The relationship between ethical leadership and core job characteristics

TLDR

Ethical leadership is theorized to influence core job characteristics such as task significance and autonomy, which in turn affect employee motivation and performance. The study aims to test whether ethical leaders enhance task significance and autonomy, thereby increasing effort and improving performance and organizational citizenship behavior. The authors surveyed co‑workers across diverse organizations to assess the relationships between ethical leadership and job characteristics. Results show that task significance and effort fully mediate the effect of ethical leadership on subordinates’ job performance. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract In the current study, we draw on the original job characteristics model (JCM) and on an elaborated model of work design to examine relationships between ethical leadership, task significance, job autonomy, effort, and job performance. We suggest that leaders with strong ethical commitments who regularly demonstrate ethically normative behavior can have an impact on the JCM elements of task significance and autonomy, thereby affecting an employee's motivation (willingness to exert effort), which in turn will be evidenced by indications of enhanced task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. We conducted a field study by surveying pairs of co‐workers in a diverse set of organizations. Results provide support for a fully mediated model whereby task significance and effort fully mediate relationships between ethical leadership and subordinates' job performance. Implications for future research on job design are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.