“Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity
Introduction: In the face of increasing global demands and growing concerns regarding organizational sustainability, ethical leadership has emerged as a critical factor shaping employee wellbeing, commitment, and ethical behavior in the workplace. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the influen...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
| Publicado: |
2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Enlace permanente (DOI o Handle) Ver en el sistema de origen |
| Etiquetas: |
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
| _version_ | 1881700511991726080 |
|---|---|
| author | Miluska Villar-Guevara Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas Ledy Gómez-Bayona Rosse Canaza-Quispe Israel Fernández-Mallma |
| author_browse | Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas Israel Fernández-Mallma Ledy Gómez-Bayona Miluska Villar-Guevara Rosse Canaza-Quispe |
| author_facet | Miluska Villar-Guevara Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas Ledy Gómez-Bayona Rosse Canaza-Quispe Israel Fernández-Mallma |
| author_sort | Miluska Villar-Guevara |
| collection | Producción científica |
| description | Introduction: In the face of increasing global demands and growing concerns regarding organizational sustainability, ethical leadership has emerged as a critical factor shaping employee wellbeing, commitment, and ethical behavior in the workplace. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, while assessing the mediating roles of ethical climate and employee moral identity. This research is justified by the limited empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms through which ethical leadership influences employee attitudes and behaviors, particularly within integrated explanatory models that simultaneously consider both organizational and individual ethical factors. Method: = 36.6; SD = 10.1). The model was statistically analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results: The hypotheses of the proposed model were confirmed, demonstrating the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, highlighting in turn the mediating role of the ethical climate and employee moral identity in the proposed model. Discussion: These findings suggest that ethical leadership functions as an integrative mechanism that links the organizational, psychological, and behavioral dimensions of employee performance. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the simultaneous mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity in explaining how ethical leadership influences model components. By providing evidence from the Peruvian healthcare sector, a context that is still underrepresented in organizational behavior research, this study expands the current theoretical understanding of ethical leadership. It offers perspectives for strengthening integrity, transparency, and sustainable people management practices in healthcare institutions. |
| format | Article |
| id | openalex:W7167787908 |
| institution | UPeU |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | openalex:W7167787908“Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identityMiluska Villar-GuevaraElizabeth Emperatriz García-SalirrosasLedy Gómez-BayonaRosse Canaza-QuispeIsrael Fernández-Mallmaethical leadershipethical climateemployee happinessaffective commitmentmediating effecthealthcare workersorganizational ethicsemployee well-beingEthics in Business and EducationJob Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorWorkplace Spirituality and LeadershipIntroduction: In the face of increasing global demands and growing concerns regarding organizational sustainability, ethical leadership has emerged as a critical factor shaping employee wellbeing, commitment, and ethical behavior in the workplace. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, while assessing the mediating roles of ethical climate and employee moral identity. This research is justified by the limited empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms through which ethical leadership influences employee attitudes and behaviors, particularly within integrated explanatory models that simultaneously consider both organizational and individual ethical factors. Method: = 36.6; SD = 10.1). The model was statistically analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results: The hypotheses of the proposed model were confirmed, demonstrating the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, highlighting in turn the mediating role of the ethical climate and employee moral identity in the proposed model. Discussion: These findings suggest that ethical leadership functions as an integrative mechanism that links the organizational, psychological, and behavioral dimensions of employee performance. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the simultaneous mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity in explaining how ethical leadership influences model components. By providing evidence from the Peruvian healthcare sector, a context that is still underrepresented in organizational behavior research, this study expands the current theoretical understanding of ethical leadership. It offers perspectives for strengthening integrity, transparency, and sustainable people management practices in healthcare institutions.Articlehttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1870811https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1870811/pdfW7167787908enFrontiers in Psychology1664-10782026-07-09 |
| spellingShingle | ethical leadership ethical climate employee happiness affective commitment mediating effect healthcare workers organizational ethics employee well-being Ethics in Business and Education Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Workplace Spirituality and Leadership Miluska Villar-Guevara Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas Ledy Gómez-Bayona Rosse Canaza-Quispe Israel Fernández-Mallma “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title | “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title_full | “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title_fullStr | “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title_short | “Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| title_sort | beyond leadership unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity |
| topic | ethical leadership ethical climate employee happiness affective commitment mediating effect healthcare workers organizational ethics employee well-being Ethics in Business and Education Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Workplace Spirituality and Leadership |
| topic_facet | ethical leadership ethical climate employee happiness affective commitment mediating effect healthcare workers organizational ethics employee well-being Ethics in Business and Education Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior Workplace Spirituality and Leadership |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1870811 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1870811/pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT miluskavillarguevara beyondleadershipunravelingtheimpactofethicalleadershiponthemostinfluentialfactorsananalysisofthemediatingroleofethicalclimateandemployeemoralidentity AT elizabethemperatrizgarciasalirrosas beyondleadershipunravelingtheimpactofethicalleadershiponthemostinfluentialfactorsananalysisofthemediatingroleofethicalclimateandemployeemoralidentity AT ledygomezbayona beyondleadershipunravelingtheimpactofethicalleadershiponthemostinfluentialfactorsananalysisofthemediatingroleofethicalclimateandemployeemoralidentity AT rossecanazaquispe beyondleadershipunravelingtheimpactofethicalleadershiponthemostinfluentialfactorsananalysisofthemediatingroleofethicalclimateandemployeemoralidentity AT israelfernandezmallma beyondleadershipunravelingtheimpactofethicalleadershiponthemostinfluentialfactorsananalysisofthemediatingroleofethicalclimateandemployeemoralidentity |