A Meta-analytic Review of Ethical Leadership Outcomes and Moderators

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that follower perceptions of ethical leadership are associated with beneficial follower outcomes. However, some empirical researchers have found contradictory results. In this study, we use social learning and social exchange theories to test the relationship between ethical leadership and follower work outcomes. Our results suggest that ethical leadership is related positively to numerous follower outcomes such as perceptions of leader interactional fairness and follower ethical behavior. Furthermore, we explore how ethical leadership relates to and is different from other leadership styles such as transformational and transactional leadership. Results suggest that ethical leadership is positively associated with transformational leadership and the contingent reward dimension of transactional leadership. With respect to the moderators, our results show mixed evidence for publication bias. Finally, geographical locations of study samples moderated some of the relationships between ethical leadership and follower outcomes, and employee samples from public sector organizations showed stronger mean corrected correlations for ethical leadershipfollower outcome relationships.

The Moral Entrepreneur: A New Component of Ethical Leadership

“…Individuals who have been exposed to a moral entrepreneur are more likely to become a moral entrepreneur themselves because they have experienced its potential and attraction and how it is done. The positive outcomes of ethical leadership that Bedi et al (2016) observed (such as job satisfaction, commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, job performance, job engagement, and organizational identification), together with the negative outcomes (such as turnover intentions, counterproductive work behavior, and relationship conflict) could also apply, whether stronger or weaker, to moral entrepreneurship. This is because followers of moral entrepreneurs are likely to feel more stimulated and inspired, which improves their behavior and well-being.…”

“…This context is marked by two crises: the dot-com crisis involving several accountancy frauds at the start of this century, and the financial-economic crisis that started toward the end of the first decade of this century. Many publications on ethical leadership, such as Treviño et al (2003), Brown et al (2005), Treviño (2006, 2014), Schaubroeck (2009), Kalshoven et al (2011b), Eisenbeiß and Giessner (2012), Yukl et al (2013), and Bedi et al (2016), start with references to the business scandals and hold these up as a reason for studying and improving ethical leadership. These scandals illustrate that prevailing norms were violated.…”

“…In a meta-analysis using Brown et al's (2005) definition of ethical leadership, Bedi et al (2016) identify 20 significant outcomes of ethical leadership. A number of these outcomes, along with antecedents that have been found in other studies on ethical leadership, can also be applied to moral entrepreneurship given that the mechanism of social learning plays a role here, too.…”

“…The meta-analytic review of Bedi et al (2016) includes no less than 134 empirical studies on the antecedents and outcomes of ethical leadership. Recent work on the outcomes of ethical leadership includes Zhu et al's (2015) study of the relationship between ethical leadership and follower voice and performance; Zheng et al's (2015) investigation of the effects of ethical leadership on emotional exhaustion of followers; and Van Gils et al's (2015) exploration of the impact of ethical leadership on follower's organizational deviance.…”

“…Brown et al's (2005, p. 120) definition of ethical leadership as ''the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making'' is widely accepted without much discussion. This definition is used in most ethical leadership studies (e.g., Avey et al 2011;Bedi et al 2016;Chughtai et al 2015;DeConinck 2015;Kalshoven et al 2011a, b;Mayer et al 2012;Mo and Shi 2017;Piccolo et al 2010;Rubin et al 2010;Walumbwa et al 2011;Walumbwa and Schaubroeck 2009). Only a few scholars, such as Eisenbeiß (2012) and Voegtlin et al (2012), have raised any criticism about it.…”