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Do Perceptions of Ethical Conduct Matter During Organizational Change? Ethical Leadership and Employee Involvement

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Abstract

Ethical leadership matters in the context of organizational change due to the need for followers to trust the integrity of their leaders. Yet, there have been no studies investigating ethical leadership and organizational change. To fill this gap, we introduce a model of the moderating role of involvement in change. Organizational change and involvement in change are proposed as context-level moderators in the relationships of ethical leadership and work-related attitudes and performance. We employ a sample of 199 supervisor–subordinate pairs from a wide variety of organizations. Results support a three-way interaction (ethical leadership, organizational change, and involvement in change) for performance and OCBs. Our results have important implications for organizational change since ethical leadership appears to complement follower involvement when change is happening.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a grant from the Arsht Ethics Initiatives at the University of Miami Ethics Programs and made possible by a generous gift from philanthropist Adrienne Arsht.

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  1. Department of Management, School of Business Administration, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33124, USA

    Monica M. Sharif & Terri A. Scandura

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  1. Monica M. Sharif
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  2. Terri A. Scandura
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Correspondence to Monica M. Sharif.

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Sharif, M.M., Scandura, T.A. Do Perceptions of Ethical Conduct Matter During Organizational Change? Ethical Leadership and Employee Involvement. J Bus Ethics 124, 185–196 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1869-x

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