1640: Manager-Facilitated Moral Repair: What Managers Think Helps vs. What Does Help (12898)

Although there is growing awareness of the importance of moral repair in understanding processes and outcomes of workplace wrongdoing, we know little about the role of the manager in facilitating moral repair of offenders. Based on qualitative accounts from 70 managers, Study 1 develops an inductive model of the manager-facilitated moral repair process, including motivating factors, manager-initiated actions intended to facilitate offender moral repair, facilitators and inhibitors, and outcomes of the moral repair process. Study 2 tests the proposed relationships between manager-facilitated moral repair actions and offender-related outcomes using quantitative survey data from 283 employees. The results of both studies indicate that manager-facilitated moral repair actions can positively influence offender satisfaction, commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviors, and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Contrary to manager expectations, however, Study 2’s results suggest that including third parties in reparative meetings may be counterproductive in terms of improving offender outcomes. Implications for incorporating organizational dynamics in the study of moral repair and for improving management practice are discussed.

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