Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Performance in the Public Sector: Does Leader-Member Exchange Matter?


Kazeem Adebayo Oladimeji(1*), Abdulrazaq Kayode Abdulkareem(2), Iyiola Tomilayo Akindele(3), Abdulhakeem Adejumo(4)

(1) Al-Hikmah University Ilorin., Nigeria
(2) University of Ilorin, Nigeria
(3) University of Ilorin, Nigeria
(4) Federal University Dutse, Nigeria
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


This study assessed the impact of ethical leadership on employee performance in the public sector using leader-member exchange as a mediator. Data for this quantitative study was gathered using a structured questionnaire administered to Nigerian federal public officials in some selected ministries. A conceptual model was drawn and put to the test using the PLS-SEM. Based on the results, all hypotheses were significant at p < 0.001. More importantly, ethical leadership positively and significantly impacts leader-member exchange and employee productivity. More so, leader-member exchange mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and employee performance. This study’s findings improve on earlier studies on ethical leadership and leader-member exchange relationships. Also, it suggests the importance of leaders’ moral behaviour and their relationship with subordinates in the workplace, by imbibing workplace ethics. This study has added to the continuing discussion on ethical leadership and its implications in the public sector in a developing nation like Nigeria.

Keywords


Leader-Member Exchange, Ethical Leadership, Employee Performance, Public Sector

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdulkareem, A. K., Ishola, A. A., & Abdulkareem, Z. J. (2021). E-Government and Bureaucratic Corruption in Nigeria: Successes and Challenges. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan, 12(1), 1-20.

Abdulkareem, A. K., & Ramli, R. M. (2021). Does trust in e-government influence the performance of e-government? An integration of information system success model and public value theory. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy.

Ali, B. J., & Anwar, G. (2021). An Empirical Study of Employees’ Motivation and its Influence Job Satisfaction. Ali, BJ, & Anwar, G.(2021). An Empirical Study of Employees’ Motivation and its Influence Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Engineering, Business and Management, 5(2), 21-30.

Alzahrani, A. I., Mahmud, I., Ramayah, T., Alfarraj, O., & Alalwan, N. (2019). Modelling digital library success using the DeLone and McLean information system success model. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51(2), 291-306.

Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Englewood cliffs Prentice Hall.

Bello, M. L., Ishola, A. A., Abdulkareem, A. K., & Umar, A. Y. (2020). E-GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA. e-BANGI, 17(5), 1-14.

Benevene, P., Dal Corso, L., De Carlo, A., Falco, A., Carluccio, F., & Vecina, M. L. (2018). Ethical leadership as antecedent of job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment and intention to stay among volunteers of non-profit organizations. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2069.

Bos-Nehles, A., & Audenaert, M. (2019). LMX and HRM: a multi-level review of how LMX is used to explain the employment relationship. Elgar introduction to theories of human resources and employment relations.

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 97(2), 117-134.

CANSOY, R., PARLAR, H., & TÜRKOĞLU, M. E. (2021). The Effect of School Principals’ Ethical Leadership on Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of School Ethical Climate. International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 8(4), 210-222.

Chi, H.-K., Lan, C.-H., & Dorjgotov, B. (2012). The moderating effect of transformational leadership on knowledge management and organizational effectiveness. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 40(6), 1015-1023.

Cortez, R. M., & Johnston, W. J. (2020). The Coronavirus crisis in B2B settings: Crisis uniqueness and managerial implications based on social exchange theory. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 125-135.

Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of management, 31(6), 874-900.

da Cruz Carvalho, A., Riana, I. G., & Soares, A. (2020). Motivation on job satisfaction and employee performance. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 7(5), 13-23.

Danish, R. Q., Hafeez, S., Hafiz, F. A., Mehta, A. M., Ahmad, M. B., & Ali, M. (2020). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior with Mediating role of Intrinsic Motivation. International Review of Management and Marketing, 10(4), 25.

Derindag, O. F., Demirtas, O., & Bayram, A. (2021). The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Influence at Organizations: The Moderating Role of Person-Organization (PO) Fit. Review of Business, 41(2).

Eggert, A., Ulaga, W., & Schultz, F. (2006). Value creation in the relationship life cycle: A quasi-longitudinal analysis. Industrial Marketing Management, 35(1), 20-27.

Evans, L. (2001). Delving deeper into morale, job satisfaction and motivation among education professionals: Re-examining the leadership dimension. Educational Management & Administration, 29(3), 291-306.

Fan, X., Li, J., Mao, Z. E., & Lu, Z. (2021). Can ethical leadership inspire employee loyalty in hotels in China?-From the perspective of the social exchange theory. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 49, 538-547.

Giessner, S., & Van Quaquebeke, N. (2010). Using a relational models perspective to understand normatively appropriate conduct in ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(1), 43-55.

Graen, G. B., & Schiemann, W. A. (2013). Leadership‐motivated excellence theory: an extension of LMX. Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Hassan, S., Wright, B. E., & Yukl, G. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government? Effects on organizational commitment, absenteeism, and willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333-343.

Inam, A., Ho, J. A., Ng, S. I., & Mohamed, R. (2021). Inhibiting unethical pro-organizational behavior: Harnessing the effects of responsible leadership and leader–member exchange. International Journal of Manpower.

Kangas, H. M. (2013). The development of the LMX relationships after a newly appointed leader enters an organization. Human Resource Development International, 16(5), 575-589.

