Ηγεσία & ηθική : συγκριτική ανάλυση των συμπεριφορικών αποτελεσμάτων της ηθικής ηγεσίας στον ιδιωτικό και δημόσιο τομέα στην Ελλάδα
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Keywords
Ηθική ηγεσία ; Οργανωσιακή συμπεριφορά ; Οργανωσιακή ψυχολογία ; Θετικές εργασιακές στάσεις ; Θετικές εργασιακές συμπεριφορές ; Αρνητικές εργασιακές συμπεριφορές ; Μοντελοποιήση δομικών εξισώσεων ; Δημόσιος τομέας ; Ιδιωτικός τομέαςAbstract
This dissertation addresses the issue of ethical leadership, approaching the matter with a positivistic view. The purpose of this dissertation is to present and elaborate upon a holistic model of ethical leadership that reflects the relationship between ethical leadership and employee work behavior and explains the underlying processes that govern this relationship. The following analysis is correlative in nature and comparative between the public and private sector in Greece, which highlights the contribution of the present study as no similar model has been tested simultaneously for these two sectors in Greece. Adding to the field of organizational behavior in Greece, this model simultaneously tests more than one mediating variables, in order to highlight the complexity of the phenomenon of ethical leadership.
The methodology that was applied was mainly quantitative, but in the pilot study phase of the research we used mixed methods (questionnaire and interview). The final sample is sufficient to generalize the results, as it consists of 357 units in total, of which 257 questionnaires were related to the private sector and 100 to the public sector, while achieving population representation in terms of demographic characteristics. Ethical leadership was measured using the scale Ethical Leadership Questionnaire (Yukl et al., 2013), translated into Greek, since it had first been analyzed in a pilot survey and secondarily having conducted interviews to make sure our construct is well-suited for Greek speaking population. All other variables were composed of single-item scales, in order to ensure the completion of the questionnaire, respecting the time of each employee that would fill in the questionnaire. The measurement tool we used showed high reliability, both for the whole sample and for the individual samples (public - private). We checked for discriminant validity and for multicollinearity issues and our statistical analysis showed no problems with these issues.
We used the method of Structured Equation Modeling. Through the use of this method we have summarized all our observations in an understandable model and proved that ethical leadership through elements of the leader-member relationship (trust, psychological empowerment, authenticity, quality of exchange) positively influences positive work attitudes (job satisfaction, commitment, optimism, task significance and organizational identification), which in turn positively influence positive work behaviors (extra effort, voluntary behaviors and innovative work behavior), negatively influence negative work behaviors (counterproductive behaviors and turnover intention) and finally influence positively individual outcomes (effectiveness, productivity, efficiency). These correlations have been confirmed for both the private and public sectors, without observing any substantial difference between the two sectors. Out of a total of seven research hypotheses, we confirmed six, while one was rejected.
The present study provides a substantial contribution both on an academic and a practical level. At an academic level, we deepen our understanding of ethical leadership and confirm its positive impact in different organizational sectors. On a practical level, we hope that the research findings will influence human resource management professionals in a variety of daily practices, such as selection and training. Especially for leadership development within organizations, we believe that through the findings of this research we consolidate the need for the inclusion of targeted training programs based on ethical standards for the development of leaders.