Author(s): Kien The Mai, Uyen Nu Hoang Ton, Hoa Doan Xuan Trieu, Phuong Van Nguyen
Employees' unethical behavior has remained a relatively concerning problem regarding ethics and organizational effectiveness. Given its detrimental effects and high frequencies in developing countries, studies on this problem would serve as a fundamental empirical document that clarifies the dynamics around employee's integrity and further implies solutions for future ethical management. The current research investigates the mechanism linking ethical leadership to employees' ethical behaviors with the inclusion of coworker ethical behavior, perceived organizational politics, and organizational commitment. The target respondents comprise employees working in joint-stock companies in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. The study utilizes PLS-SEM approach to analyze the sample of 263 valid observations to test the research model. The current research revealed significant effects of ethical leadership on enhancing employees' ethical conducts, widely shared morality by their coworkers, individual's emotional attachment to the organization as well as creating a more ethical working climate where the perception of organizational politics is minimized. Employees are therefore encouraged to behave ethically in accordance with others' supportive actions and the organizational bonds developed out of leaders' genuine care for subordinates' well-being and advancement. From the findings, the study sheds light on a comprehensive understanding of the positive correlation between ethical leadership and employees' ethical conducts as well as cruciality of ethical trainings and selection for managers, transparent organizational regulations, convenient methods for open discussion, honest report, and sufficient support for employees' development.