Nature of the publicationJournal article
Title of the publicationDoes Power Protect Female Moral Objectors? How and When Moral Objectors’ Gender, Power, and Use of Organizational Frames Influence Perceived Self-Control and Experienced Retaliation
Journal name/Book publisherAcademy of Management Journal
DOIdoi.org
Abstract

Organizational scholars have called upon higher-power individuals to serve as moral objectors to
combat unethical behavior at work because it is assumed they will face less retaliation. However,
research paints an unclear picture of whether power protects women in the same way as it does
men. In this paper, we draw on two distinct role theories (i.e., power role theories and gender
role theories) as well as expectancy violation theory, theorizing and finding that female moral
objectors benefit less from power than male moral objectors because they are viewed as lower in
self-control. We further investigate an alternative remedy, or organizational frames, that may
mitigate retaliation against higher-powered female moral objectors, finding that using this frame
increases perceptions of self-control and reduces retaliation. We test and find support for our
theory across four studies, including an archival study (N = 33,715), a critical incident technique
experiment, and two preregistered experiments testing our intervention

Author #1Timothy Kundro
Affiliation Author #1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Author #2Nancy Rothbard
Affiliation Author #2The Wharton School