scholarly journals Linking ethical leadership and ethical climate to employees' ethical behavior: the moderating role of person–organization fit

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hussam Al Halbusi ◽  
Kent A. Williams ◽  
Thurasamy Ramayah ◽  
Luigi Aldieri ◽  
Concetto Paolo Vinci
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Ethical Conduct ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeWith the growing demand for ethical standards in the prevailing business environment, ethical leadership has been under increasingly more focus. Based on the social exchange theory and social learning theory, this study scrutinized the impact of ethical leadership on the presentation of ethical conduct by employees through the ethical climate. Notably, this study scrutinised the moderating function of the person-organisation fit (P-O fit) in relation of ethical climate and the ethical conduct of employees.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate the research hypotheses, two-wave data were collected from 295 individuals who are currently employed in various Iraqi organizations (i.e. manufacturing, medical and insurance industries).FindingsIn line with the hypotheses, the outcomes from a sample of 295 workers working in different Iraqi entities exhibited a positive relation between the ethical behaviour of leaders and the ethical conduct of employees in the ethical climate. Moreover, it was observed that the P-O fit of employees moderated the relationship between ethical climate and the ethical conduct of employees such that the relationship was more robust for those with a high P-O fit in comparison to those with a low P-O fit.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of this study is in the data, which was obtained from a single source. Although the study conducted two surveys and utilised a mediation and moderation variables model that was less likely to be influenced by common method bias (CMB) (Podsakoff et al., 2012), one cannot completely rule out CMB. Apart from the potential effects of the CMB, the consistency of the empirical findings could have also been compromised since self-reported data were utilised in measuring ethical behaviour, which can be a very complex and sensitive issue. For this reason, the social desirability response bias cannot be ruled out completely. When possible, future studies must gather data from multiple sources. Furthermore, supervisors must evaluate the ethical behaviour of employees. Another limitation was that the findings of this study were based on a sample in a Middle Eastern cultural context such as in Iraq. Perhaps, the particular cultural features of this context, which encompassed, among other things, a strong adherence to religious values (Moaddel, 2010), could have influenced the findings of this study. It is true that the effects of differences (P–O fit) are highly likely to replicate across cultural contexts (Triandis et al., 1988). However, it can be seen that further studies are needed to evaluate the context-sensitivity of these findings (Whetten, 2009) by analysing other cultures, where the importance of religiosity is on the decline (i.e. in Western countries, Ribberink et al., 2018) or where the cultural features are very much different from those that apply to Iraq. Lastly, other external factors were not taken into account by this study as it tried to explain ethical behaviour. Ethics is a highly complex subject and is influenced by numerous variables at the organisational, individual and external environment levels. Thus, caution must be observed when making inferences from the present study which, to a certain degree, offered a simplified version of ethical behaviour by concentrating on a few variables such as the Arab culture's traditional ideology, which dominates even science (Abu Khalil, 1992). In addition, there are the political conflicts in the Middle Eastern cultural context such as what is happening in Iraq (Harff, 2018). Thus, it is important to include such aspects in future researches.Practical implicationsIn terms of management, the findings send a clear signal to those in the upper echelon that, without ignoring the issue of ethics in organizations, employees are a critical aspect to be taken into account to encourage ethical behaviour at the workplace. This study has important practical implications. First, this study determined that ethical leadership (here, of the supervisors) positively influences the behaviour of subordinates (refers to the supervisors here); this in turn further improves the ethical behaviour of employees. It is vital that managers or supervisors are motivated to practice ethical leadership because they directly influence the employees. It has been suggested that top managers, especially chief executive officers, have the ability to shape the ethical climate, which also influences the ethical behaviour of employees further. This study offered several feasible ways that managers can apply to achieve that. In particular, top managers may utilise the ethical climate as a way of communicating the ethical values that they have to their subordinates, thereby serving as a motivation for the subordinates to adopt an ethical behaviour. It was also suggested by this study that ethical climate and the P–O fit may, to some degree, substitute each other as they influence the ethical behaviour of employees. Therefore, firms that were identified to have a low level of ethical standards, practices, and policies, at least from the employees' perspective, are better poised to conduct ethical issues in order to construct the ethical behaviour of their subordinates. More importantly, it is highly essential that the value congruence between an organization and its followers be considered.Social implicationsThis study highlighted the notion of ethics and how it’s essential for society. Ethics refer to the norms, standards, and values that direct the behavior of an individual. Ethical behaviour is vital in society because we need to be treated with respect as human beings.Originality/valueThis study responds to recent calls for more research to identify factors which may strengthen or mitigate the influence ethical behavior in the workplace such as ethical leadership, ethical climate and Person–Organization.

