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How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Job Performance: The Mediating Roles of Goal Congruence and Psychological Capital

Journal of Business Ethics volume 129, pages 251–264 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Drawing from research on ethical leadership, psychological capital, and social learning theory, this study investigated the mediating effects of goal congruence and psychological capital in the link between supervisors’ ethical leadership style and followers’ in-role job performance. Data captured from 171 employees and 24 supervisors showed that ethical leadership has a positive effect on followers’ in-role job performance, yet this effect is explained through the role of psychological capital and follower–leader goal congruence, providing evidence of mediation. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.

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  1. Faculty of Business, Brock University – Goodman School of Business, 500 Glenridge Avenue, Saint Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Dave Bouckenooghe, Asma Zafar & Usman Raja

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  1. Dave Bouckenooghe
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  2. Asma Zafar
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Correspondence to Dave Bouckenooghe.

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Bouckenooghe, D., Zafar, A. & Raja, U. How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Job Performance: The Mediating Roles of Goal Congruence and Psychological Capital. J Bus Ethics 129, 251–264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2162-3

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Keywords

  • Ethical leadership
  • Psychological capital
  • In-role job performance
  • Goal congruence
  • HLM