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Ethical Leadership and Subordinates’ Occupational Well-Being: A Multi-level Examination in China

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  • Yanping Li
  • Jia Xu
  • Yidong Tu
  • Xinxin Lu

Abstract

Prior research and managerial practices have often over-emphasized employees’ performance and ignored their occupational well-being. However, a series of employee suicide scandals in China have drawn people’s attention to employees’ occupational well-being and heightened the importance of how ethical leadership can enhance such well-being. Based on social exchange theory, this study examined the main effect of ethical leadership on subordinates’ occupational well-being in China, as well as the underlying mechanisms and contextual factors between them. Our sample comprised 302 employee questionnaires and 34 questionnaires completed by supervisors about their group. Using a multi-level approach, we implemented hierarchical linear modeling to examine the hypotheses. The results revealed that ethical leadership positively influenced the subordinates’ occupational well-being. This effect was partially mediated by distributive justice and interpersonal justice. Moreover, group level collectivism moderated the influence of ethical leadership on employees’ perception of distributive justice, interpersonal justice and their occupational well-being. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:116:y:2014:i:3:p:823-842
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0321-z
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    2. Huaiyong Wang & Guangli Lu & Yongfang Liu, 2017. "Ethical Leadership and Loyalty to Supervisor in China: The Roles of Interactional Justice and Collectivistic Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 529-543, December.
    3. Nick Lin-Hi & Xiaohan Gao-Urhahn & Torsten Biemann & Irmela F. Koch-Bayram, 2023. "Internal CSR and blue-collar workers’ attitudes and behaviors in China: a combination of a cross-sectional study and a field experiment," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(3), pages 1185-1213, July.
    4. Shuxia Zhang & Yidong Tu, 2018. "Cross-Domain Effects of Ethical Leadership on Employee Family and Life Satisfaction: the Moderating Role of Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1085-1097, November.
    5. Yidong Tu & Ying Zhang & Yongkang Yang & Shengfeng Lu, 2022. "Treat Floating People Fairly: How Compensation Equity and Multilevel Social Exclusion Influence Prosocial Behavior Among China’s Floating Population," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(2), pages 323-338, January.
    6. 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.
    7. Yidong Tu & Xinxin Lu, 2016. "Work-to-Life Spillover Effect of Leader–Member Exchange in Groups: The Moderating Role of Group Power Distance and Employee Political Skill," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1873-1889, October.
    8. Yidong Tu & Shuxia Zhang, 2015. "Loneliness and Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese Undergraduates: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 963-980, December.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. Rita Paralta & Eduardo Simões & Ana Patrícia Duarte, 2023. "Subjective Well-Being in Organizations: Effects of Internal Ethical Context and Ethical Leadership," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-17, March.
    12. 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.
    13. Yidong Tu & Xinxin Lu & Jin Nam Choi & Wei Guo, 2019. "Ethical Leadership and Team-Level Creativity: Mediation of Psychological Safety Climate and Moderation of Supervisor Support for Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 551-565, October.

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