Ethical Leadership Style Research Articles

Leadership Styles and Employee Performance in Cameroon: The Case of St. Veronica Medical Centre

This study investigated the role of leadership styles on employee performance in Cameroon. It was anchored on the premise that leaders exhibit a series of leadership behaviours with remarkable influence on the output of employees. Specifically, the study identified the leadership behaviours exhibited by managers in St. Veronica Medical Centre in enhancing employee performance and the specific behaviours that affect the performance of these employees. Methodologically, the study employed a quantitative approach which benefited from a descriptive survey design. Data were gleaned from the administration of questionnaires to 100 personnel in St. Veronica Medical Centre via simple random sampling. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26 statistical package. From the regression analysis, this study found that democratic, transformational and ethical leadership styles had a significant positive effect on performance at 95% confidence level. Democratic and transformational leadership styles were the most predominantly used styles and did not differ significantly with respect to sex. Authoritative leadership had the least impact on performance proven by its insignificant and negative beta coefficient. The conclusions of this study commend the management of St. Veronica Medical Centre for the use of transformational and ethical leadership styles which help build trust, inspire shared vision and encourage creativity. Hence it was recommended that leaders of this institution should pay more attention to developing efficient team work and express warm concern and trust to co-workers through transformational leadership behavior. Nevertheless, other leadership styles could be implemented occasionally for better performance.

The impact of ethical leadership on employee engagement within a South African public higher education institution

Ethical leadership has become a fundamental building block amongst the corporate organizations globally. However, minimal research evidence was found from a higher education institution (HEI) perspective, including the evidence from a South African higher education setting. Due to the lack of research linking the ethical leadership`s style and employee`s engagement (EE) at higher education institutions, it becomes important to find out if ethical leadership can positively promote the EE, which, in turn, can promote various other benefits at the institutions. Therefore, this study aims to examine this from the perspective of ethical leadership style and its impact on the EE. This study focused on a large HEI (Higher Education institution) based in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Quantitative data collection employed the probability sampling targeting 420 employees. Questionnaires were used as data collection tools and obtained a response rate of 312 (74%). The results show that the average mean value for EE (M = 2.87) was weak in comparison to the measurement standard of 3.00, which implied a lack of EE between leadership and employees. In addition, the results indicate that ethical leadership can positively influence the EE (M = 4.27), thus, indicating the need for more ethical leadership at this institution. Furthermore, the current lack of employee`s engagement by leaders that do not exhibit the ethical leadership style can result in employees` disengagement at the institution.

How an ethical leadership style impacts the elusive job satisfaction quest

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on forming a conceptual framework that links ethical leadership (ELS) – via the concepts of psychological safety and Green Human Resource Management (Green HRM) – to job satisfaction. Although evidence for ELS directly impacting job satisfaction was not found within the study's survey results, it was clear that Green HRM and psychological safety are both influential factors in the interrelationship of ELS and job satisfaction. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Study of Pakistan consumer goods company shows positive effect of managers' ethical behaviour

Purpose The authors wanted to analyze their belief that an ethical leadership style in managers would improve both organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and creative performance (CP) in their employees. Design/methodology/approach To test their hypotheses, the authors collected data from a large multinational company in Pakistan in the consumer goods sector. The HR department allowed the authors to approach the staff directly and ask them to participate. Employees were asked to fill in a questionnaire containing statements about demographics, ELS and PCF. All questionnaires were submitted in English. A total of 500 questionnaires were administered and 248 were completed. Findings The research demonstrated the effect on both organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and creative performance (CP). The authors showed how psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) was the mediating mechanism that explained the link. Originality/value Managers should pay close attention to the practical implications. It was clear employees paid close attention to their leaders’ attitudes so managers needed to set the right tone. If they showed good behaviour, it encouraged followers to do the same. The research also showed that ethical leaders were better at fulfilling the “psychological contract” of employees. When this was the case, an employee’s sense of commitment was enhanced as they expected their needs to be met in the future.

