Background: Some people, after doing the initial unethical behavior, become consistent with such behavior and easily commit further unethical behaviors. On the other hand, others regret after the first unethical behavior, and seek to compensate for their unethical behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of identity and ethical intelligence in the incidence of adaptive and authorized behavior.
Method: The method of this research is descriptive survey. This research consists of two separate studies in the accounting profession and audit profession. The statistical society in the accounting profession includes accounting students of the faculty of economics and management of Tehran Science Research Branch with a sample of 242 people and in the audit profession includes auditors of supreme audit court of Iran with a statistical sample of 217 people and sampling in both researches was conducted by simple random sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed by simultaneous and step-by-step discriminant analysis with SPSS software.
Results: Findings show individuals with higher ethical identity and intelligence end or curtail their unethical behaviors after initial unethical behavior.
Conclusion: Identity and ethical intelligence play an important role in adaptive and authorized behavior. Organizations can use personality traits in employing their personnel, especially in sensitive financial and supervisory posts.