Background: It is argued that fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and its technologies need not just ethical leadership but also a more effective kind of leadership known as responsible leadership to be successfully implemented and adopted. Technology has the potential to enhance significantly existing service delivery mechanisms.Aim: This research examines the 4IR through the perspective of responsible leadership of senior managers in public administration, a cornerstone of public sector ethics at the helm of public institutions.Setting: This study focusses on the South African public sector in general with a consideration of a few public services.Methods: A qualitative research approach was used in the study, and the study reviewed the literature on the phenomenon under investigation. The reviewed literature consisted of secondary sources of data such as peer-reviewed articles, information on credible websites, scholarly books, and institutional and technical research reports.Results: This research suggests that leadership that is not responsible among South African administrative officer-bearers is to blame for the country’s chronic service delivery problems. In addition to influencing the job satisfaction of those directly under the leader’s supervision, responsible leadership reflects the authority the leader holds, can reduce unethical behaviour among the major stakeholders and reflects the leader’s moral compass.Conclusion: The study concluded that ineffective leadership among South African government officials is to blame for the country’s chronic service delivery problems.Contribution: This article seeks to contribute to the continuing discussions about the significance of innovation and leadership in the period of the 4IR.

This narrative review examines leadership, public ethics, and accountability frameworks in government institutions, aiming to synthesize current evidence and highlight research gaps. Literature was sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, and Google Scholar using keywords such as ethical leadership, public sector ethics, and accountability frameworks. Studies from the past decade were prioritized, covering both qualitative and quantitative evidence. Findings indicate that ethical leadership fosters integrity, strengthens accountability, and enhances public trust by modeling values that shape ethical organizational cultures (Demir et al., 2023; Wright et al., 2016). Accountability mechanisms—compliance-based, integrity-driven, and hybrid—are most effective when supported by political will, robust regulation, and participatory governance (Reddick et al., 2024; Sebastián et al., 2023). Organizational culture plays a central role in shaping ethical behavior, while gender diversity in leadership promotes inclusivity and public confidence (Mousa et al., 2021; Bastani et al., 2020). Despite these insights, research is constrained by reliance on case studies, self-reported measures, and limited comparative analysis. Political and cultural contexts significantly influence the effectiveness of ethics and accountability policies, yet cross-country and longitudinal studies remain scarce. The review concludes that integrating ethical leadership, accountability frameworks, organizational culture, and gender diversity is vital for resilient governance. Strengthening these areas can restore public trust, reinforce institutional legitimacy, and provide a foundation for sustainable and ethical governance in diverse contexts.

Building capacity for ethical praxis within the South Australian Public Service is vital to those who serve in the public interest as with the community it serves. The Mixed Method research results reported within this article seek to expose previously unknown knowledge about ritual, oaths, and building capacity for ethical praxis for those employed in administrative tiers of employment, ranging from ASO1 to ASO8, MAS1 to MAS3, PO1 to PO6, and SAES1 to SAES2 within the South Australian public sector. Finding existing ways of improving public sector ethics in South Australia through ritual, memory, and oaths was non-existent, given ethics sensitivity and employee scepticism. No researcher had previously investigated oaths and their impact on individual attitude within the Australian or South Australian Public Service. An outcome of this original research study was the composition of the Lewis Oath theory. The specifically designed hypothetical oath tested was one way of contributing to understanding and subsequently improving public sector ethics. Furthermore, other acknowledged methods for preventing unethical behaviour include, yet are not limited to, the improvement in organisational culture and ethos. Social science researchers and government must recognise the underlying sentiment and attitude of individuals and the collective society if ethical praxis is to be achieved within this context.

Globalisation of public service delivery practices must overcome cultural and ethical barriers in their diversity. The pervasive Christian gospel and Islamic religion are believed to be concerned more in spirituality and less concerned with governance and political systems. The objective of this study is to expound the dilemma facing an ethical public service delivery system and to suggest possible solutions. The research methodology is a qualitative approach employed through content analysis. Findings indicate that for African states, alternative public service delivery is a question of choice by those wielding power, authority and political will. The study provides ethical initiatives to accommodate such diversity in building public sector ethics and culture. Simply relaying public service delivery strategies deemed successful in other states may not necessarily translate into success due to some ethical and cultural variations. What obtains is that, states that claim to be faith based or to carry religious ethical practices sometimes lead way ahead of others in unethical administrative practices. The contribution of the study is an additional item to the list of factors militating against effective service delivery and lack of public sector cultural ethics. This phenomenon should be tackled head-on so that service delivery is not compromised.

