Power, moral clarity and punishment severity: a moderated-mediation model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the mediating role of “moral clarity” and the moderating role of “hypocrisy” in the relationship between sense of power and punishment severity. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected using purposive sampling from 250 government officials serving at a responsible and authoritative position in different public sector organizations operating in Pakistan. Findings The study has found a significant indirect effect of sense of power on punishment severity through moral clarity. This study has also found that this indirect effect is significant at higher levels of hypocrisy but insignificant at lower or moderate level of hypocrisy. Practical implications The study offers serious practical implications by highlighting the role of hypocrisy in powerful individuals’ moral judgements and their decisions to exercise power and administer punishments. Originality/value The study is the first to develop and test a mediated-moderation model of the relationship between sense of power, moral clarity, hypocrisy and punishment severity.