Ethical leadership, leader-member exchange and voice behavior

Abstract

Highlighting the implications of ethical leadership, the study examines the role of ethical leadership in predicting employee voice behavior. The study also investigates the mediating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) and moderating role of emotional intelligence. A study was carried out on a sample included a dyad of 618 employees and their direct supervisors in Vietnamese service companies. The findings indicate that ethical leaders can foster leader-member exchange that promotes employee voice behavior. Further, a significant moderating role of emotional intelligence was found in the relationship between ethical leadership and leader-member exchange. The findings reveal that emotional intelligence moderates the effect of ethical leadership on leader-member exchange in a way that the relationship is strengthened when emotional intelligence is higher than lower. Implications for future research, theory, and practice are discussed.