The emergence of collective moral elevation through multilevel individual and organizational processes

Purpose: This paper aims to extend the concept of moral elevation from the individual level to the team/group level by introducing the notion of collective moral elevation (CME) and elucidating its emergence. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on social exchange theory and social capital arguments, this paper presents a conceptual framework that outlines the mechanisms through which moral norms, organizational symbols, social cohesion and repeated interactions facilitate the transition from individual internalization of norms to collective aggregation of moral elevation. Findings: The proposed framework emphasizes the processual nature of CME, highlighting the importance of understanding sequences of events rather than merely examining static relationships between variables. Originality/value: This paper is one of the pioneering academic works to offer a novel perspective on moral elevation, exploring its manifestation at the collective level and elucidating the dynamics of its emergence and evolution within teams and groups in organizational settings. Our proposed framework explicates how moral norms, organizational symbols, social cohesion, emulation and their iterations allow individuals to transition from individual internalization of norms to collective aggregation of moral elevation.