About

Aleksander P.J. Ellis is a professor at the Eller College of Management, where he holds the Stephen P. Robbins Chair in Organizational Behavior and serves as the Research Director of the Center for Leadership Ethics. He joined the Eller College in 2003 and earned his PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University in 2003. His research focuses on the behavior of groups and teams within organizations, with particular emphasis on counterproductive behavior, including unethical and deviant conduct in the workplace. Additionally, his work addresses human resource management issues such as employee turnover and performance appraisal. Ellis's academic contributions include teaching courses related to leadership, organizational behavior, psychology of groups at work, and managing ethics in organizations. His scholarly work has been published in numerous reputable journals, and he serves on editorial boards for the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Political Science
• Management
• Developmental psychology
• Gender studies
• Public relations

Selected publications

• Understanding the intersection of gender and cognitive ability on interpersonal outcomes: A multistudy investigation.

  Journal of Applied Psychology · 2026-05-18

  article

  lowered communality by their peers; these perceptions, in turn, are theorized to be associated with greater levels of victimization and lower levels of received task- and person-focused help from teammates. Across two multisource studies comprised of 826 individuals nested within 140 work groups, utilizing objective cognitive ability ratings and a mixture of round robin and self-report data, results demonstrated the detrimental interpersonal ramifications associated with higher cognitive ability for women but not for men. Our results paint an important, and difficult, picture for higher cognitive ability women, highlighting several theoretical issues that warrant further investigation and practical challenges to be addressed by organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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• Examining the Effects of Interpersonal Competition on Employees’ Reporting of Unethical Behavior in Organizations

  Journal of Business Ethics · 2025-11-24

  article
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• Examining the Hindering Effects of Receiving Help on Internal Reporting of Unethical Behavior

  Journal of Organizational Behavior · 2025-03-03 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  ABSTRACT Despite the well‐documented positive individual and interpersonal benefits of receiving help, we argue that it can also lead to potentially damaging moral consequences for the organization. The purpose of this study is to add to our understanding of the moral consequences of receiving help and the inhibitors of reporting unethical behavior in organizations. Drawing from social exchange theory and the moral psychology of obligation, we argue that employees will be less likely to report a wrongdoer internally when they have received help from that person in the past due to feelings of obligation, or feeling that “I don't want to, but I have to.” Using laboratory experiments, we found that participants significantly reduced their internal reporting behavior after receiving a small favor, even when they had no prior relationship with the wrongdoer, due to feelings of obligation. We replicated the effect in a multi‐wave survey study. This effect was strengthened by positive reciprocity beliefs and help solicitation. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our research.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reactions to mega-threats among members of the harming group: a moral cleansing approach

  Journal of Managerial Psychology · 2025-08-08

  articleSenior author

  Purpose The concept of mega-threats – negative, identity-related events that receive significant media attention – have been shown to have significant negative effects on members of the harmed group in organizations. We look to build on the original theory and empirical evidence by shifting focus to how mega-threats impact members of the harming group. Design/methodology/approach We test our hypothesized model in three experiments and one supplemental study using both MBA students and Prolific workers. Findings We find that members of the harming group feel increased levels of guilt following exposure to a mega-threat. Those individuals then strive to cleanse their guilt by reducing their in-group solidarity and engaging in increased helping behavior toward members of the harmed group. These effects were stronger for those who significantly valued purity/sanctity as a moral foundation. Originality/value Our research is the first to draw on moral cleansing theory and moral foundations theory to focus on how mega-threats impact members of the harming group. In doing so, we significantly extend our understanding of the racialized view of organizations and how societal events can significantly influence our behavior in the workplace.

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• Suffering From Their Own Passiveness: A Leader‐Centric Investigation of Laissez‐Faire Leadership

  Journal of Leadership Studies · 2025-06-01 · 2 citations

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  Prior research has shown that laissez‐faire leadership can have detrimental consequences on employees and organizations such as increased unethical behavior, workplace incivility, and employee burnout. However, little is known about the relationship between laissez‐faire leadership and important leader outcomes. Based on social information processing theory and conservation of resources theory, laissez‐faire leadership is likely positively related to follower counterproductive work behavior, which was predicted to indirectly relate to leader turnover intentions through leader emotional ill‐being (i.e., negative affect, emotional exhaustion). Additionally, theory suggests that performance pressure would exacerbate the serial indirect relationship between laissez‐faire leadership and leader turnover intentions. Two time‐lagged studies of full‐time working leaders ( N = 533) across a variety of industries and cultures showed support for the hypothesized serial mediation in both Study 1 and Study 2, but Study 2 failed to provide support for the moderating hypothesis regarding performance pressure. The studies' results contribute to the literature by demonstrating how laissez‐faire leadership can be related to significant negative consequences for both followers and the leaders themselves.