Indigenous business success: a hybrid perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 24-41
Author(s):  
Ruth Omonigho Mrabure
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Indigenous Group ◽  
The Social ◽  
Indigenous Entrepreneurs ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subjective Meanings

PurposeThis paper aims to address the notion that the relationship between being indigenous and business success is inconclusive because there are tensions between indigenous values and business success. The research questions are: How do indigenous entrepreneurs define success? Does the third space create a different meaning of success in the indigenous context?Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was adopted for this study because the ability to define success requires subjective meanings. Participants’ lived experiences and stories were the main sources of information. Open conversational-style interviews were used because they allow participants to freely share their stories.FindingsA defining line is that not all indigenous entrepreneurs have the same view of success. The homogeneity that emanates from sharing indigeneity does not equal unity in views, but shows that people from the same group can view success differently. However, the meaning and views formed are also connected to the wider community, relationships and predominant values that characterise the social cultural context of the entrepreneur.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on one indigenous group; more studies need to be conducted to gain wider variation on the meaning of success in indigenous entrepreneurship and how indigenous subculture alters these meanings.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study show that success for indigenous entrepreneurs should be defined based on individual philosophy. Hence, practitioners should endeavour to clarify what success means from the initial stage of the business to avoid misconception and make this clear to others that are connected to the business.Originality/valueThis paper suggests a different view of success in an indigenous context using the hybridity viewpoint to explain why success can be perceived using the in-between space without opposite binary.

Ethical leadership and employee in-role performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1716-1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narges Kia ◽  
Beni Halvorsen ◽  
Timothy Bartram
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Service Climate ◽  
Role Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Against the backdrop of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Finance Services Industry in Australia, this study on ethical leadership is timely. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of organisational identification, customer orientated behaviour, service climate and ethical climate on the relationship between ethical leadership and employee in-role performance. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested using a two-wave survey study of 233 bank employees in Australia. Findings Evidence from the study indicated that organisational identification, service climate and ethical climate mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and employee in-role performance. Surprisingly, the proposed mediation effect of customer orientation was not supported. However, ethical leadership was positively associated with customer orientated behaviour among employees. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study include collecting data at two time points, thereby rendering the study cross-sectional. Employee in-role performance was a self-rated measure. Practical implications This study showed that ethical leadership is critical to improving employee perceptions and experience of an organisation’s service climate, ethical climate, organisational identification, customer orientated behaviour and employee in-role performance. The authors raise a number of HRM implications for the development and enablement of ethical leaders in the banking context. Originality/value The findings presented in this paper highlight that ethical leadership is critical to improving employee perceptions and experience of an organisation’s service climate, ethical climate, organisational identification, customer orientated behaviour and employee in-role performance.

Direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership on workplace deviance in public healthcare sector of Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 558-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yasir ◽  
Amran Rasli
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Deviant Behavior ◽  
Workplace Deviance ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Healthcare Sector ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Over the years, increased level of deviant behavior among the employees of public sector organizations has been observed. The situation is worst in the public healthcare sector of Pakistan, where numerous incidents of employee deviant behavior have been reported recently. This scenario is compelling scholars and practitioners to find appropriate solutions to address this issue. As previous literature lacks empirical evidence regarding the role of ethical leadership in establishing an ethical climate in order to minimize workplace deviance in the public healthcare sector. Thus, to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of organizational ethical climate as a mediator in the relationship between ethical leadership and workplace deviance in public healthcare sector of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach This study employed survey strategy, using quantitative method with a cross-sectional research design, and with multi-stage sampling technique. Two hundred and eighty nine usable questionnaires were collected from doctors and nurses. Further, Structural Equation Modeling was conducted in order to test the hypothesized model and determine the direct and indirect effects. Findings Results of this study revealed that ethical leadership negatively influenced workplace deviance. Ethical leadership was further found to have a positive effect on ethical climate. Moreover, the ethical climate had a negative relationship with workplace deviance. Finally, ethical climate mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and workplace deviance. Originality/value This study identified the significance of ethical leadership behavior which assists in establishing an ethical organizational climate leading towards less likelihood of the emergence of workplace deviance.

