Ethical Leadership Research Articles

Neo-Liberalism’s Shadows: Modern slavery in South African Higher Education

Neoliberal ideology globally prioritises competition and productivity over staff well-being in higher education, leading to exploitative practices and heightened stress among academic faculty, culminating in what can be termed modern academic slavery. This study investigates the contemporary impact of neoliberalism on South African universities, focussing on governance, funding and academic freedom, and how these factors contribute to deteriorating conditions for academic staff and toxic work environments. This research examines academic experiences in a South African urban higher education institution (HEI) utilizing a single-case study approach. It examines their context within institutional and societal trends. Using a single-case ideographic approach in a South African HEI, the study utilises detailed documentation, incident analysis and literature review to understand academic enslavement within the chosen HEI, contextualising the academic’s experiences within these broader institutional and societal trends. The findings reveal four key themes: moral disengagement, corporate malfeasance, exploitative labour practices, and labour coercion, illustrating the widespread exploitation of academic staff. The study advocates for urgent interventions to ensure respectful treatment, foster ethical work environments, and address disparities between administrators and faculty. It calls for autonomy, ethical leadership and a culture of inquiry in HEIs to combat modern academic slavery while acknowledging the need for further action and exploration.Contribution: This study underscores the current impact of neoliberalism on higher education in South Africa, exposing challenges for academic staff and advocating systemic reforms. It emphasises the necessity for future investigations into institutional accountability and strategies to enhance staff well-being in HEIs.

Organizational ethical pressure as a threat to employee health: The buffering roles of ethical leadership and employee ethical efficacy

AbstractCompetitive pressures, resource constraints, high shareholder/stakeholder expectations, and other dynamics may lead to organizations putting pressure on employees to act unethically to meet goals. Yet, the effects of this pressure on employee health and factors that can abate it are unclear. Based on the job demands‐resources model, this study examines whether, how, and when organizational ethical pressure harms employees' psychological and physical health and what factors can buffer its negative effects. According to the findings of a two‐wave lagged data study involving 212 healthcare employees, results show that organizational ethical pressure causes ethical strain in employees, resulting in both psychological and physical health problems, with these effects less pronounced when employees have higher levels of ethical efficacy. An integrated effect was also discovered, in which employees' ethical efficacy increases when led by a more ethical leader, thereby buffering the effect of ethical pressure on ethical strain and health problems. Overall, our research identifies organizational ethical pressure as a significant threat to employee health and provides preliminary approaches to mitigate its effects.

Successful School Principals Balancing Ethical, Personal and Collective—A Norwegian Case

Over the past two decades, there has been extensive research into what constitutes successful school principal leadership under the assumption that leaders’ practices are significant and context-dependent on their school organization. By investigating how successful principals balance their personal ethical leadership dispositions and their intention of sharing leadership, this paper aims to contribute to the knowledge of how school principals need to balance the ethical, personal, and collective as the top leader of the school. Findings from the interviews suggested that a central aspect in the Norwegian school principals’ characteristics of their leadership practices is student wellbeing and collaborative effort for school quality and student learning. Norwegian successful school principals seem to be relatively unaware of aspects of power use in their leadership practices. Dilemmas arise in the complexity of ensuring individual and collective effort and responsibility for the school to function in accordance with the societal mandate.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Leadership, Organizational Climate and Employer-Employee Relations in a Trading Company

Workers are essential for organizational vitality, playing a crucial role in sustainable expansion. This study, anchored in social exchange theory, investigates corporate social responsibility, ethical leadership, organizational climate, and employer-employee relations in a Trading Company. Using quantitative, descriptive, comparative, and correlational design with a sample size of 162 out of 279 employees, the study reveals significant correlations among key factors. Despite the company's excellence, the researcher suggests there's room for enhancement.

