The Affective Processes of Ethical Leadership: The Role of Moral Emotions

Sophia Soyoung Jeong (sophia.jeong@nyu.edu), Cong (Timothy) Sun (congsun@cuhk.edu.cn) and Kai Chi Yam (bizykc@nus.edu.sg)
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Sophia Soyoung Jeong: New York University Abu Dhabi
Cong (Timothy) Sun: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
Kai Chi Yam: National University of Singapore

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 196, issue 1, No 8, 149-167

Abstract: Abstract Building on appraisal theory of emotions and theories on moral emotions, we contend that ethical leadership triggers other-praising moral emotions directed at the supervisor and leads to feedback-seeking behavior. We further predict that the affective processes of ethical leadership have implications for workplace behaviors, namely organizational citizenship behavior directed at the supervisor and employee voice. We develop a new measure of supervisor-directed, other-praising moral emotions and test the validity of the measure. Then, we test and find support for the proposed hypotheses using a sample of 231 full-time employees in China with a time-lagged survey design and structural equation modeling. Theoretical and practical implications for ethical leadership and moral emotions are discussed.

Keywords: Ethical leadership; Moral emotions; Other-praising emotions; Appraisal theory of emotions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05718-8

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