Becoming morally disengaged: how long does it take?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Almeida ◽  
Francisca Abreu ◽  
Nelson C. Ramalho
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Research Trend ◽  
Leadership Studies ◽  
Moderator Variable ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Research

PurposeLeadership is a time-dependent process and a recent leadership research trend posits a central role of time-based variables. The dyadic tenure plays a keystone role in understanding leader–follower dynamics, especially as regards leader ethics. In line with this, from a social learning theory perspective, the authors propose a model that explains how and when ethical leaders' behaviors influence subordinates' moral disengagement.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 220 employees, the present study tests the conditional indirect effect of ethical leadership on followers' moral disengagement via instrumental ethical climate (IEC), using dyadic tenure as the moderator variable. The analyses were conducted with Hayes PROCESS macro.FindingsResults suggested that IEC fully mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and moral disengagement. Thus, when followers perceive low levels of ethical leadership, they notice higher levels of IEC, which is positively related to moral disengagement. However, IEC perception only influences moral disengagement when dyadic tenure approaches the third year.Originality/valueThis paper answers calls to include time-based variables in leadership studies. Hence, using dyadic tenure, this study gives support to previous propositions that were still awaiting empirical test.

The moderating effect of culture on the relationship between accountability and professional scepticism

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Medhat Endrawes ◽  
Shane Leong ◽  
Kenan M. Matawie
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to examine whether accountability and culture have an impact on auditors’ professional scepticism. It also examines whether culture moderates the effect of accountability on auditors’ professional scepticism. Design/methodology/approach Three of the Big 4 firms in Australia and Egypt participated in an audit judgement experiment, which required them to indicate their beliefs about the risk of fraud and error at the planning stage of a hypothetical audit and evaluate the truthfulness of explanations provided by the client management. The authors examined whether their professional scepticism was influenced by accountability. Findings The results indicate professional scepticism differs significantly between cultures in some situations. The fact that culture influences scepticism suggests that even when auditors use the same standards (such as ISA 240 and ISA 600), they are likely to be applied inconsistently, even within the same firm. The authors, therefore, recommend that international bodies issue additional guidance on cultural values and consider these cultural differences when designing or adopting auditing standards. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines whether culture moderates the impact of accountability on auditors’ professional scepticism using Egyptian and Australian (Middle Eastern and Western) auditors. Prior literature suggests that individuals subject to accountability pressure increase their cognitive effort and vigilance to detect fraud and error. As the authors find evidence that culture moderates accountability pressure and as accountability affects scepticism, they add to the literature suggesting that culture can influence professional scepticism.

Social identity, rationality, creativity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Kanzola ◽  
Konstantina Papaioannou ◽  
Panagiotis E. Petrakis
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Identity Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Life Improvement ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between rationality and creativity by means of social identity theory for the Greek society (2019–2020).Design/methodology/approachThe outline of the social identity was given through self-categorization via a distributed questionnaire. The types of behavior (rational, nonrational and loss-averse) were determined by using questions based on the Allais paradox. Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to extract the causal relationships.FindingsThe study findings demonstrate that rational individuals are more prompt to creative personality than nonrational individuals. Rational individuals are motivated to pursue creativity through life-improvement goals. Loss-averse individuals are driven through the contradictive incentive of adventure-seeking behavior without, however, being willing to easily give up their established assets.Originality/valueThis article contributes by explaining creativity among rational, nonrational and loss-averse individuals as a product of social identity theory. This contributes to the literature, by proposing that the application of social theories in economics could constitute a different foundation for economics. This refers to the notion of the social microfoundations of the political economy and macroeconomics.

scholarly journals Trimming the social body

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Krause-Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Social Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Concept

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse through ethnographic fieldwork the social and cultural context and (unintended) consequences of introducing a management concept from the private sector (LEAN) into the public sector. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic fieldwork combined with reading of reports and material. Findings The major findings are: first, Lean is seen in a cultural context, it is argued that the persuasiveness of Lean depends on building a metaphorical connection between organizational aims and individual experiences and bodily ideals; second, Lean purports to be a win-win game and road to eliminating “waste” through worker participation, empowerment and enthusiasm. The research points to the contrary. Lean was met with scepticism and was seen by the social workers as a waste of time. Originality/value As demonstrated in the paper, the vast majority of research published about Lean is hortatory in nature. It is recipe books trying to convince readers of the benefits of introducing Lean. This paper, on the contrary, attempts an open ethnographic exploration of the Lean process and its social and cultural ramifications.