Ethical leadership and reporting behavior of employees: social cognitive perspective of morality on the bases of emotions

Ethical leadership and reporting behavior of employees: social cognitive perspective of morality on the bases of emotions

Overcoming organizational politics and unlocking meaningful work through ethical leadership

Overcoming organizational politics and unlocking meaningful work through ethical leadership

Anticipating financial distress: Leveraging financial information, financial ratios, and corporate governance for proactive risk management

This article presents significant findings from a logistic regression model that analyzes the factors contributing to corporate financial distress. It emphasizes the crucial role of financial information quality, financial ratios, and corporate governance in predicting financial distress. The study's results show that high-quality financial information can significantly reduce the likelihood of distress by enhancing investor confidence and facilitating access to capital. Effective corporate governance, on the other hand, can mitigate financial vulnerability through robust risk management and ethical leadership. The study also highlights the risk of distress associated with high debt levels, underscoring the importance of prudent debt management. Profitability, it finds, can bolster financial resilience by generating healthy cash flows. The study also identifies certain industries more susceptible to risk due to specific factors such as competition and technological disruptions. Interestingly, the study reveals that larger companies may present a slightly higher risk of distress due to the complexity of their management. In light of these findings, the study provides actionable recommendations for companies to enhance their financial reporting, adopt good governance practices, manage debt prudently, and assess sector risks to reduce the likelihood of financial distress, thereby empowering finance professionals, researchers, and stakeholders with practical tools to manage and mitigate financial risks effectively

Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Job Performance in Non-Profit Organizations of Pakistan: Mediating Role of Psychological Safety

This study aims to investigate the effect of ethical leadership on employee job performance and to examine the role of psychological safety as a mediator of this relationship. The sample comprised 170 employees from various NGOs in the region through a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a structural closed-ended self-administered questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used as data analysis techniques. The findings of the study revealed that ethical leadership significantly improved the job performance of employees by promoting a safe, secure, and healthy working environment. Psychological safety also mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and job performance. This study is novel because it focuses on an understudied and challenging environment with dynamic and complex political and social environments.

Dynamics of Public Participation on Sustainable Resource Management in County Government of Kericho, Kenya

Sustainable resource management involve managing resources in a way that their sources are not depleted; so that the future generations can also benefit from it. Africa is endowed with diverse and abundant natural resources and stands at a critical juncture where responsible and sustainable management of these resources is paramount for the continent's development. The Kenyan governments (national-level and county-level) recognize the need for sustainable resource management for the good of the citizens. In devolved government units in Kenya, sustainable resource management is a critical. This study sought to assess the dynamics of public participation on sustainable resource management in county government of Kericho, Kenya. The study was guided by Resource-based view theory, administrative theory, transformational leadership theory and the theory of Planned Behaviour. This study adopted a pragmatism approach that took a practical and flexible approach, focusing on the usefulness and applicability of research findings, rather than an all-or-nothing, mutually exclusive philosophical position. A descriptive research design with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data collections was adopted. The target population of the study comprised a total of 213 senior, middle and lower level management staff of the county government of Kericho. The Stratified random sampling was used to develop a sample from different management groups. A sample of 139 management staff was selected using Slovin’s formula. Reliability of the study was ensured by conducting a pilot study in the neighbouring County Government of Nakuru while context, content and criterion validity were ascertained by the researcher in the field of study. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics which described the nature of ethical leadership and sustainable resource management. Inferential statistics (Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis) were used to determine the nature of influence between the variables. This was done with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Qualitative data was analysed by themes and content analysis. The study findings revealed that, public participation had a statistically significant influence on sustainable resource management. The study concluded that there exists a strong and significant relationship between public participation (r=0.832 and p=0.000) and sustainable resource management in Kericho County, Kenya. The study recommends that in order to enhance public participation members of the public should be empowered by giving the information and documents containing information on development activities and legislations that require their input in advance so that they know and understand what they are coming to do in public forums.

Ethical Leadership Promotes Positive Work Outcomes Among Employees With Disabilities

People with disabilities are more likely to be both unemployed and under-employed compared to their non-disabled counterparts (Shahidi et al., 2023), and as such it is important to focus on what may make this cohort more likely to stay, and thrive, at work. Because research supports an association between leadership and employee behaviour (Domfeh et al., 2016), and given the characteristics of ethical leadership (i.e., treat people fairly, create inclusive environments where diversity is embraced; Walumbwa & Schaubroeck, 2009), this style of leadership may be especially important when it comes to employees with disabilities. Thus, the purpose of the current research is to examine the association between ethical leadership and turnover intentions and motivation to lead among employees with disabilities. More specifically, it is proposed that loneliness will moderate the relationship between ethical leadership and turnover intentions, and that self-compassion will moderate the relationship between ethical leadership and motivation to lead. This study consisted of 223 participants, recruited through Prolific (all of whom self-identified as having a disability and working with a leader). Results suggest that ethical leadership is negatively related to turnover intentions, and that loneliness moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee turnover intentions. Ethical leadership was not associated with motivation to lead, and self-compassion did not moderate this relationship. Investigating the effect that ethical leaders may have on employees with disabilities is an important avenue for future research, and has implications for organizations, leaders, and employees alike.

