Purpose The purpose of this article is to perform a literature review of the existing body of empirically‐based studies relating to the causes and implications of how the ethical climate of a company ultimately affects the incidence of workplace deviance. Design/methodology/approach The article examines the issue of ethical contexts and climates within organizations, as measured by the Ethical Climate Questionnaire developed in 1987 by Victor and Cullen , and their implications in the daily work lives of participants. The causes of unethical behaviour, including the presence of counter norms, the environment in which a firm operates, and organizational commitment, as well as the manifestation of this behaviour in the form of workplace deviance, are reviewed. Finally, current trends in preventing workplace deviance are investigated, including promoting a strong culture of ethics, and the use of “toxic handlers”, individuals who take it upon themselves to handle the frustrations of fellow employees. Findings Clearly, unethical and deviant behaviour problems are of great concern to organizations, which must take steps to solve them, at the same time as fostering strong positive ethical cultures. Feels that further studies are needed using more definitive and qualitative measurements to learn more about these behaviours. Originality/value This article would be useful to those who wish to obtain an overview of the current literature, specifically readers who do not specialize in the subject area.
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