Cited by 377Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorEmployee Performance and LeadershipEthics in Business and Education

Ethical leadership: Meta-analytic evidence of criterion-related and incremental validity.

Ng, Thomas W. H., Feldman, Daniel C.·2015·Journal of Applied Psychology

Abstract

This study examines the criterion-related and incremental validity of ethical leadership (EL) with meta-analytic data. Across 101 samples published over the last 15 years (N = 29,620), we observed that EL demonstrated acceptable criterion-related validity with variables that tap followers' job attitudes, job performance, and evaluations of their leaders. Further, followers' trust in the leader mediated the relationships of EL with job attitudes and performance. In terms of incremental validity, we found that EL significantly, albeit weakly in some cases, predicted task performance, citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behavior-even after controlling for the effects of such variables as transformational leadership, use of contingent rewards, management by exception, interactional fairness, and destructive leadership. The article concludes with a discussion of ways to strengthen the incremental validity of EL. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Crossref · 10.1037/a0038246

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  • Ethical leadership has incremental effects over transformational and transactional leadership on some general criteria beyond purely ethics-related outcomes.

    “Ethical leadership has incremental effects over transformational leadership and transactional leadership on some general criteria beyond purely ethicsrelated outcomes (Ng & Feldman, 2015).”

    From The evolution of leadership: Past insights, present trends, and future directions (2025) · cites this paper as Ng & Feldman, 2015

  • The mechanism of ethical leadership's effects has been explained by social learning and social exchange theories.

    “The mechanism of its effects has been explained by social learning and social exchange theories (Banks et al., 2021; Brown et al., 2005; Ng & Feldman, 2015).”

    From The evolution of leadership: Past insights, present trends, and future directions (2025) · cites this paper as Ng & Feldman, 2015

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Authors
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University of Georgia (US)
Venue
Journal of Applied Psychology
Published
2015-05
Volume
100
Issue
3
Pages
948-965
ISSN
  • 0021-9010 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1854
OpenAlex
W1999123659
Cited by
377
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 40 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 18
FWCI
25.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Applied Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Employee Performance and Leadership
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Ethics in Business and Education
Keywords
ethical leadership, criterion validity, incremental validity, employee attitudes, employee performance, leader evaluation, trust in leadership, organizational citizenship behavior, counterproductive work behavior, transformational leadership, interactional justice, destructive leadership, contingent reward
MeSH terms
Employment, Humans, Leadership, Morals

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