While the influence of leadership on organizational innovation is known, the contribution of ethical leadership to innovation via the mediating factors of trust and safety behavior is less examined within the healthcare sector. This study examines the impact of ethical leadership on organizational innovation, mediated by trust and safety behavior, within the healthcare sectors of Pakistan and China.
Objectives:
This study analyzes the comparative influence of ethical leadership on trust, safety behaviors, and organizational innovation in Pakistan and China. Specifically, it investigates the sequential mediating role of trust and safety behavior.
Methods:
The current study employed a quantitative cross-sectional methodology and examined 302 nurses: 159 from Sindh, Pakistan, and 143 from Heilongjiang, China. The proposed relationships and cross-cultural differences were examined utilizing the structural equation model.
Results:
The findings demonstrate that ethical leadership substantially affects trust, safety behavior, and innovation in both cultures, though with cultural variances. In China, ethical leadership exerts a more pronounced direct influence on followers’ safety behavior and innovation than in Pakistan, where the collectivist and hierarchical culture enhances trust and safety behavior by mediating roles. In both scenarios, trust and safety behavior link ethical leadership to innovation.
Conclusion:
This comparative study emphasizes the global importance of ethical leadership for trust, safety behavior, and innovation while highlighting cultural differences between Pakistan and China. In China, the influence of ethical leadership is more pronounced due to its organized administration. Still, in Pakistan, the collectivist and hierarchical society enhances the mediating effects of trust and safety behaviors. These findings are significant for healthcare firms to tailor ethical leadership to many cultures, enhancing trust, compliance, and innovation globally.
KvasASeljakJ. Sources of workplace violence against nurses. Work2015; 52: 177–184.
2.
YePLiuLTanJ. The influence of organisational justice and ethical leadership on employees’ innovation behaviour. Eur J Innov Manag2023; 26: 1129–1149.
3.
ShafiqueIAhmadBKalyarMN. How ethical leadership influences creativity and organizational innovation: examining the underlying mechanisms. Eur J Innov Manag2020; 23: 114–133.
4.
DetertJRTreviñoLK. Speaking up to higher-ups: how supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organ Sci2010; 21: 249–270.
5.
WangXZhouLWenX, et al.Exploring the relationship between ethical leadership and Nurses’ moral courage in China: the mediating effect of psychological empowerment. J Nurs Manag2024; 2024: 6664191.
6.
MullenJKellowayEKTeedM. Employer safety obligations, transformational leadership and their interactive effects on employee safety performance. Saf Sci2017; 91: 405–412.
7.
KellowayEKMullenJFrancisL. Divergent effects of transformational and passive leadership on employee safety. J Occup Health Psychol2006; 11: 76–86.
8.
LiuSChuFGuoM, et al.Authentic leadership, person-organization fit and collectivistic orientation: a moderated-mediated model of workplace safety. Leadersh Organ Dev J2021; 42: 1295–1310.
9.
HeYShengZGriffinM, et al.A multilevel model linking altruistic motivation to workplace safety: The role of servant leadership. J Organ Behav. Epub ahead of print 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2761.
10.
LiCMuradMAwais-E-YazdanM. The impact of leadership styles on employee safety behaviour among Chinese healthcare workers: the moderating role of cooperation facilitation. Int J Health Plann Manage2023; 38: 1377–1395.
11.
HalléR. The development and empirical testing of a safety leadership-safety behaviour structural model.
12.
ZulkiflySSZahirNSMRanjanMZ. Factors of leadership and behaviour towards organisational safety performance: a predictive model for small and Medium manufacturing industry. Int J Saf Secur Eng2023; 13: 277–288.
13.
EnwereuzorIKAdeyemiBAOnyishiIE. Trust in leader as a pathway between ethical leadership and safety compliance. Leadersh Heal Serv2020; 33: 201–219.
14.
GeninEHainesVYPelletierD, et al.Why the long hours? Job demands and social exchange dynamics. Work2016; 55: 539–548.
15.
BrownMETreviñoLKHarrisonDA. Ethical leadership: a social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process2005; 97: 117–134.
16.
JohnsonCESheltonPMYatesL. Nice guys (an gals) finish first: ethical leadership and organizational trust, satisfaction, and effectiveness. Int Leadersh J2012; 4: 3–19.
17.
KalshovenKDen HartogDNDe HooghAHB. Ethical leadership at work questionnaire (ELW): development and validation of a multidimensional measure. Leadersh Q2011; 22: 51–69.
18.
