You May Not Reap What You Sow: How Employees’ Moral Awareness Minimizes Ethical Leadership’s Positive Impact on Workplace Deviance

Kubilay Gok (), John J. Sumanth (), William H. Bommer (), Ozgur Demirtas (), Aykut Arslan (), Jared Eberhard (), Ali Ihsan Ozdemir () and Ahmet Yigit ()
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Kubilay Gok: Winona State University
John J. Sumanth: Wake Forest University
William H. Bommer: California State University-Fresno
Ozgur Demirtas: Inonu University
Aykut Arslan: Pirireis University
Jared Eberhard: Winona State University
Ali Ihsan Ozdemir: Abdullah Gul University
Ahmet Yigit: Abdullah Gul University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2017, vol. 146, issue 2, No 2, 257-277

Abstract: Abstract Although a growing body of research has shown the positive impact of ethical leadership on workplace deviance, questions remain as to whether its benefits are consistent across all situations. In this investigation, we explore an important boundary condition of ethical leadership by exploring how employees’ moral awareness may lessen the need for ethical leadership. Drawing on substitutes for leadership theory, we suggest that when individuals already possess a heightened level of moral awareness, ethical leadership’s role in reducing deviant actions may be reduced. However, when individuals lack this strong moral disposition, ethical leadership may be instrumental in inspiring them to reduce their deviant actions. To enhance the external validity and generalizability of our findings, the current research used two large field samples of working professionals in both Turkey and the USA. Results suggest that ethical leadership’s positive influence on workplace deviance is dependent upon the individual’s moral awareness—helpful for those employees whose moral awareness is low, but not high. Thus, our investigation helps to build theory around the contingencies of ethical leadership and the specific audience for whom it may be more (or less) influential.

Keywords: Ethical leadership; Leadership; Workplace deviance; Moral awareness; Substitutes for leadership; Social exchange theory; Social learning theory; Field study; Cross-cultural (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3655-7

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