Drawing on goal shielding theory (Shah et al., 2002), our study highlights the roles of bottom-line mentality climates and shared vision in encouraging collective unethical conduct in pursuit of financial results. Consistent with the theory, we hypothesize that high bottom-line mentality leaders shape their unit's bottom-line mentality climate by explicitly clarifying the importance of prioritizing financial results above all else and using motivational resources to encourage a sole focus on bottom-line attainment. We further hypothesize that a unit's shared vision, which captures a collective sense of purpose and direction, is a critical aspect of the unit's motivational context that increases the likelihood for collective bottom-line enhancing, unethical behaviors (i.e., concealing errors, bribery, and unethical pro-organizational behavior) in units with a salient bottom-line mentality climate. We test our hypotheses in a two-wave, multi-industry field study of work units in central Italy (N = 96). Results indicate that leaders with a bottom-line mentality foster a bottom-line mentality climate in the units they lead, and the linkages with unit unethical conduct are dependent on the unit's shared vision. While shared vision strengthened the effects of bottom-line mentality climates on concealing errors, it served as a necessary condition to motivate more severe forms of unethical conduct. Our study thus demonstrates a dark side to shared vision in that it channels motivational resources toward a unit's bottom-line priorities. When those priorities are singularly focused on the bottom line, shared vision can help to motivate undesirable behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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当焦点和愿景成为噩梦时：底线心态氛围、共同愿景和单位不道德行为。

借鉴目标屏蔽理论（Shah 等，2002），我们的研究强调了底线心态氛围和共同愿景在鼓励追求财务成果的集体不道德行为中的作用。与该理论一致，我们假设高底线心态的领导者通过明确阐明将财务结果放在首位的重要性并使用激励资源来鼓励只关注底线的实现来塑造其部门的底线心态氛围。我们进一步假设，一个单位的共同愿景体现了集体的目的和方向感，是该单位激励背景的一个关键方面，它增加了集体底线提高和不道德行为（即隐瞒错误、贿赂和不道德的亲组织行为）在具有明显底线心态氛围的单位中。我们通过对意大利中部工作单位的两波多行业实地研究（N = 96）来检验我们的假设。结果表明，具有底线心态的领导者会在其所领导的单位中营造底线心态氛围，而与单位不道德行为的联系取决于单位的共同愿景。虽然共同的愿景加强了底线心态氛围对隐瞒错误的影响，但它也是激发更严重的不道德行为的必要条件。因此，我们的研究表明了共同愿景的阴暗面，因为它将激励资源引导到一个单位的底线优先事项上。当这些优先事项完全集中在底线时，共同的愿景可能有助于激发不良行为。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。