ABSTRACT
Unethical behavior is widely observed in the service industry. In particular, the hotel industry creates a convenient environment for unethical behavior due to its nature. Therefore, examining antecedents of unethical behavior in the context of the hotel industry creates value for researchers and practitioners. This research aims to reveal the relationships between work overload, pay dissatisfaction and unethical behaviors. For this purpose, the mediating role of pay dissatisfaction was examined. The data used to test the research hypotheses were obtained from employees of four and five-star hotels in İstanbul. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research model. According to the findings, work overload positively and significantly affected pay dissatisfaction. Besides, the work overload increased unethical behaviors through pay dissatisfaction. In other words, the findings showed that work overload promotes pay dissatisfaction and pay dissatisfaction increased unethical behaviors (abuse resources, theft, corruption, deception). Accordingly, the full mediating role of pay dissatisfaction in the effect of work overload on unethical behaviors was verified. Considering that unethical behaviors are widely observed in the hotel industry, this research is expected to contribute to the literature.