Impact of Superiors' Ethical Leadership on Subordinates' Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior: Mediating Effects of Followership

This study examined the impact of superiors' ethical leadership on subordinates' unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and the mediating effects of followership. The research subjects were officials from the ten central departments of the South Korean government, and a cross-sectiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral sciences 2023-05, Vol.13 (6), p.454
Main Authors: Kim, Chulwoo, Lee, Chulwoo, Lee, Geon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consciousness
Critical thinking
Decision making
ethical leadership
Ethics
followership
Hypotheses
Leadership
Learning
Organizational behavior
public officials
Public sector
social learning theory
Social norms
Surveys
unethical pro-organizational behavior
Values
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Summary:This study examined the impact of superiors' ethical leadership on subordinates' unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) and the mediating effects of followership. The research subjects were officials from the ten central departments of the South Korean government, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted among them. Overall, 404 questionnaires were used in the empirical analysis. Multiple regression analysis and Hayes Process Macro were used to validate the research hypotheses, which examined the relationship among ethical leadership, followership, and UPB. The results are as follows: First, the relationship between ethical leadership and followership was statistically significant. Second, the study showed that followership had a statistically significant effect on UPB but not ethical leadership. Third, testing the hypotheses regarding the mediating effect of followership on the relationship between ethical leadership and UPB revealed statistically significant results. This study confirms that followership significantly influences UPB and suggests that ethical leadership is an important precedent factor of followership. The study concludes with the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, along with the study's limitations.
ISSN:2076-328X
2076-328X
DOI:10.3390/bs13060454