Using multilevel modeling and data from 26 countries that include 93,439 individual-level responses on social entrepreneurship for the year 2015, we seek to understand how societal-level ethical orientations impact the likelihood of individuals engaging in social entrepreneurship. We develop a multidimensional representation of societal ethics, in that we draw close parallels between the three institutional pillars—normative, cognitive, and regulatory—with three forms of ethics and use this understanding to predict their effects on the demand for and supply of social entrepreneurs. We find that low behavioral ethics (normative ethics) at the societal level provides opportunities for individuals to become social entrepreneurs. Furthermore, while unselfishness (cognitive ethics) motivates individuals to become social entrepreneurs, high public-sector ethics (regulatory ethics) provides the institutional support for such entrepreneurs to thrive. We contribute to cross-cultural comparative entrepreneurship by providing ethical antecedents of social entrepreneurship through a deeper understanding of the influence of ethics as national-level institutions.

The main concern of this study is to identify the relationship between intrinsic motivation and professional ethics of Federal Affairs and Ministry of General Administration office employees. With respect to this context, the study has been conducted to answer the following questions. Does the professionalism and self-motivation have create causality relation in the public sector employees? What are the factors of intrinsic motivation regulating on the public sector employees? From literature review public sector job trustworthiness as dependent variable and autonomy, relatedness and competency independent variables were identified. Researchers used the both quantitative and qualitative approach to explore the behavior, perspectives, experiences and feelings of people and emphasize the understanding of intrinsic motivation on professional ethics in public sector. Non-probability sampling (purposive sampling) applied in this study. The findings of this study showed that Public sector job trustiness had significant relationship with intrinsic motivational psychological need factors such as: Autonomy, Relatedness and Competence.

Public service motivation (PSM) and ethical behavior are central concerns in public administration. Yet, experimental evidence on the causes of ethical behavior and the causal effects of PSM remains scarce, curtailing our understanding of both. This article draws on a novel survey experimental design to improve this understanding. The design is based on a simple insight: asking about PSM can render salient PSM-oriented identities of respondents. By randomizing the order of PSM and outcome questions, PSM may be exogenously activated among survey respondents, and the causal effects of this activation assessed. Drawing on this design and a sample of over 5,000 Chilean central government employees—the largest experimental PSM survey sample to date—we find that PSM activation enhances willingness to report ethical problems to management. This provides the first experimental evidence that PSM may promote ethical behavioral intent, and suggests that activating public employees’ PSM can benefit public sector ethics.

Abstract What principles and dynamics unite public sector accountability offices—the need for independence, the need for resources, the need for clear mandates and appropriate powers, and the need for buy‐in from those who are being held accountable? This article explores where the field of public sector ethics is heading in the future, particularly in light of the tension with partisan politics in a Parliamentary democracy and the limited legal and administrative tools at the disposal of accountability/ethics officers. More broadly, this article will examine the significance of advancing a community of interest and professional standards across accountability/ethics officers.

Abstract This article addresses the question whether public commissions of inquiry have the potential for driving constructive change in ethical behaviour within the public sector. It suggests two hypotheses. One is that the climate of discussion that often accompanies commissions of inquiry, and the systemic approaches that commissions are encouraged to take in their recommendations, negatively affect the receptiveness of public sector members to change in matters of ethics. The other hypothesis is that highly politicized commissions create a dynamic that may press governments to take courses of action that may not be conducive to constructive change in public sector ethics.

Abstract While it is often claimed that the efficacy of accountability officers depends on their independence, the issue of “independence” is fraught with ambiguity: who needs to be independent from whom? This article considers the relationship between independence and accountability from both public and private legal perspectives. We identify three areas for improvement in public sector ethics. First, avenues for civil recovery following misconduct by public officials should be explored. Second, accountability offices should encourage whistleblowing as a means to bring potentially significant cases forward. Third, the tenets underpinning the usefulness of independent directors on corporate boards should be used to assist in defining the role of accountability officers.

Canadian Public AdministrationVolume 61, Issue S1 p. 4-14 Introduction Guest editors' introduction to the special issue on public sector ethics Anita Anand, Anita AnandSearch for more papers by this authorLorne Sossin, Lorne SossinSearch for more papers by this author Anita Anand, Anita AnandSearch for more papers by this authorLorne Sossin, Lorne SossinSearch for more papers by this author First published: 02 May 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12269Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume61, IssueS1Special Issue: Public Sector EthicsMay 2018Pages 4-14 RelatedInformation

Discussions on public sector ethics essentially cover three main issues. First, how to establish a theoretical argument capable of providing answers to queries about what is considered an ethical and unethical conducts in public sector management. Second, how to develop ethical instruments and standards capable of helping resolve ethical dilemmas that commonly occur in the public sector. Third, how to institutionalize ethical principles and instruments developed in public institutions. Both theoretical studies and empirical experiences indicate that the essence of the various forms of a dilemma in the public sector is the conflict between personal virtue and public virtue. These ethical dilemmas may be subdued by institutionalizing ethical principles in public institutions, and it basically involves two substantial activities, namely integration, and revitalization of ethical principles in public institutions. These ethical principles should be integrated within a system of conducts covering standard values and norms that serve as a reference in conducting oneself and in minimizing unethical conducts and in preventing maladministration in public sector management. Legal instruments remain necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness of ethical principles as a code of conduct for government personnel to carry out their tasks and functions. Of no less importance is the effort to improve leadership that highly reveres ethical principles in the public bureaucracy.

