IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i15p8139-d606229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving Millennial Employees’ OCB: A Multilevel Mediated and Moderated Model of Ethical Leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Wei Su

    (The Graduate School, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea)

  • Juhee Hahn

    (Department of Business Management, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Korea)

Abstract

In the field of organizational behavior, the influence of leadership in organizations and the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of employees have always been two hot topics studied by scholars. However, previous studies have mainly examined the OCB of baby boomers and Generation Xers. With millennials now entering the workforce, they will highly likely not take the initiative to engage in OCB due to their different values. Scholars have found that millennials respond well to ethical leadership. Although this statement has a theoretical basis, empirical research regarding this topic is still insufficient. Thus, this study explores whether ethical leadership can effectively promote millennials’ OCB. Moreover, the mediating effect of group-level ethical climate and individual-level affective well-being, and the moderating effect of individual-level moral identity, were examined. The study hypotheses were verified based on 384 valid questionnaires collected from 61 teams using Mplus 8.3. The results showed that (1) ethical leadership was a positive predictor of millennials’ OCB; (2) ethical climate and affective well-being partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and OCB; and (3) moral identity moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and affective well-being and the indirect impact of ethical leadership on OCB. These findings provide empirical support for applying social learning theory, social information processing theory, and conservation of resources (COR)theory. This research also provides several managerial implications through which managers can more effectively improve the OCB of millennial employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Su & Juhee Hahn, 2021. "Improving Millennial Employees’ OCB: A Multilevel Mediated and Moderated Model of Ethical Leadership," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:15:p:8139-:d:606229
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8139/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8139/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yanping Li & Jia Xu & Yidong Tu & Xinxin Lu, 2014. "Ethical Leadership and Subordinates’ Occupational Well-Being: A Multi-level Examination in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 823-842, May.
    2. Sumei Luo & Yuxi Zhang & Guangyou Zhou, 2018. "Financial Structure and Financing Constraints: Evidence on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Brown, Michael E. & Trevino, Linda K. & Harrison, David A., 2005. "Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 117-134, July.
    4. Schwepker, Charles Jr., 2001. "Ethical climate's relationship to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in the salesforce," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 39-52, October.
    5. Mayowa T. Babalola & Jeroen Stouten & Martin Euwema, 2016. "Frequent Change and Turnover Intention: The Moderating Role of Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 311-322, March.
    6. Yidong Tu & Xinxin Lu & Yue Yu, 2017. "Supervisors’ Ethical Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction: A Social Cognitive Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 229-245, February.
    7. Muhammet Sait Dinc & Muzaffer Aydemir, 2014. "Ethical leadership and employee behaviours: an empirical study of mediating factors," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(3), pages 293-312.
    8. Jie He & Alastair M. Morrison & Hao Zhang, 2019. "Improving Millennial Employee Well-Being and Task Performance in the Hospitality Industry: The Interactive Effects of HRM and Responsible Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Martijn Hendriks & Martijn Burger & Antoinette Rijsenbilt & Emma Pleeging & Harry Commandeur, 2020. "Virtuous leadership: a source of employee well-being and trust," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(8), pages 951-970, February.
    10. Mayer, David M. & Kuenzi, Maribeth & Greenbaum, Rebecca & Bardes, Mary & Salvador, Rommel (Bombie), 2009. "How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-13, January.
    11. James Avey & Tara Wernsing & Michael Palanski, 2012. "Exploring the Process of Ethical Leadership: The Mediating Role of Employee Voice and Psychological Ownership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 21-34, April.
    12. Brown, Michael E. & Mitchell, Marie S., 2010. "Ethical and Unethical Leadership: Exploring New Avenues for Future Research," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 583-616, October.
    13. Fabiola H. Gerpott & Niels Van Quaquebeke & Sofia Schlamp & Sven C. Voelpel, 2019. "An Identity Perspective on Ethical Leadership to Explain Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Interplay of Follower Moral Identity and Leader Group Prototypicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 1063-1078, June.
    14. Jia Xu & Baoguo Xie & Beth Chung, 2019. "Bridging the Gap between Affective Well-Being and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Role of Work Engagement and Collectivist Orientation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Muhammad Arshad & Ghulam Abid & Francoise Venezia Contreras Torres, 2021. "Impact of prosocial motivation on organizational citizenship behavior: the mediating role of ethical leadership and leader–member exchange," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 133-150, February.