The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Innovative Behavior with Mediating Role of Job Independence

Background and Aim: Organizational managers are seeking strategies for innovative behaviors and enhancing job independence. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of ethical leadership on innovative behaviors with mediating role of the job independence. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-correlational study based on structural equation modeling performed on 177 experts of Alborz Electricity Distribution Company. Sampling was done by simple random method. The Brown et al ’ s ethical leadership (2005), Janssen et al ’ s innovative behaviors (2000) and De Jong and Hartog ’ s job independence questionnaires were used for data collection. Data analysis was done by Spearman correlation test and structural equation modeling using Smart PLS2 and SPSS 23 soft wares. Findings: There was a significant correlation between ethical leadership, innovative behaviors and job independence (P=0.01). The direct effect of ethical leadership on innovative behavior (β=0.27 , t=2.47) and job independence (β=0.915 , t=18.91), and the effect of job independence on innovative behavior (β=0.65 , t=7.40) was also significant. The indirect effect of ethical leadership on innovative behavior with mediating role of job independence was significant using the Sobel test (β=0.22 , t=2.73). Conclusion: Applying ethical leadership style can pave the way for job independence and increase innovative behaviors. Therefore, in order to enhance the level of employees' job independence, it is recommended that managers adhere to moral norms such as honesty, fairness, commitment and responsibility in interacting with the employees. Please cite this article as: Kashefi M, Rajabi Farjad H, Tootian Isfahani S. The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Innovative Behavior with Mediating Role of Job Independence. Bioethics Journal 2019; 9(31): 85-96.

The impact of ethical leadership style on job satisfaction

PurposeCombining two distinct streams of research studies in leadership and organizational management i.e. ethical leadership and Green human resource management (Green HRM) practices, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ethical leadership style (ELS) on employees’ job satisfaction (JS) with a mediating role of Green HRM and psychological safety in health sector organizations.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology was adopted to achieve the aims of this study. Data were collected through pencil/paper questionnaires from the respondents (n=177) working in a public sector healthcare organization of Pakistan. Reliability and validity of measures were tested via AMOS (18) software. Results of proposed hypotheses were tested via Preacher and Hayes (2008) macro of mediation.FindingsContrary to the first hypothesis, no evidence of the direct impact of ELS on employees’ JS was found. However, the mediating roles of Green HRM and psychological safety were supported by the results.Originality/valueThrough this study, the authors have addressed three key gaps in the extant literature of ELS and corporate social responsibility, i.e. exploring the underlying mechanism through which ELS leads to important outcomes with two novel mediators, i.e. Green HRM and psychological safety, the role of ELS in promoting Green HRM in organizations and evidence from a public sector health organization in a developing country, Pakistan. Implications of the study are discussed.

Enhancing the lodging experience through ethical leadership

PurposeGrounded in ethical decision-making theory, this paper aims to develop and empirically tests a model that examines the relationships between ethical leadership, customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit, commitment to service quality and service sabotage among customer-contact service employees in the lodging industry.Design/methodology/approachData were electronically collected from a national survey of 316 hotel/motel customer-contact employees.FindingsResults revealed that perceived ethical leadership behavior is positively related to customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit and commitment to service quality. Customer orientation is positively related to commitment to service quality and mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage. Ethical values person-organization fit mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is cross-sectional, limited to customer-contact employees in lodging settings and examines merely the employee perspective.Practical implicationsLodging leaders can benefit significantly in many areas by practicing ethical leadership. For example, service sabotage behaviors can be reduced indirectly by aligning the customer-contact employees’ ethical values with those of the organization, as well as when this employee is customer-oriented. An ethical leadership style also can positively influence customer-contact employees’ customer orientation and increase their commitment to service quality. Lodging properties must hire and cultivate managers and supervisors with ethical values.Originality/valueThis research helps to better understand leadership behaviors useful for improving the ethical conduct and performance of customer-contact employees in the lodging industry, while simultaneously improving their commitment to service quality and guest-oriented behavior.

Roles of Leadership Styles in Corporate Social Responsibility to Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

This study aims to investigate the interplay between leadership styles and institutional corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Field survey of employee’s reveals that firms with greater ethical leadership are more likely to engage in institutional CSR practices with NGOs, whereas transformational leadership is associated relatively less with such practices. This research highlights the differential roles that ethical and transformational leadership styles play for a firm’s institutional CSR practices with NGOs and has significant implications for theory and practice.

Bent and Fight, Survive and Succeed; Exploring the Relationship Among Conflict, Ethics, Resilience and Commitment

The study aimed at examining the effect of conflict management and ethical leadership on employee resilience and organizational commitment of the employees in the organizational setting of Pakistan. With quantitative approach, survey method was used. Data was collected on adopted instruments from 326 employees of private organizations through questionnaire. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling was used to diagnose the data and test hypothesis on Smart-PLS. Bootstrapping was also performed for data analysis. The results show that there is positive effect of conflict management on employee resilience and organizational commitment. It was revealed that when leaders adopt ethical leadership style, employee tend to be more resilient in their work and their commitment towards that organization enhances. Organization should bread better conflict management policies and cultivate ethical leadership to mitigate the turn-over, retain their best talent and augment their resilient abilities to face hardships in this ever-changing world.

