The impact of ethical political leadership on the public: The mediating role of confidence in political leaders

Abstract

This study examined the dynamic relationships among ethical political leadership, the public’s confidence in political leaders, commitment to the nation, and the perception of being safe from a terrorist attack. Based on a U.S. national random sample (n = 1604), we found that the public’s confidence in political leaders mediates the effect of ethical political leadership on the public’s commitment to the nation and the perception of being safe from a terrorist attack. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Confidence in political leaders can slant risk perceptions of COVID–19 in a highly polarized environment

“…High confidence in authorities can relieve individuals' risk perceptions as they believe the situation is under control thanks to the leaders' competence ( Siegrist et al, 2005 ). Confidence in political leaders is defined as “the extent to which the public believe that their political leaders are able to deal with existing challenges confronting the country, and the extent to which the public are willing to put their faith, trust, and commitment in their political leaders” ( Zhu et al, 2012 : 111). In a highly polarized political environment, confidence in political leaders is connected to one's political predisposition as a proxy of political loyalty.…”

How Emotional Labor and Ethical Leadership Affect Job Engagement for Chinese Public Servants

“…Empirical studies show a positive relationship between ethical leadership and employee job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors (Cyril & Girindra, 2009; Kacmar, Bachrach, Harris, & Zivnuska, 2011) as well as psychological well-being (Avey, Wernsing, & Palanski, 2012). External to the organization, ethical leadership results in confidence and commitment from the public (e.g., Zhu, Norman, Peng, Riggio, & Sosik, 2012). Researchers have also investigated the moderator role of ethical leadership in terms of procedural justice and effects on job insecurity (Loi, Lam, & Chan, 2012).…”

Understanding the spread ofCOVID‐19 misinformation on social media: The effects of topics and a political leader's nudge

“…As a result, many people turn to their political leaders during such a crisis and “rally around the flag” (Baekgaard et al, 2020 ; Hetherington & Nelson, 2003 ; Mueller, 1970 ), because they are confident in their leaders' ability to handle challenges (Zhu et al, 2012 ). Studies suggested that some political leaders' tweets about COVID‐19 quickly became viral (Rufai & Bunce, 2020 ) and have influenced people's judgment of the pandemic (Van Bavel et al, 2020 ).…”