    16. repec:ucp:bkecon:9780226316529 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lin, Chiou-Shiu & Jin, Ming & Huang, Pei-Chi & Xiao, Ran, 2023. "Does it take two to tango? The joint role of high-performance work systems and ethical leadership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    2. Lin Liu & Hsing-Wei Tai & Kuo-Tai Cheng & Chia-Chen Wei & Chang-Yen Lee & Yen-Hung Chen, 2022. "The Multi-Dimensional Interaction Effect of Culture, Leadership Style, and Organizational Commitment on Employee Involvement within Engineering Enterprises: Empirical Study in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yidong Tu & Xinxin Lu & Yue Yu, 2017. "Supervisors’ Ethical Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction: A Social Cognitive Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 229-245, February.
    2. Tran Quang Bao Phuc & Khalida Parveen & Duyen Thi Truc Tran & Dao Thi Anh Nguyen, 2021. "The linkage between ethical leadership and lecturer job satisfaction at a private higher education institution in Vietnam," Journal of Social Sciences Advancement, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 2(2), pages 39-50.
    3. Angela J. Xu & Raymond Loi & Hang-yue Ngo, 2016. "Ethical Leadership Behavior and Employee Justice Perceptions: The Mediating Role of Trust in Organization," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 493-504, March.
    4. Dave Bouckenooghe & Asma Zafar & Usman Raja, 2015. "How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Job Performance: The Mediating Roles of Goal Congruence and Psychological Capital," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 251-264, June.
    5. Akanksha Bedi & Can M. Alpaslan & Sandy Green, 2016. "A Meta-analytic Review of Ethical Leadership Outcomes and Moderators," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 517-536, December.
    6. Yan Ling & Michelle Hammond & Li-Qun Wei, 2022. "Ethical leadership and ambidexterity in young firms: examining the CEO-TMT Interface," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 25-48, March.
    7. Colina Frisch & Markus Huppenbauer, 2014. "New Insights into Ethical Leadership: A Qualitative Investigation of the Experiences of Executive Ethical Leaders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 23-43, August.
    8. Rebekka Skubinn & Lisa Herzog, 2016. "Internalized Moral Identity in Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 249-260, January.
    9. S. Hansen & Bradley Alge & Michael Brown & Christine Jackson & Benjamin Dunford, 2013. "Ethical Leadership: Assessing the Value of a Multifoci Social Exchange Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 435-449, July.
    10. Samuel Hunter, 2012. "(Un)Ethical Leadership and Identity: What Did We Learn and Where Do We Go from Here?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 79-87, April.
    11. Shenjiang Mo & Junqi Shi, 2017. "Linking Ethical Leadership to Employee Burnout, Workplace Deviance and Performance: Testing the Mediating Roles of Trust in Leader and Surface Acting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 293-303, August.
    12. Nida Kamal & Hina Samdani & Amna Yameen, 2018. "Engaging Employees through Ethical Leadership," Global Social Sciences Review, Humanity Only, vol. 3(3), pages 300-316, September.
    13. Muel Kaptein, 2019. "The Moral Entrepreneur: A New Component of Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 1135-1150, June.
    14. Emmanuel Osafo & Amy Paros & Robert M. Yawson, 2021. "Valence–Instrumentality–Expectancy Model of Motivation as an Alternative Model for Examining Ethical Leadership Behaviors," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    15. Magdaline Enow Mbi Tarkang Mary & Ali Ozturen, 2019. "Sustainable Ethical Leadership and Employee Outcomes in the Hotel Industry in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, April.
    16. Niels Van Quaquebeke & Jan U. Becker & Niko Goretzki & Christian Barrot, 2019. "Perceived Ethical Leadership Affects Customer Purchasing Intentions Beyond Ethical Marketing in Advertising Due to Moral Identity Self-Congruence Concerns," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 357-376, May.
    17. Julena M. Bonner & Rebecca L. Greenbaum & David M. Mayer, 2016. "My Boss is Morally Disengaged: The Role of Ethical Leadership in Explaining the Interactive Effect of Supervisor and Employee Moral Disengagement on Employee Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(4), pages 731-742, September.
    18. Mayowa T. Babalola & Jeroen Stouten & Jeroen Camps & Martin Euwema, 2019. "When Do Ethical Leaders Become Less Effective? The Moderating Role of Perceived Leader Ethical Conviction on Employee Discretionary Reactions to Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 85-102, January.
    19. Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & Ricardo Martínez-Cañas & Joan Fontrodona, 2013. "Ethical Culture and Employee Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Person-Organization Fit," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 173-188, August.
    20. Conna Yang, 2014. "Does Ethical Leadership Lead to Happy Workers? A Study on the Impact of Ethical Leadership, Subjective Well-Being, and Life Happiness in the Chinese Culture," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 513-525, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:15:p:8139-:d:606229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.