Transformational leadership and ethical leadership: their significance in the mental healthcare system.

This article critically compares transformational leadership and ethical leadership. It discusses the differences, similarities, weaknesses and strengths of the two styles. The importance of strong leadership in meeting an array of challenges and changes occurring in the NHS is highlighted. The article explores the influence of transformational and ethical leadership styles on the role of nurse leaders, particularly those in mental health, and also the influence of emotional intelligence in leadership. Over the last five decades, there has been a transformation in mental health, but more needs to be done to ensure everyone can access high-quality care when they need it. Transformational leadership remains important in such an ever-changing healthcare environment, but ethical behaviour should be its base.

Do as I say and do as I do? The mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment in the relationship between ethical leadership and employee extra-role performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ethical leadership on two important employee extra-role behaviors; organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and creative performance (CP). Drawing on social exchange and organizational support theories, psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) was proposed as the mediating mechanism explaining this relationship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via questionnaire from 248 employee-supervisor/colleague dyads employed in a large fast-moving consumer goods multinational company in Pakistan. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsSupervisors’ ethical leadership style (ELS) was positively related to employees’ OCBs and CP. The predicted mediating role of PCF in the relationship between ELS and extra-role behaviors was also supported.Research limitations/implicationsWhile it benefitted from dyadic data, a significant limitation of this study is the cross-sectional nature of the data. A noteworthy implication of the findings is the important role that supervisors’ ELS plays in employees’ behaviors within the organization. Furthermore, it appears that ethical leadership is a significant factor in employees’ evaluations of PCF and their ensuing behavioral responses.Originality/valueThis study contributes to addressing the inconsistent findings in prior research on ethical leadership. An additional novel contribution is that it identifies PCF as an underlying mechanism linking ethical leadership and employees’ extra-role behaviors.

Angels and Demons: The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Machiavellian Employees' Work Behaviors.

Machiavellians can be characterized as goal-driven people who are willing to use all possible means to achieve their ends, and employees scoring high on Machiavellianism are thus predisposed to engage in unethical and organizationally undesirable behaviors. We propose that leadership can help to manage such employees in a way that reduces undesirable and increases desirable behaviors. Studies on the effects of leadership styles on Machiavellian employees are scarce. Here we investigate the relationship of ethical leadership with prosocial (helping colleagues or affiliative OCB) and antisocial work behavior (knowledge hiding and emotional manipulation) for employees who are higher or lower in Machiavellianism. The effect of an ethical leadership style on employees predisposed to engage in unethical behaviors has not been investigated so far. In a cross-sectional multi-source survey study among a sample of 159 unique leader–follower dyads, we find interaction effects between leadership and employee Machiavellianism for prosocial and antisocial work behavior. As expected, employee Machiavellianism comes with reduced helping behavior and increased knowledge hiding and emotional manipulation, but only when ethical leadership is low. Under highly ethical leaders, such increases in organizationally undesirable behaviors of Machiavellian employees do not occur. While the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions about the direction of causality, findings of our study suggest to further explore (and from a practical perspective to invest in) ethical leadership as a potential remedy for undesirable behavior of Machiavellian employees.

Relationship between ethical leadership and organisational commitment of nurses with perception of patient safety culture

To determine the relationship between ethical leadership, organisational commitment of nurses and their perception of patient safety culture. Patient safety, organisational commitment and ethical leadership styles are very important for improving the quality of nursing care. In this descriptive-correlational study, 340 nurses were selected using random sampling from the hospitals in Tehran in 2016. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS v.20. There was a significant positive relationship between the ethical leadership of nursing managers, perception of patient safety culture and organisational commitment. The regression analysis showed that nursing managers' ethical leadership and nurses' organisational commitment is a predictor of patient safety culture and confirms the relationship between the variables. Regarding the relationship between the nurses' safety performance, ethical leadership and organisational commitment, it seems that the optimisation of the organisational commitment and adherence to ethical leadership by administrators and managers in hospitals could improve the nurses' performance in terms of patient safety. Implementing ethical leadership seems to be one feasible strategy to improve nurses' organisational commitment and perception of patient safety culture. Efforts by nurse managers to develop ethical leadership reinforce organisational commitment to improve patient outcomes. Nurse managers' engagement and performance in this process is vital for a successful result.

