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

Author

Listed:
  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Kubilay Gok & John J. Sumanth & William H. Bommer & Ozgur Demirtas & Aykut Arslan & Jared Eberhard & Ali Ihsan Ozdemir & Ahmet Yigit, 2017. "You May Not Reap What You Sow: How Employees’ Moral Awareness Minimizes Ethical Leadership’s Positive Impact on Workplace Deviance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 257-277, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3655-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3655-7
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    5. Sean R. Valentine & Sheila K. Hanson & Gary M. Fleischman, 2019. "The Presence of Ethics Codes and Employees’ Internal Locus of Control, Social Aversion/Malevolence, and Ethical Judgment of Incivility: A Study of Smaller Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(3), pages 657-674, December.
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    7. Zhen Wang & Lu Xing & Haoying Xu & Sean T. Hannah, 2021. "Not All Followers Socially Learn from Ethical Leaders: The Roles of Followers’ Moral Identity and Leader Identification in the Ethical Leadership Process," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 449-469, May.
    8. Michael S. Aßländer & Tobias Gössling, 2017. "Thematic Symposium: Business Ethics, Peace and Environmental Issues (T0004)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 255-256, December.
    9. Badghish, Saeed & Shaik, Aqueeb Sohail & Sahore, Nidhi & Srivastava, Shalini & Masood, Ayesha, 2024. "Can transactional use of AI-controlled voice assistants for service delivery pickup pace in the near future? A social learning theory (SLT) perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
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