Kemp, C., van Herwerden, L., Molloy, E., Kleve, S., Brimblecombe, J., Reidlinger, D., & Palermo, C. (2021). How do students offer value to organisations through work integrated learning? A qualitative study using Social Exchange Theory. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 1-19.

Kock, N. (2017). Common method bias: a full collinearity assessment method for PLS-SEM. In Partial least squares path modeling (pp. 245-257). Springer.

Lam, L. W., Xu, A. J., & Loi, R. (2018). Is emotional engagement possible in emotionally demanding jobs? The role of leader-member exchange (LMX). Journal of Personnel Psychology, 17(1), 42.

Lee, N., & Cadogan, J. W. (2009). Sales force social exchange in problem resolution situations. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(3), 355-372.

Mahsud, R., Yukl, G., & Prussia, G. (2010). Leader empathy, ethical leadership, and relations‐oriented behaviors as antecedents of leader‐member exchange quality. Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Martin, S. R., Emich, K. J., McClean, E. J., & Woodruff, C. (2022). Keeping teams together: How ethical leadership moderates the effects of performance on team efficacy and social integration. Journal of Business Ethics, 176(1), 127-139.

Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 108(1), 1-13.

Mitonga-Monga, J. (2020). Social exchange influences on ethical leadership and employee commitment in a developing country setting. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 30(6), 485-491.

Molm, L. D., Collett, J. L., & Schaefer, D. R. (2006). Conflict and fairness in social exchange. Social forces, 84(4), 2331-2352.

Munawaroh, A., Riantoputra, C. D., & Marpaung, S. B. (2013). Factors influencing individual performance in an Indonesian government office. The South East Asian Journal of Management, 135-144.

Naile, I., & Selesho, J. M. (2014). The role of leadership in employee motivation. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(3), 175.

Ogunfowora, B. (2014). It’s all a matter of consensus: Leader role modeling strength as a moderator of the links between ethical leadership and employee outcomes. Human Relations, 67(12), 1467-1490.

Oladimeji, K. A., & Abdulkareem, A. K. (2022). Ethical Leadership and Employee Performance in the Public Sector: The Mediating Effects of Motivation and Satisfaction. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan, 13(2).

Ouakouak, M. L., Zaitouni, M. G., & Arya, B. (2020). Ethical leadership, emotional leadership, and quitting intentions in public organizations: does employee motivation play a role? Leadership & organization development journal.

Paais, M., & Pattiruhu, J. R. (2020). Effect of motivation, leadership, and organizational culture on satisfaction and employee performance. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(8), 577-588.

Podsakoff, P. M., & MacKenzie, S. B. (1989). A second generation measure of organizational citizenship behavior. Unpublished manuscript, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Qing, M., Asif, M., Hussain, A., & Jameel, A. (2020). Exploring the impact of ethical leadership on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in public sector organizations: The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Review of Managerial Science, 14(6), 1405-1432.

Ruiz‐Palomino, P., Ruiz‐Amaya, C., & Knörr, H. (2011). Employee organizational citizenship behaviour: The direct and indirect impact of ethical leadership. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 28(3), 244-258.

Scandura, T. A., & Graen, G. B. (1984). Moderating effects of initial leader–member exchange status on the effects of a leadership intervention. Journal of applied psychology, 69(3), 428.

Scott, K. A., & Zweig, D. (2020). The cynical subordinate: exploring organizational cynicism, LMX, and loyalty. Personnel Review.

Shakeel, F., Kruyen, P. M., & Van Thiel, S. (2019a). Ethical leadership as process: A conceptual proposition. Public Integrity, 21(6), 613-624.

Shakeel, F., Kruyen, P. M., & Van Thiel, S. (2019b). Ethical leadership: A structured review into construct, measurement, public sector context and effects. International Journal of Public Leadership.

Shareef, R. A., & Atan, T. (2018). The influence of ethical leadership on academic employees’ organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention: Mediating role of intrinsic motivation. Management Decision.

Treviño, L. K., & Brown, M. E. (2005). The role of leaders in influencing unethical behavior in the workplace. Managing organizational deviance, 69-87.

Tu, Y., Lu, X., & Yu, Y. (2017). Supervisors’ ethical leadership and employee job satisfaction: A social cognitive perspective. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18(1), 229-245.

Uhl-Bien, M., Carsten, M., Huang, L., & Maslyn, J. (2022). What do managers value in the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship? Identification and measurement of the manager’s perspective of LMX (MLMX). Journal of Business Research, 148, 225-240.

Yasin, R. (2021). Responsible leadership and employees’ turnover intention. Explore the mediating roles of ethical climate and corporate image. Journal of Knowledge Management.

Yilmaz, D. U., Düzgün, F., & Yilmaz, D. (2020). Relationship Between Ethical Leadership Behavior and Work Motivation in Intensive Care Nurses: A Cross-sectional Study. Galician medical journal, 27(1), E202011-E202011.

Yu, D., & Liang, J. (2004). A new model for examining the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory. Human Resource Development International, 7(2), 251-264.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.15575/jpan.v14i2.19912

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 Kazeem Adebayo Oladimeji, Abdulrazaq Kayode Abdulkareem

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

PUBLICA: Jurnal Pemikiran Administrasi Negara
Has Been Indexed on:

  Harvard Library  
    
     
    

 

 

 

1st Floor, FISIP Building, UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung

A.H. Nasution Street No. 105 Cibiru, Bandung, 40614

E-mail: publica@uinsgd.ac.id

 


 Publica : Jurnal Pemikiran Administrasi Negara is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International