The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Employee‟s Virtuous Behavior – A Study of Marketing Agencies in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

This study examined the effect of ethics-based leadership on employee virtuous-ethical behavior with an aim to improve the ethical behaviors among employees in the marketing agencies in Ho Chi Minh City. Qualitative method was applied and questionnaire survey was directly delivered to 283 respondents. This study argued that in order to increase employee virtuous-ethical behavior, marketing agencies should do the followings a) conduct the ethical course in their educational program, b) emphasize the people have ethically behavior and make them good examples the ethical behavior roles model, c) add the ethical codes and check if the leaders follow these codes. Besides, the empirical results showed that the employee virtuous-ethical behavior was directly affected by factors of ethical leadership, inspirational motivation, contingent reward ethical leadership, ethical promotion focus, and ethical prevention focus. In addition, the factors of ethical leadership and contingent reward ethical leadership indirectly affected employee virtuous-ethical behavior.