The principle that public administrators act in a responsible manner has been fundamental to the development of the field of public administration as a profession and scholarly discipline since its inception. Administrative responsibility is seen as the glue that connects administrative ethics to the more general questions regarding the proper role and behavior of unelected officials in a democratic system. In the past two decades, explicit and implicit considerations of responsibility continue to be significant factors in the continuing evolution of public sector ethics, thereby providing a normative and descriptive base upon which more specific topics, such as corruption, integrity of governance, public values, and social equity, can be examined in a balanced manner.

Ethics and public integrity in space exploration

Global leverage adjustments, uncertainty, and country institutional strength

Using a broad range of uncertainty measures, we show that uncertainty dramatically slows down firms’ adjustments toward their optimal capital structure. At the upper bound, the estimated speed of leverage adjustments almost halves when uncertainty is high. High quality institutions (common law legal origin, more disclosure to congress and/or to the public, and higher public sector ethics) and presidential political systems offset some of the adverse effects of uncertainty on leverage adjustments. The financial crisis has altered the relationships among uncertainty, adjustment speeds, and a country’s institutions; more so for countries with weak institutions and parliamentary systems.

Abstract An important interest in public-administration ethics has been expressed in OECD member states since the 1990s in reaction to the development of New Public Management (NPM) reforms. However, the meanings attached to the ethical issue in a context of managerial modernization remain ambiguous depending on the country and / or time period studied. Therefore, this article aims at underlining the main characteristics of administrative ethics thanks to the creation of a theoretical concept which summarizes them. The latter can also serve as an analytical grid to engage in further research and especially comparisons between varying national cases.For that purpose, the analysis is divided in two parts and draws insights from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Canada and France, through a review of major official reports and a series of interviews with public officials and experts in charge of these questions. First of all, it concentrates on the OECD’s historical activities on public-sector ethics in order to devise a theoretical concept of administrative ethics. The utility and relevance of this concept is then tested while being implemented to compare the Canadian and French governments’ overall interest in ethics in their process of public-management reform.The article distinguishes two key dimensions of public-administration ethics, namely the managerial and normative ones, which are strongly intertwined. On the one hand, the managerial dimension focuses on the management of civil servants’ daily behaviors and combines the compliance-based and integrity-based approaches to govern conducts in public administration. On the other hand, the normative dimension refers to the normative framework incorporating the core principles and values which define civil servants’ professional identities and guide their specific missions and goals within the democratic system.The historical comparison of major trends in terms of administrative ethics in Canada and France shows, finally, that, despite national characteristics, the two countries have tended progressively to deal with the ethical issue in a more comprehensive way. They are trying to take into account, for example, problems due to conflicts of public values and combine compliance-based and integrity-based instruments of ethics management. These evolutions shed light more generally on the movement of hybridization, incorporating elements from traditional public administration and New Public Management, which seems to develop in both states.

Corruption in public sector is a complex, ‘messy’ and ‘fuzzy’ phenomenon which involves calculus machinations between actors and constantly growing in sophistication. Consequently, an attempt to prevent, control or fight it requires systems thinking that ranges from public officials with integrity and personal ethics [strong personalities]; administrative rules and procedures as well as governments adopting, enforcing and monitoring appropriate systems [strong institutions]. This paper provides a systems approach to enhancing public sector ethics through ‘a corruption control tripod’ in preventing, controlling and combating corruption in all its forms. This framework discusses three overarching pillars and argues that adopting a reductionist approach in corruption control would yield futility; there is a need for synthesis so that each one would reinforce the other.

There are two main approaches of ethics, integrity and compliance approach, applying in public administration. In this paper, I would like to study specifically about integrity approach, focusing on ethics education and training and ethical models. Methodology used in the study is a documentary research. The finding might be help public officials in decision-making when they have to encounter some ethical dilemmas in public administration. Integrity and compliance can be perceived as a soft and a hard approach, respectively. An integrity approach uses internal controls and a compliance approach uses external controls in order to operate as an ethical organization. The integrity approach is assumed to be more effective. This paper has focused on the integrity approach to organizational ethics, therefore describing its orientation and components. Moreover, it clarified the way of implementing this approach within an organization. Ethics education and training programs, which are embedded in an integrity approach, are cognitive programs in ethical decision-making. Ethical models studying in this paper; Ethics Triangle Model, Ethical Decision-making Model, Ethical Problem solving Model, and Moral Development Model; can be used to help individuals and groups of individuals in organizations to analyze ethical dilemmas they are faced with in daily practice. These models, consequently, are considered as effective means for enhancing decision-making of public officials.

Ethics Management in Public Sector – Background and Tools