Title: A meta-analysis of main, moderating and mediating effects of ethical leadership on employees' work outcomes

Authors: Li Shuwen; Jia Ruiqian; Juergen H. Seufert; Luo Jinlian; Guo Limin

Addresses: Tongji University, Shangai, China ' Tongji University, Shangai, China ' Wenzhou Kean University, 88 Daxue Rd, Ouhai, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China ' Tongji University, Shanghai, China ' Tongji University, Shanghai, China

Abstract: This study employs a meta-analysis method to test the influence, boundaries and paths of ethical leadership on employees' work outcome. Results suggest that ethical leadership is related positively to numerous outcomes such as employee voice and job performance. Furthermore, it is explored how ethical leadership influences these outcomes from moderators and mediators. Results reveal that, compared with the Anglo culture, ethical leadership in the Asian Confucian culture can stimulate employee voice better, whereas ethical leadership in the Anglo culture is more effective in enhancing Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and job satisfaction. Ethical leadership is more likely to improve the performance of male subordinates rather than their female counterparts. Compared with public agents, ethical leadership in private organisations can promote employee voice and self-efficacy better. Organisational identity and LMX play mediating roles between ethical leadership, job performance and job satisfaction, respectively, while employee voice merely plays a mediating role between ethical leadership and job performance.

Keywords: ethical leadership; employee voice; organisational identity; LMX; job satisfaction.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2024.140922

European Journal of International Management, 2024 Vol.24 No.2, pp.243 - 266

Received: 06 Aug 2019
Accepted: 07 Mar 2020
Published online: 04 Sep 2024 *

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