Organizational antecedents and employee outcomes of pro social rule breaking behaviours a mixed method investigation among frontline managers of state owned enterprises in kerala

Abstract

Organizational literature outlines the concept of rule-breaking as deviance which is newlinedetrimental to an organization and its members. However, as positive psychology has newlineemerged, scholars have begun focusing on pro-social motivations behind the rule newlineviolations and have offered the concept of quotPro-Social Rule Breakingquot (PSRB). PSRB newlinerefers to behaviours that violate a formal organizational policy/regulation to promote newlinestakeholder and corporate welfare. Though existing studies have explored the newlineantecedents of PSRB, studies on organizational and situational antecedents of PSRB, newlinesuch as rule attributes, organizational structures, and social support, are limited. newlineOrganizations define rules, structure, and supervision to promote rule following newlinebehaviour and limit rule-breaking. Therefore, policymakers and academia need to newlineunderstand the role of the organizational elements in triggering unanticipated responses newlinelike PSRBs. newlineThe present study explores the PSRB attitude among frontline managers (FLMs) newlineof State-owned service enterprises (SOEs) in Kerala, a southwest state of India. The newlinestudy used a mixed-method sequential exploratory design with four studies. The first newlinestudy is a qualitative inquiry on the phenomenon of frontline managerial PSRB in a newlineState-owned utility. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological research design informed newlineby van Manen (1997), the study captures the influences of rule attributes, organizational newlinestructure, and situational factors on PSRB attitude and the impact of PSRB from the newlinepre-reflective perceptions and life experiences of frontline managers. Twenty-six newlinefrontline managers (purposive sampling) participated in the semi-structured interviews. newlineThe data analysis, using interpretative phenomenological analysis, followed the newlinerecommendations of van Manen. The findings included ten PSRB descriptions-typed as newlinejob-focused, co-worker focused, and customer-focused PSRB and four themes. newline