Exploring relationships among ethical climate types and organizational commitment

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Japneet Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Employee Turnover ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Banking Industry ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Three Components

Purpose Indian banking sector is facing a number of challenges, and increasing number of corporate frauds and employee turnover are among the top list. Literature reveals that gaining insights about ethical climate may provide a possible solution and relief from the challenges being faced. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the prevalent various ethical climate types in the Indian banking industry. Furthermore, it presents interesting results by investigating the effect of five theorized ethical climate types on organizational commitment along with its three components in the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach This empirical research encompasses a descriptive research design. Sample uses 266 respondents from four prime banks of the Indian banking industry. Findings Statistical analyses unveiled that all five conceptualized ethical climate types are prevalent in the Indian banking industry. However, the perception of employees for caring climate was the highest among all others. In contrast to the results reported by Western studies, this research reveals a strong negative impact of instrumental climate on affective commitment. Furthermore, it has been seen that instrumental climate is a significant predictor for the three components of commitment (affective, continuance and normative). However, it fails to predict the overall organizational commitment construct. Likewise, opposed to findings of Western countries, law and code, rules and independent climate types have shown significant relationship and impact on organizational commitment for Indian banking sector employees. It has been found that different commitment components are predicted by a diverse mix of climate types in India. Practical implications Findings highlight varying strength of relationship and predictive ability of different ethical climate types with commitment. This helps in elucidating that managers and top executives should focus on building an ethical work environment to warrant high-level commitment among employees. Congruence between employee, manager and organizations’ perception of ethics is a pre-requisite for maintaining a long-term relationship among the parties. This study will enable understanding the role of ethical climate in reducing corporate frauds and employee turnover. Originality/value This research addresses a significant gap in literature by exploring the relationship between ethical climate and organizational commitment. The study uses data from the Indian banking industry which contributes to expanding knowledge of the relationship in the Indian context.

Perception of ethical climate and turnover intention among nursing staff: does organizational cynicism mediate?

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 319-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasin Munir ◽  
Muhammad Mudasar Ghafoor ◽  
Amran M.D. Rasli
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Cynicism ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating effect of organizational cynicism between the relationship of perception of ethical climate and turnover intention among nurses working in public sector hospitals. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was utilized and 870 questionnaires were distributed to collect data from nursing staff working in Punjab region of Pakistan by using non-probability multistage sampling technique. A total of 711 questionnaires were returned out of which 668 questionnaires were scrutinized. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to analyze the data. Findings The results revealed a full mediating effect of organizational cynicism between the relationship of perception of ethical climate and turnover intention. Research limitations/implications The current study has adopted a multistage non-probability sampling technique to collect data because the management of hospitals restricted researcher access to personal information about the nurses. Therefore, at the first stage, the researcher used convenience sampling and at the second stage, the researcher utilized quota sampling to collect the data. Moreover, the findings of the current study are based on cross-sectional data because of the limited time and resources. Practical implications The current study fosters the ongoing debate in organizational studies related to cynicism and it is noteworthy for the nursing managers to understand the significant factors which directly or indirectly affect the nursing attitude. Originality/value The current study explored the mediating role of organizational cynicism between perception of ethical climate and turnover intention in nursing profession to fill the research gap.

To quit or not to quit

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1062-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Wuu Joe ◽  
Wei-Ting Hung ◽  
Chou-Kang Chiu ◽  
Chieh-Peng Lin ◽  
Ya-Chu Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Organizational Identification ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Questionnaire Response ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose To deepen our understanding about the development of turnover intention, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model that explains how ethical climate influences turnover intention based on the ethical climate theory and social identity theory. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses of this study were statistically tested using a survey of working professionals from Taiwan’s high-tech industry. Of the 400 questionnaires distributed to the working professionals from five large high-tech firms in a well-known science park in Northern Taiwan, 352 usable questionnaires were returned for a questionnaire response rate of 88 percent. Findings The test results of this study first show that all three dimensions of ethical climate (i.e. instrumental, benevolent, and principled) are indirectly related to turnover intention via the mediation of firm attractiveness. Moreover, instrumental and benevolent climate directly relate to turnover intention, whereas benevolent climate negatively moderates the relationship between principled climate and firm attractiveness. Originality/value This study finds that benevolent climate plays a dual role as an antecedent and a moderator in the formation of turnover intention, complementing prior studies that merely concentrate on the single role of benevolent climate as either an antecedent or a moderator. The effect of principled climate on organizational identification complements the theoretical discussion by Victor and Cullen (1987) about deontology in which an ethical workplace climate (such as legitimacy) drives employees to invest in identity attachments to the organization and influences their future career decision (e.g. turnover).

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