Validation of a German Version of the Ethical Leadership at Work Questionnaire by Kalshoven et al. (2011)

Abstract

The present study evaluates the psychometric properties of a German version of the Ethical Leadership at Work questionnaire (ELW-D), and further embeds the construct of ethical leadership within its nomological network. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) based on the total sample of N = 363 employees support the assumed seven-factor structure of the German translation. Within a sub-sample of N = 133, the ELW-D shows positive correlations with related leadership behaviors (transformational leadership, contingent reward, and servant leadership), and negative correlations with destructive ones (passive leadership, autocratic leadership, and abusive supervision), approving convergent validity of the scale. Comparisons of correlated correlation coefficients reveal restrictions of its discriminant validity. In support of the criterion-related validity (N = 100), the ELW-D relates to work-related attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, satisfaction with the leader, trust in the leader) and follower behaviors (e.g., extra effort, organizational citizenship behavior) in the way expected. Besides, ELW-D-dimensions show incremental validity over and above the Ethical Leadership Scale, emphasizing the added value of this questionnaire.

How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Readiness to Change: The Mediating Role of an Organizational Culture of Effectiveness

“…Specifically, De Hoogh and Den Hartog (2008) and Kalshoven et al (2011, 2013) identified seven behavioral dimensions of ethical leadership: fairness , power sharing , role clarification , ethical guidance , people orientation , concern for sustainability , and integrity . First, ethical leaders are expected to be fair in their decisions, which entails being transparent, taking principled, balanced decisions (Kalshoven et al, 2011; Steinmann et al, 2016), being honest, acting responsibly, and treating employees equally (Kalshoven et al, 2013). Ethical leaders are also expected to share power (Kalshoven et al, 2011, 2013), which refers to allowing employees to participate in decision making, and listening to their ideas and opinions (Brown et al, 2005; De Hoogh and Den Hartog, 2008).…”

“…Under ethical leadership conditions, employees are more likely to feel less fear, more security (Sharif and Scandura, 2014; Neves et al, 2018), more information about the situation, and a greater sense of control (Morgan and Zeffane, 2003), which is key for them to offer their best response to any change process (Vakola and Nikolaou, 2005). Furthermore, ethical leaders empower people (Kalshoven et al, 2011, 2013), so they are more likely to promote employees’ involvement in the change process (i.e., voice in the change process; Sharif and Scandura, 2014), by reflecting confidence in employees’ abilities, thus increasing their self-efficacy perceptions (Abrell-Vogel and Rowold, 2014; Steinmann et al, 2016). Such enhancement in their self-efficacy perceptions is critical to understanding and responding to the environment in an efficient manner (Bandura, 2001) as well as to be ready for any change (Shah and Shah, 2010; Vakola, 2014).…”

“…This is highly likely to stimulate in employees the efforts and positive attitudes needed to be ready for any change in the organization. Ethical leadership is also a source of role clarification and empowerment (Kalshoven et al, 2011), which can be useful in times of change to mitigate negative emotions and reduce uncertainty (uncertainty reduction theory; Neves et al, 2018) as well as to make employees feel more self-efficacious (Steinmann et al, 2016) and ready to respond to any change. Thus, the stronger development of social exchange, social identity, and uncertainty reduction processes that occur as a consequence of ethical leadership should result in a stronger positive influence of ethical leadership on employees’ readiness to change.…”

“…In addition, ethical leaders empower and develop employees, and provide the information needed to complete tasks (Kalshoven et al, 2011, 2013), which should make it easier for employees to learn, and apply new skills and new technologies to achieve organizational goals (Ozaralli, 2003). Ethical leaders also incorporate employees’ ideas into their decisions, involving them in goal setting (Kalshoven et al, 2011; Steinmann et al, 2016). As a result, goals are better clarified and employees perceive them as their own, which should motivate greater efforts to achieve them (Loceke and Latham, 1990).…”

Ethical and Passive Leadership and Their Joint Relationships with Burnout via Role Clarity and Role Overload

“…To address this, the purpose of our study is to empirically examine the effect of both ethical and passive leadership behavior on employee burnout. The non-participation, lack of direction and care, and unresponsiveness of passive leadership contradicts with the consideration and guidance ethical leadership provides (Steinmann et al 2016). Thus, leaders who are seen to act both in ethical and passive ways display inconsistent leader behaviors and research suggests that behavioral inconsistency hampers the clarity and credibility of the leader actions (Johnsen et al 2012).…”