Impact of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Safety Performance: The Mediating Role of Safety Culture and Safety Consciousness

We examined a largely ignored but imperative dimension of safety literature by testing the impact of ethical leadership style on organizational safety performance. We also tested dual mediating paths of safety culture and safety consciousness in the relationship between ethical leadership style and organizational safety consciousness. Data (N = 230) were collected from a large public sector telecom company in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the reliability and validity of the study scales and model fit. Preacher and Hayes’s (2008) macro of mediation was employed to test the direct and indirect paths proposed in the study. The findings suggest that ethical leadership has a positive impact on organizational safety performance. Partial mediating roles of safety culture and safety consciousness were also found between the dependent and independent variables. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Relationship between Ethical Leadership and Job Involvement by the Mediating Role of Leader-Member Interaction

Background and Aim : Regarding the effect of ethical leadership style on employee involvement, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between ethical leadership and job engagement by mediating role of leader-member interaction. Materials and Methods: This study descriptive-correlational research with structural equation model was done on 162 teachers of secondary schools in District 2 of Zahedan City. The sample size was estimated based on the Cochran formula and stratified-random sampling method was done. For collecting data, standard questionnaires of ethical leadership, Job involvement and leader-member interaction were used. For data analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation model were used with application of SPSS 21 and Lisrel softwares. Findings: There was a significant correlation between ethical leadership and job involvement, ethical leadership with leader-member interaction, and interaction of leader-member with job involvement was significantly correlated (p<0.01). The direct effect of ethical leadership on job involvement was not significant (β=0.19, t=1.54). The direct effect of ethical leadership on the leader-member interaction (β=0.44, t=2.69) and direct effect of the leader-member interaction on job involvement (β=0.24, t=2.13) was significant. The indirect effect of ethical leadership on job involvement with the mediating role of leader-member interaction (β=105.53) was also significant. Conclusion: Applying the ethical leadership style can provide a basis for improving the leader-member interactions and consequently, increasing employee engagement. It is suggested that ethical managers observe moral norms and virtues such as honesty, fairness, commitment and responsibility in interaction with employees. Please cite this article as: Jashireh M, Nastiezaie N. The Relationship between Ethical Leadership and Job Involvement by the Mediating Role of Leader-Member Interaction. Bioethics Journal 2018; 8(29): 7-18.

New employee intention to leave and consequent work performance: Does leadership style matter?

We examined how leadership style affects the relationship between new employee intention to leave (NEIL) and the consequent work performance of that employee. We focused on NEIL with employees who had begun work at a large hospitality firm in China, and tested the consequences of leadership style on their work performance. We compared the moderating effects of abusive and ethical leadership styles on the relationship between NEIL and the employees' consequent work performance. We collected survey data from responses from a sample of 355 leader–employee dyads, with 61 leaders supervising the groups of employees. Results showed that NEIL had a negative effect on the employees' consequent work performance. In addition, an abusive leadership style increased this negative effect, whereas an ethical leadership style helped to neutralize the effect.

Ethical Leadership Style and Its Impact on Decision‐Making

The ethical failures of organizational leaders have led to the development of instruments seeking to measure ethical leadership. These instruments have primarily focused on followers’ evaluation of ethical leadership attributes of their leaders. Often leaders find themselves faced with making challenging ethical decisions. In the current article, we present a validated leadership self‐assessment tool that measures leader’s preferred ethical leadership style. The current article concludes that, when faced with making a decision addressing an ethical dilemma, leaders prefer a particular ethical leadership style. Knowledge of ethical leadership style is beneficial for leaders to understand the process they utilize when faced with difficult choices. This tool may be useful in developing and educating leaders, teams, and organizations to make better decisions, thereby reducing incidents of poor ethical choices.

