Does Relational Ethics in Family Influence the Relationship between Ethical Leadership & Turnover Intention?

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed frequent job changes for the new generations. These changes have been coupled with a corresponding trend toward greater employment possibilities and availability of new positions. In this regard, it has become a new normal for employees to regularly change jobs and positions. On the other hand, there is an agreement within the literature (e.g., Ongori, 2007) that minimizing turnover of employees is critical for organizations due to the potential costs of losing talent and experience. In this research, our overreaching objective was to examine the role of ethical leadership over employees’ intention to leave and to introduce relational ethics as a moderating factor on this relationship. The findings revealed the considerable impact of perceptions of ethical leadership on employees’ intentions to leave. In other words, the results showed the explanatory effects of ethical leadership on employees’ turnover intention. In this regard, this study enhances our understanding with regard to turnover intention. On the other hand, contrary to our expectations, no moderating effect with respect to relational ethics was observed. Our findings underline the critical role ethical leaders have on employees’ intentions to leave their organizations.