The moral disengagement mechanisms in organizational contexts: A comparison between public organizations and private firms

The moral disengagement present in work places is a critical factor impacting the efficient pursuit of organizational goals. This research aims at providing a new view on the criticisms moved against the inefficiencies of the Italian public administration and the national bureaucratic system, by adopting the principles described in Albert Bandura"s (1986) Social Cognitive theory and testing the mechanisms of moral disengagement empirically, by carrying out the Civic Moral Disengagement (CMD) survey among private and public-sector employees. The final goal of this research is analyzing the cognitive process that employees activate based on the environment they are in, and defining an Empowerment strategy that could be adopted within public organizations.