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• Reactions to Mega-Threats Among Members of the Harming Group: A Moral Cleansing Approach

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2024-07-09

  articleSenior author

  The concept of mega-threats – negative, identity-related events that receive significant media attention – have been shown to have significant negative effects on members of the harmed group; effects that have implications for their behavior at work. We look to build on the original theory and empirical evidence by shifting focus to how mega-threats impact members of the harming group. Drawing on moral cleansing theory, we argue that members of the harming group feel increased levels of guilt following a mega-threat. Those individuals then strive to cleanse their guilt by reducing their in-group solidarity and engaging in increased helping toward members of the harmed group. Further, we argue that cleansing guilt by reducing in-group solidarity will be stronger when individuals possess strong purity/sanctity (a dimension of moral foundations). Across three main studies and one supplemental study, we found that participants felt greater guilt and decreased in-group solidarity after witnessing a mega-threat (police brutality against George Floyd), which then increased helping behaviors towards Black Americans. We also found support for the moderating role of purity/sanctity.

  PublisherDOI

• Responses to observing others caught cheating: The role of schadenfreude

  Journal of Management & Organization · 2024-10-18

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract While unethical acts are common in the business world, we know little about how employees react when they observe coworkers caught engaging in unethical behavior. This is both theoretically and practically relevant, given that many supervisors take unethical behavior in the workplace very seriously. Drawing on appraisal theory, we argue that observing a coworker caught engaging in unethical behavior elicits feelings of schadenfreude. Then, this positive feeling spills over to a separate task and enhances performance. Finally, we suggest that trait empathy can weaken this effect because individuals with high trait empathy are more likely to understand the motivations of the person caught. Across two studies, our results showed that perpetrators getting caught increased schadenfreude among observers, which then increased their subsequent task performance. However, trait empathy did not significantly affect these results. Our work contributes to the literature on unethical behavior and emotions in the workplace.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reactions to Mega-Threats Among Members of the Harming Group:A Moral Cleansing Approach

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Understanding the impact of transformational leadership on nurse compassion provision through a time-lagged field study

  Health Care Management Review · 2023-05-12 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: A large volume of literature identifies positive, rejuvenating benefits associated with giving compassion to others. However, the relationship between giving compassion and feelings of exhaustion remains underexplored. Understanding when giving compassion can potentially lead to feelings of emotional exhaustion is particularly important for nurses who are called upon to provide high levels of compassion to suffering patients in their daily work. We suggest that by engaging in transformational leadership behaviors, frontline supervisors can help nurses realize the positive benefits associated with giving compassion. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of nurses' perceptions of transformational leadership offered by their supervisors on the relationship between the levels of compassionate behaviors nurses report engaging in with patients and feelings of emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A time-lagged field survey was conducted across two waves of 112 full-time employed inpatient nurses within the United States. RESULTS: Providing high levels of compassionate behavior to patients was associated with reduced (increased) perceptions of emotional exhaustion and increased (decreased) job satisfaction when supervisors engaged in higher (lower) levels of transformational leadership. DISCUSSION: Transformational leadership serves as an important resource to help caregivers such that nurses feel invigorated and satisfied, as opposed to drained or fatigued, when engaging in high levels of compassionate behaviors toward suffering patients. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: For nurses to fully reap the established positive benefits associated with providing compassion to patients, frontline supervisors should be encouraged to engage in behaviors reflective of transformational leadership.

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• New Insights into Antecedents and Consequences of Ethical Voice

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2023-07-24

  article

  As more organizations begin to realize the importance of acting responsibly in the broader society, research has been emerging on employee voice that is driven by ethical principles or super organizational interests (i.e., ethical voice). Given that the focus of ethical voice is different from that of voice aimed at improving organizational efficiency and productivity, their antecedents and consequences are likely to differ. However, our understanding of the antecedents and consequences of ethical voice is rather limited and is much needed. In this symposium, we seek to offer new insights into antecedents and consequences of ethical voice and discuss practical implications for organizations wishing to encourage employee ethical voice. Ethical Voice, Related but Different from Traditional Voice: Antecedents and Supervisor Evaluations Author: Anjier Chen; National U. of Singapore (NUS) Author: Linda K Trevino; Pennsylvania State U. Moral Silence: When and Why Individuals Communicate with Others after Observing Ethical Misconduct Author: Burak Oc; Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management U. Author: Maryam Kouchaki; Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Examining the Effects of Interpersonal Competition on Employees’ Reporting of Unethical Behavior Author: Feng Qiu; U. of Massachusetts, Amherst Author: Ke Michael Mai; National U. of Singapore Author: Aleksander P.J. Ellis; U. of Arizona Author: Xueqi Wen; Tongji U. Elevation or Contempt? The Emotional Implications of DEI-based Task Refusal Author: Edward McClain Wellman; Arizona State U. Author: Marie S. Mitchell; U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Author: Crystal I Chien Farh; U. of Washington Author: Stephen Lee; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Author: Min Yu; Arizona State U.

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Frequent coauthors

• Daniel R. Ilgen

  14 shared

• John R. Hollenbeck

  14 shared

• Christopher O. L. H. Porter

  Virginia Tech

  14 shared

• Daphna Motro

  12 shared

• Ke Michael

  China Europe International Business School

  12 shared

• Stephen E. Humphrey

  Pennsylvania State University

  11 shared

• Matthew J. Pearsall

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  11 shared

• Bradley J. West

  8 shared

Awards & honors

• Stephen P. Robbins Chair in Organizational Behavior (2015)