Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Cynthia L.S. Pury
Committee Member
Dr. Allison Traylor
Committee Member
Dr. Patrick Rosopa
Committee Member
Dr. Marissa Shuffler
Abstract
Employees often face situations that confront them with the decision to do the right thing at work despite risk, which requires courage. This dissertation introduces a new form of workplace courage: challenging-around, which, in the context of the present study, involves pushing back against external stakeholders to uphold issues like ethical standards, organizational integrity, or professional judgement. Guided by Worthwhile Risk Theory, the study examined how organizational climate and moral courage influence this behavior. Results show that supportive, goal-promoting climates increase challenging-around, while moral courage independently predicts challenging-around. Additionally, the study validates a researcher-developed measure of challenging-around. Overall, findings suggest that organizations foster courage by clearly signaling which values and goals employees are expected to uphold.
Recommended Citation
Chandler, Morgan, "Beyond Challenging Up: How Organizational Climate Shapes Externally-Oriented Courage in the Workplace" (2026). All Dissertations. 4257.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4257