Different ethical leadership approaches and unethical pro-organisational behaviour: competing identity and value pathways

Although prior research has examined the relationship between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organisational behaviour, most studies treat ethical leadership as a unitary construct. This study distinguishes promotion-focused from prevention-focused ethical leadership and examines their relationships with unethical pro-organisational behaviour through leader identification and public service motivation. Survey data from 636 public employees in Vietnam were analysed using PLS-SEM. Both forms of ethical leadership were positively associated with leader identification and public service motivation, but the two mediators had opposing relationships with unethical pro-organisational behaviour. Leader identification was positively associated with unethical pro-organisational behaviour, whereas public service motivation was negatively associated with it. The opposing indirect effects help explain why neither ethical leadership orientation showed a significant total relationship with unethical pro-organisational behaviour. Distinguishing these pathways reveals relationships that would otherwise be missed when ethical leadership is examined only in terms of its overall association with such behaviour.