulloch and Pragya Modi and Susan Nakro and Vy Nguyen and Minh Phan and Edward Philcox and Pliego, \{Ana B.\} and Sasha Raman and Ramji, \{Anusha Vaithianathan\} and Ramsay, \{Anna M.H.\} and Rhone-Parkinson, \{Natasha E.\} and Tayla Rizzo-Powell and Attila Simony and Sobolak, \{Roksana A.\} and Maia Thompson and Believe Ujobundo and Bhagyashree Vijayakumar and Natalja Wells-Dean and Wernick, \{Michaela Natasha\} and Gemma Wood and Yang, \{Chan Young\} and Zareen Zahid and Colleen Addicott and Hazel Bending and Bradford, \{Elisabeth E.F.\} and Branney, \{Peter Edward\} and Joanna Butler and Irene Chu and Oliver Clark and Laura Dean and Yannick Griep and Tom Hatton and Caroline Heard and Olivia Kowalczyk and Alexandra Lautarescu and Tony McCarthy and More, \{Kimberly R.\} and John Sabo and Schleu, \{Joyce Elena\} and Dora Scholarios and Rosalind Searle and Ilham Sebah and Laura Wallis and Ruijie Wang and Wilson-Lemoine, \{J{\'e}r{\'e}my E.\} and Emma Wilson-Lemoine and Calvin Burns",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group.",

year = "2025",

month = jul,

day = "27",

doi = "10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434",

language = "English",

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Evans, TR, Bartlett, JE, Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, A, Allen, T, Antoniou, G, Arent, S, Asmarani, D, Binns, N, Boulton, C, Bowhay, J, Cederlund, L, Chana, R, Chou, YY, Dookheea, K, Guglani, G, Hamson-Ford, A, Hood, H, Hostafci, EB, Jahanzeb, S, Jones, K, Joseph, GKM, Kemalesh, T, Karoui, LR, Khan, S, Kviatkoyskyte, R, Lee, JX, Lewis, R, Logan, O, Martin, G, Masuleh, SVM, McCulloch, R, Modi, P, Nakro, S, Nguyen, V, Phan, M, Philcox, E, Pliego, AB, Raman, S, Ramji, AV, Ramsay, AMH, Rhone-Parkinson, NE, Rizzo-Powell, T, Simony, A, Sobolak, RA, Thompson, M, Ujobundo, B, Vijayakumar, B, Wells-Dean, N, Wernick, MN, Wood, G, Yang, CY, Zahid, Z, Addicott, C, Bending, H, Bradford, EEF, Branney, PE, Butler, J, Chu, I, Clark, O, Dean, L, Griep, Y, Hatton, T, Heard, C, Kowalczyk, O, Lautarescu, A, McCarthy, T, More, KR, Sabo, J, Schleu, JE, Scholarios, D, Searle, R, Sebah, I, Wallis, L, Wang, R, Wilson-Lemoine, JE, Wilson-Lemoine, E & Burns, C 2025, 'The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996)', Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434

The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996). / Evans, Thomas Rhys (Lead / Corresponding author); Bartlett, James Edward; Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, Amelie et al.
In: Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology, 27.07.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace

T2 - a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996)

AU - Evans, Thomas Rhys

AU - Bartlett, James Edward

AU - Gourdon-Kanhukamwe, Amelie

AU - Allen, Tim

AU - Antoniou, Georgia

AU - Arent, Sara

AU - Asmarani, Dea

AU - Binns, Neelo

AU - Boulton, Clara

AU - Bowhay, Joshua

AU - Cederlund, Linnea

AU - Chana, Ramnik

AU - Chou, Yu Yang

AU - Dookheea, Kevina

AU - Guglani, Gurbani

AU - Hamson-Ford, Abi

AU - Hood, Holly

AU - Hostafci, Eci Balim

AU - Jahanzeb, Suha

AU - Jones, Kaylie

AU - Joseph, Gemma Katie M.

AU - Kemalesh, Tephilla

AU - Karoui, Lamiss Roya

AU - Khan, Soha

AU - Kviatkoyskyte, Renata

AU - Lee, Jing Xuan

AU - Lewis, Rahimah

AU - Logan, Odelia

AU - Martin, Georgia

AU - Masuleh, Samaneh Vahedi Moghadam

AU - McCulloch, Rebecca

AU - Modi, Pragya

AU - Nakro, Susan

AU - Nguyen, Vy

AU - Phan, Minh

AU - Philcox, Edward

AU - Pliego, Ana B.

