Leaders Matter Morally: The Role of Ethical Leadership in Shaping Employee Moral Cognition and Misconduct

Celia Moore (First Author), Flora F.T. Chiang (Participant Author), Matthew J. Karlesky (Participant Author), Thomas A. Birtch (Participant Author), David M. Mayer (Participant Author), Craig Crossley (Participant Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal

132 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

There has long been interest in how leaders influence the unethical behavior of those who they lead. However, research in this area has tended to focus on leaders' direct influence over subordinate behavior, such as through role modeling or eliciting positive social exchange. We extend this research by examining how ethical leaders affect how employees construe morally problematic decisions, ultimately influencing their behavior. Across four studies, diverse in methods (lab and field) and national context (the United States and China), we find that ethical leadership decreases employees' propensity to morally disengage, with ultimate effects on employees' unethical decisions and deviant behavior. Further, employee moral identity moderates this mediated effect. However, the form of this moderation is not consistent. In Studies 2 and 4, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a weak moral identity (providing a "saving grace"), whereas in Study 3, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a strong moral identity (catalyzing a "virtuous synergy"). We use these findings to speculate about when ethical leaders might function as a "saving grace" versus a "virtuous synergy." Together, our results suggest that employee misconduct stems from a complex interaction between employees, their leaders, and the context in which this relationship takes place, specifically via leaders' influence over employees' moral cognition.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-145
JournalJournal of Applied Psychology
Volume104
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Corresponding author email

celia.moore@unibocconi.it

Keywords

  • employee deviance
  • ethical leadership
  • moral disengagement
  • moral identity
  • unethical behavior

Indexed by

  • FT
  • ABDC-A*
  • Scopus
  • SSCI

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