To lead or not to lead? A cultural examination of leadership in independent hotels

PurposeThis study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader, commitment, employee voice and empowerment in independent hotels across two contrasting Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) clusters: Germanic and Middle-Eastern clusters. It examines how national culture influences these relationships in the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 1,678 employees in independent hotels in the Germanic European cluster (Germany and the Netherlands) and the Middle-Eastern cluster (Qatar and Turkey) using selective and snowball sampling techniques. Hypotheses were tested using two-stage structural equation modelling.FindingsEthical leadership significantly affects employee voice in Germany and the Netherlands but not in Qatar and Turkey. Authentic leadership positively influences employee voice in Qatar, Turkey and Germany but does not significantly impact trust in leader in any of the four countries. The study underscores the role of cultural dimensions, particularly power distance, in shaping these relationships.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of ethical and authentic leadership on key organisational variables in culturally diverse contexts within the hospitality industry. The findings highlight the necessity of considering national culture in leadership practices and suggest practical implications for independent hotels to adapt their leadership approaches to enhance employee outcomes. Future research should explore cultural dimensions as moderators in organisational relationships.

Inspiring Students’ Moral Imagination: Mission and Process

In diverse academic environments, there is an evocative moral question that is tacitly held but rarely voiced: “Who matters?” The answer reflects the circle of moral concern that educators and students hold for themselves, their school, and their community. The enduring challenge confronting educators is how to inspire students to enlarge their circles of moral concern through instructional practices, including: Teacher as Moral Leader, Self-Governing Professionalism, Values-Based Student Conduct, and Teaching and Learning through Visual Imagery.

Examining Psychological and Physical Distance and Ethical Leadership During a Pandemic: A Two-Sample Study of the Effects on Ratings of Crisis Leader Effectiveness, Well-Being, and Improved Business-Related Outcomes

Amid the challenges posed by COVID-19, this research focuses on the role of ethical leadership in shaping perceptions of crisis leaders’ effectiveness, personal well-being, and business-related outcomes. In this two-sample study, we contrast political leadership at the highest level examining the ethical leadership of a distal executive (President Biden) and a proximal executive (CEO leadership) – advancing literature about why top management ethical leadership matters, the importance of moral and duty-based views, and distal or proximal leadership. This research expands our understanding of ethical leadership and prompts rethinking leadership roles, echoing the urgency to prioritize ethical leadership given its profound impact.

The Spiralling of Corporate Corruption and the Plummeting of Corporate Governance and Ethical Leadership in African Institutions

Generally, several factors around the corporate world influence different nations technologically, socially, economically, and politically. Specifically, this paper focuses on the African continent’s politics concerning corporate corruption, corporate governance, and ethical leadership. This study aims to critically reflect on and evaluate the significance of curbing and combating corruption, promoting governance and ethics in Africa, and furthering and practising those principles. It employed a theoretical, qualitative content analysis approach in which a critical evaluation of relevant in-depth literature review was used and conducted to achieve the study objective. The results of this study revealed that: Incompetent and unethical leaders succumb to corruption, causing Africa's corruption to spiral out of control. Competent and ethical leaders, on the other hand, resist corruption; African leaders and authorities should take steps to fight corruption through ethics and governance; African corporations have become increasingly corrupt; corporate governance and ethical leadership have declined in Africa; African politicians have uncurbed power to advance their private gains, and finally, African leaders need to change their mindsets and cultures to achieve economic growth. This study emphasizes and reiterates the importance of dealing effectively with corporate corruption and advancing governance and ethics to benefit the African population and the continent. It further provides a broad and deeper understanding of corruption, ethics, and governance. The conceptual, strategic model provided by this study may be selected and used by African leaders, authorities, boards of directors, shareholders, and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), as a tool to address corruption in African organizations and institutions.