AU - Raman, Sasha

AU - Ramji, Anusha Vaithianathan

AU - Ramsay, Anna M.H.

AU - Rhone-Parkinson, Natasha E.

AU - Rizzo-Powell, Tayla

AU - Simony, Attila

AU - Sobolak, Roksana A.

AU - Thompson, Maia

AU - Ujobundo, Believe

AU - Vijayakumar, Bhagyashree

AU - Wells-Dean, Natalja

AU - Wernick, Michaela Natasha

AU - Wood, Gemma

AU - Yang, Chan Young

AU - Zahid, Zareen

AU - Addicott, Colleen

AU - Bending, Hazel

AU - Bradford, Elisabeth E.F.

AU - Branney, Peter Edward

AU - Butler, Joanna

AU - Chu, Irene

AU - Clark, Oliver

AU - Dean, Laura

AU - Griep, Yannick

AU - Hatton, Tom

AU - Heard, Caroline

AU - Kowalczyk, Olivia

AU - Lautarescu, Alexandra

AU - McCarthy, Tony

AU - More, Kimberly R.

AU - Sabo, John

AU - Schleu, Joyce Elena

AU - Scholarios, Dora

AU - Searle, Rosalind

AU - Sebah, Ilham

AU - Wallis, Laura

AU - Wang, Ruijie

AU - Wilson-Lemoine, Jérémy E.

AU - Wilson-Lemoine, Emma

AU - Burns, Calvin

PY - 2025/7/27

Y1 - 2025/7/27

N2 - Intentions to act unethically in the workplace are purported to be driven by a number of situational and individual factors. Across two seminal vignette experiments, Jones and Kavanagh reported inconsistent effect sizes for manager and peer influence and locus of control, consistent significant effects for work quality and Machiavellianism, and consistent non-significant effects for gender. Using an innovative multi-site collaboration, the current Registered Report represents a direct replication of these experiments (N = 2218), and adds a longitudinal conceptual replication capturing self-reported unethical work behaviour (N = 1747). Both replications found a consistent small effect of having a more external locus of control and male identity, and a consistent moderate effect of machiavellianism, for increasing unethical intentions and behaviour. The situational factors, whilst consistent in direction with that of the original study, varied more substantively in effect size. Our results highlight the value of multi-site collaborations and different replication types in developing conceptual, methodological, measurement and theoretical clarity to ensure future works can progress more rapidly to minimize the negative impacts of unethical workplace behaviour and improve individual’s working lives. All materials, code and data for this project can be found here: osf.io/d3arx.

AB - Intentions to act unethically in the workplace are purported to be driven by a number of situational and individual factors. Across two seminal vignette experiments, Jones and Kavanagh reported inconsistent effect sizes for manager and peer influence and locus of control, consistent significant effects for work quality and Machiavellianism, and consistent non-significant effects for gender. Using an innovative multi-site collaboration, the current Registered Report represents a direct replication of these experiments (N = 2218), and adds a longitudinal conceptual replication capturing self-reported unethical work behaviour (N = 1747). Both replications found a consistent small effect of having a more external locus of control and male identity, and a consistent moderate effect of machiavellianism, for increasing unethical intentions and behaviour. The situational factors, whilst consistent in direction with that of the original study, varied more substantively in effect size. Our results highlight the value of multi-site collaborations and different replication types in developing conceptual, methodological, measurement and theoretical clarity to ensure future works can progress more rapidly to minimize the negative impacts of unethical workplace behaviour and improve individual’s working lives. All materials, code and data for this project can be found here: osf.io/d3arx.

KW - Machiavellianism

KW - registered report

KW - Unethical behaviour

KW - workplace ethics

KW - workplace influence

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105009510585

U2 - 10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434

DO - 10.1080/23743603.2025.2507434

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105009510585

JO - Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology

JF - Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology

ER -

The individual and situational factors predicting unethical behaviour in the workplace: a direct and conceptual replication of Jones & Kavanagh (1996)

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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