Examining Ethical Climate, Trust, and Employee Attitudes: The Indian Context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of ethical climate types on trust in management using Victor and Cullen’s framework, which is based on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and Gouldner’s sociocultural theory of organizations. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 270 employees from 10 organizations in India was used to investigate the specific relationships between ethical climate types and trust in management. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the different types of ethical climates existing in the organizations. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between ethical climates and trust in management. Findings It was found that ethical climates characterized by caring, laws and codes, and rules and procedures are significant predictors of trust in management. However, no support was obtained for any impact of ethical climates emphasizing company profit, self-interest or independence on trust in management. Research/limitations implications Future research should examine trust in management as a mediating or moderating variable in the relationship between ethical climates and other organizational variables such as commitment, citizenship behaviour or productivity. Additionally, research could also examine different cultural and organizational contexts in testing out these relationships. The role of other constructs such as personality of supervisors and ethical sensitivity in developing trust in management may also been investigated. Practical implications Organizations should try to develop climates based on caring and also emphasize adherence to laws and codes as well as rules and procedures to enhance trust in the management. Originality/value The findings of the study are unique and original because literature examining ethical climates and trust is scarce, and this is the first study to explore how ethical climates can impact trust in management in the Indian context. In particular, the results are unique for. Contrary to expectations, no negative impact of climates of self-interest, company interest and independence on trust in management could be seen in this study. The results throw open new directions to theory building on ethical climates and trust in the Indian context.

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Leader Member Exchange and Employee Attitudes: A Study in the Indian Context

Management and Labour Studies ◽

10.1177/0258042x0503000206 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 182-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

E. Vikramaditya

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Leadership Effectiveness ◽

Employee Attitudes ◽

Intention To Quit ◽

Leader Member Exchange ◽

Extra Effort ◽

Indian Context ◽

Member Exchange ◽

Using Data ◽

The Relationship

This study examined outcomes of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships in the Indian context. Using data collected from 110 employees, the author investigated the relationship between LMX and subordinates' reports of outcome variables. Results indicated that job satisfaction, commitment, intention to quit, leadership effectiveness, satisfaction with leader and extra effort were positively related to LMX. Intention to quit was negatively related to LMX. Implications and limitations of the study are identified.

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The effect of leader moral development on ethical climate and employee attitudes

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes ◽

10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.006 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 135-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 208

Author(s):

Marshall Schminke ◽

Maureen L. Ambrose ◽

Donald O. Neubaum

Keyword(s):

Moral Development ◽

Ethical Climate ◽

Employee Attitudes

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The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors

Business Ethics Quarterly ◽

10.2307/3857431 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 447-476 ◽

Cited By ~ 522

Author(s):

Linda Klebe Treviño ◽

Kenneth D. Butterfield ◽

Donald L. McCabe

Keyword(s):

Organizational Commitment ◽

Ethical Climate ◽

Management Practice ◽

Employee Attitudes ◽

Ethical Culture ◽

Ethics Codes ◽

Unethical Conduct ◽

Ethical Context ◽

Related Attitude ◽

And Behavior

Abstract:This field survey focused on two constructs that have been developed to represent the ethical context in organizations: ethical climate and ethical culture. We first examined issues of convergence and divergence between these constructs through factor analysis and correlational analysis. Results suggested that the two constructs are measuring somewhat different, but strongly related dimensions of the ethical context. We then investigated the relationships between the emergent ethical context factors and an ethics-related attitude (organizational commitment) and behavior (observed unethical conduct) for respondents who work in organizations with and without ethics codes. Regression results indicated that an ethical culture-based dimension was more strongly associated with observed unethical conduct in code organizations while climate-based dimensions were more strongly associated with observed unethical conduct in non-code organizations. Ethical culture and ethical climate-based factors influenced organizational commitment similarly in both types of organizations. Normative implications of the study are discussed, as are implications for future theorizing, research and management practice.

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Exploring the connection between socially responsible HRM and citizenship behavior of employees in Indian context

Journal of Indian Business Research ◽

10.1108/jibr-01-2018-0014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Neha Gahlawat ◽

Subhash C. Kundu

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽

Work Motivation ◽

Local Level ◽

Employee Attitudes ◽

Primary Data ◽

Citizenship Behavior ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Content Type ◽

Indian Context

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish the effectiveness of socially responsible HRM (SRHRM) on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) while examining the mediating role of work motivation and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data based on 565 respondents belonging to various organizations operating in India were collected and analyzed. Statistical tools like confirmatory factor analysis and bootstrap procedure were used to determine the hypothesized relationships between SRHRM and employee attitudes and behavior.FindingsDrawing upon social identity perspective, the results have revealed that the employees’ perceptions of SRHRM including legal compliance HRM, employee-oriented HRM, general corporate social responsibility (CSR) facilitation HRM and general CSR conduct are related to higher engagement in extra-role behavior among employees in Indian context. The findings further reveal that this SRHRM–OCB relationship is serially mediated by work motivation and job satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe study gives strong indications that managers at both global and local level need to pay high attention to the designing and implementation of the CSR-focused HRM systems in their organizations, as these do not only lead to positive organizational image but also generate positive employee outcomes.Originality/valueBy establishing a multi-step partial mediation model, this study brings new insights in the underlying mechanism existing in the SRHRM–OCB relationship.

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