Leadership Lessons: Special Issue of English Leadership Quarterly Features Affiliate Presidents

Leadership Lessons: Special Issue of English Leadership Quarterly Features Affiliate Presidents

Leading with Heart and Soul: 30 Inspiring Lessons of Faith, Learning, and Leadership for Educators

Leading with Heart and Soul: 30 Inspiring Lessons of Faith, Learning, and Leadership for Educators

Assessing the Level of Ethical Leadership from the Nurses’ Perspectives

Assessing the Level of Ethical Leadership from the Nurses’ Perspectives

The Influence of Ethical Leadership, Teacher Capacity Building, and School Culture on the Performance of Madrasah Tsanawiyah Teachers

This research is based on problems related to teacher performance seen from the perspective of the influence of ethical leadership, teacher capacity building, and school culture. The research objective is to describe: and school culture on teacher performance. (1) ethical leadership has a significant effect on school culture, (2) teacher capacity building has a significant effect on school culture (3) ethical leadership has a significant effect on teacher performance, (4) teacher capacity building leadership has a significant effect on teacher performance, ( 5) school culture has a significant effect on teacher performance, (6) ethical leadership has a significant effect on teacher performance through school culture (7) teacher capacity building has a significant effect on teacher performance through school culture and (8) the simultaneous influence of ethical leadership, teacher capacity building on teacher performance. The research method used is quantitative research using an expostfacto approach. The research population was 757 madrasah tsanawiyah teachers in Batubara Regency with a selected sample of 238 spread across 53 madrasas. The data collection instrument is a questionnaire designed with a Likert scale. The research hypothesis was tested using path analyst data analysis techniques. The research results show: (1) ethical leadership has a significant effect on school culture by 45.00%, (2) teacher capacity building has a significant effect on school culture by 66.90%, (3) ethical leadership has a significant effect on teacher performance of 33.00%, (4) teacher capacity building has a significant effect on teacher performance of 59.80%, (5) school culture has a significant effect on teacher performance of 37.50%, (6) ethical leadership has a significant effect on teacher performance through school culture was 61.40%, (7) teacher capacity building had a significant effect on teacher performance through school culture by 65.60%, and (8) ethical leadership, teacher capacity building, school culture simultaneously had an effect on performance Teacher. The findings of this research have the implication that efforts to improve teacher school culture can be done by increasing teacher capacity building among Madrasah Tsanawiyah teachers.

How ‘Ethical Leadership and Work Climate’ Drive Job Satisfaction: Insights from Banjarmasin’s Health Department

This research aims to analyze the influence of ethical leadership (X1) and ethical work climate (X2) on job satisfaction (Y) in employees of the Banjarmasin City Health Service, South Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. This quantitative research used a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach using SmartPLS. The population in this study was all employees of the Banjarmasin City Health Service, totaling 92 people. The total sampling technique of non-probability sampling was used. Findings showed that ethical leadership positively affects job satisfaction among Banjarmasin City Health Service employees. Furthermore, it showed that ethical work climate positively affects job satisfaction among Banjarmasin City Health Service employees.

Improving organizational agility through ethical leadership, employee job satisfaction and Islamic OCB

In the contemporary business realm, characterized by dynamic shifts and technological progress, agility has emerged as a vital concept to enable businesses to navigate and thrive amidst uncertainty and intensified competition. Key to fostering Agility is garnering comprehensive support from all stakeholders, notably organizational leaders and employees. This research aims to explore several factors contributing to Organizational Agility, including Ethical Leadership, Islamic OCB, and Employee Job Satisfaction. Adopting a quantitative methodology, the research focuses on employees and managers in the café and restaurant businesses in Yogyakarta, renowned for its dynamic nature and competitive environment. With a total sample of 179 managers and employees, participants were selected through purposive sampling criteria, targeting establishments operational for at least one year, employing a minimum of ten staff, and respondents with tenure exceeding six months in supervisory, managerial, or ownership capacities. Primary data collection utilized questionnaires, and structural equation modeling via AMOS software facilitated analysis. Results reveal a positive correlation between Ethical Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction, Islamic OCB, and Organizational Agility. Additionally, Employee Job Satisfaction and Islamic OCB were found to impact Organizational Agility positively. Thus, integrating Islamic OCB into business practices offers a promising avenue for enhancing Agility, particularly in Muslim-majority regions.