Ways to maximize the triple bottom line of the telecommunication industry in Malaysia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the potentials of spiritual leadership in maximizing the triple bottom line (TBL) (people, planet, and the profit) of the telecommunication industry in Malaysia. The research was conducted as a quantitative study based on the SEM Smart-PLS on four telecommunication organizations in Malaysia that represent the Malaysian telecommunication industry. The research was intended to prove that organizations can still develop a business model that adopts and adapts to spiritual, ethical, and moral leadership style as well as guarantees employees’ well-being, organizational sustainability, and social responsibility without sacrificing its profitability by acknowledging the spiritual impact on management and employees’ performance.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted using the spiritual leadership survey developed by Louis W. Fry (2010) called the spiritual leadership balance scorecard that measured the spiritual leadership dimensions, spiritual well-being against the measure for TBL of productivity, organizational commitment, and life satisfaction (Fry and Altman, 2013; Fry et al., 2010). A set of questionnaire was developed that combines prior established instruments, and sent to 140 employees working in the telecommunication organizations in Malaysia on a purposive sampling method, based on the SEM-PLS approach (Hair, 2010).FindingsThe research has proven that organizations can still boosts its profitability by adopting to business models that acknowledge the importance of human values, the emotional part and the spiritual part. As the research has surprisingly proven that by having spiritual leaders on premise, a telecommunication provider will be able to awaken a sense that one’s life has meaning, not just to his or her own selves, but to the community at large as well. The spiritual leaders are able to influence a sense that one’s life has meaning and wanting to make differences in others life as when the employees, through the inner life, hope and faith given by the leaders in striving for the visions with altruistic love.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the study to include cultural values as a contributing factor to the spiritual values could have been an avenue for future research on the influence of spiritual leadership on the TBL of such organizations. As such, this may be the reason why the employees of the telecommunication organizations in Malaysia are scoring low in developing a sense of calling, when due to the culture of being Malaysian, scoring high in Hofstede’s theory of culture on uncertainty avoidance and power distance (Ting and Ying, 2013).Practical implicationsAdapting to spiritual leadership facilitate employee engagement by tackling the soft part of human resources, the inner sense. The inner sense is able to awaken the conscience and compassion, which can lead to effective working attitude, commitment, and engagement as reciprocal effects.Social implicationsSpiritual leadership is the agenda to win back employees’ trust and confidence to the organizations which have proven to cause mishap in the current economic trend. The values brought by spiritual leadership are able to balance between work and life and in fulfilling the human needs to feel appreciated, regarded and respected and that being human, the urge to be connected to a community is unavoidable and to feel happy with what they are doing is the food for the soul.Originality/valueNo study has ever been conducted in the Malaysian context with regard to spiritual leadership and at the same time employing the balance scorecard developed academically into a practical context. On the other hand, the study also proved to be the first with regard to scientifically proving the importance of spiritual values to leadership style, workplace experience as well as to organizational performance in terms of job satisfaction, productivity, and satisfaction in life.

Subjektyviai suvokiamo etiško vadovavimo stiliaus reikšmė polinkio per daug dirbti ir profesinio pervargimo sąsajoms

Background. Academic literature has shown that working conditions created by ethical leaders might have positive as well as negative consequences for the employees. Research has revealed that it might contribute to employees“™ workaholism and occupational burnout, but this relationship is still controversial. Purpose. The aim of the current study was to investigate the significance of a perceived ethical leadership style for the relationship between employees“™ workaholism and occupational burnout. Method. The study involved 302 (41 men and 261 women) employees working in different Lithuanian organizations. A perceived ethical leadership style was assessed with the help of Brown, Trevino, & Harrison“™s (2005) questionnaire. The 10-item Dutch Work Addiction Scale developed by Schaufeli, Taris, & Bakker (2009) was used for the measurement of workaholism. Occupational burnout was measured using Copenhagen Burnout Inventory by Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen, & Christensen (2005). Results. The results revealed that workaholism, personal and work-related burnout of employees who consider their leaders as more ethical is lower than of those who consider their leaders to be less ethical. Relationship between client-related burnout and excessive work of the employees who consider their leaders as more ethical is weaker than of those, who consider their leaders to be less ethical. Conclusions. Overall, the findings support that employee attitudes towards their leader are important for the occupational burnout and proneness to workaholism. Therefore, an ethical leadership style must be considered when addressing physical and psychological well-being of employees.

An analysis of the relationship between managers’ ethical leadership style with teachers’ organizational commitment and job burnout

The present research was conducted with the aim of exposition of the relationship between managers’ ethical leadership style with teachers’ organizational commitment and burnout. The study was an applied and descriptive research. Statistical population included all teachers of guidance school in district four of Tehran which amounted 744 teachers of which 260 teachers (males=177 and females=83) were selected based on Morgan’s table. Sampling method was stratified random sampling based on their gender. For collecting data, three questionnaires, namely job burnout (Maslach & Jackson,1981), organizational commitment (Allen & Mayer, 1990), and ethical leadership which was developed by the researchers came into use. Reliability of the three questionnaires were acceptable and for analyzing the obtained data, the statistical methods of Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression were used. The results showed that the managers’ ethical leadership style had a positive relationship with the teachers’ organizational commitment and a negative relationship with their burnout. Following this, the results of regression analysis indicated that 64.1 percent of the changes in teachers’ organizational commitment and 48.3 percent of the changes in their burnout could be explained by the managers’ ethical leadership style.