ChughtaiAA. Creating safer workplaces: the role of ethical leadership. Saf Sci2015; 73: 92–98.
19.
DirksKTFerrinDL. Trust in leadership: meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. J Appl Psychol2002; 87: 611–628.
20.
MillarRFreemanTMannionR. Hospital board oversight of quality and safety: a stakeholder analysis exploring the role of trust and intelligence quality, performance, safety and outcomes the many meanings of ‘quality’ in healthcare: interdisciplinary perspectives. BMC Health Serv Res2015; 15: 1–12.
21.
ZengJXuGMillerR, et al.Linking ethical leadership to employee voice: the role of trust. Soc Behav Pers2020; 48: 653–663.
22.
SchwatkaNVRosecranceJC. Safety climate and safety behaviors in the construction industry: the importance of co-workers commitment to safety. Work2016; 54: 401–413.
23.
BediAAlpaslanCMGreenS. A meta-analytic review of ethical leadership outcomes and moderators. J Bus Ethics2016; 139: 517–536.
24.
WalumbwaFOHartnellCAMisatiE. Does ethical leadership enhance group learning behavior? Examining the mediating influence of group ethical conduct, justice climate, and peer justice. J Bus Res2017; 72: 14–23.
KhanNAhmadIIlyasM. Impact of ethical leadership on organizational safety performance: the mediating role of safety culture and safety consciousness. Ethics Behav2018; 28: 628–643.
27.
IgartuaJJHayesAF. Mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: concepts, computations, and some common confusions. Span J Psychol2021; 24: 1–23.
28.
BrandlJLSmithB. Review essays: Austrian philosophy: the legacy of franz brentano. Philos Phenomenol Res1997; 57: 697.
29.
ReaderTWMearnsKLopesC, et al.Organizational support for the workforce and employee safety citizenship behaviors: a social exchange relationship. Hum Relations2017; 70: 362–385.
30.
NewmanAKiazadKMiaoQ, et al.Examining the cognitive and affective trust-based mechanisms underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and organisational citizenship: a case of the head leading the heart?J Bus Ethics2014; 123: 113–123.
31.
RenkemaMde LeedeJVan ZylLE. High-involvement HRM and innovative behaviour: the mediating roles of nursing staff’s autonomy and affective commitment. J Nurs Manag2021; 29: 2499–2514.
32.
Mohi Ud DinQZhangL. Unveiling the mechanisms through which leader integrity shapes ethical leadership behavior: theory of planned behavior perspective. Behav Sci (Basel)2023; 13: 928.
33.
FriedmanIA. School organizational values: the driving force for effectiveness and change. In: The ethical dimensions of school leadership. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2003, pp.161–179.
34.
HayesBEPeranderJSmeckoT, et al.Measuring perceptions of workplace safety: development and validation of the work safety scale. J Safety Res1998; 29: 145–161.
35.
McAllisterDJ. Affect- and cognition-based trust as foundations for interpersonal cooperation in organizations. Acad Manag J1995; 38: 24–59.
36.
HuCMohi Ud DinQZhangL. Short empirical insight: leadership and artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical industry. Eng Technol Appl Sci Res2024; 14: 13658–13664.
37.
RingleCMSarstedtMMitchellR, et al.Partial least squares structural equation modeling in HRM research. Int J Hum Resour Manag2020; 31: 1617–1643.
38.
HairJFMatthewsLMMatthewsRL, et al.PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. Int J Multivar Data Anal2017; 1: 107.
39.
KockN. Common method bias in PLS-SEM: a full collinearity assessment approach. Int J e-Collaboration2015; 11: 1–10.
40.
RalphJFreemanLAMénardAD, et al.Practical strategies and the need for psychological support: recommendations from nurses working in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Health Organization and Management2022; 36: 240–255.
41.
YangYDinAUMohi Ud DinQ, et al.Green leadership in manufacturing industry: Unveiling the green Revolution’s impact on organizational performance. Heliyon10. Epub ahead of print 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27831.
42.
UllahIMirzaBHameedRM. Understanding the dynamic nexus between ethical leadership and employees’ innovative performance: the intermediating mechanism of social capital. Asian J Bus Ethics2022; 11: 45–65.
43.
IslamTKhanMMAhmedI, et al.Promoting in-role and extra-role green behavior through ethical leadership: mediating role of green HRM and moderating role of individual green values. Int J Manpow2020; 42: 1102–1123.
44.
GriffinMANealA. Perceptions of safety at work: a framework for linking safety climate to safety performance, knowledge, and motivation. J Occup Health Psychol2000; 5: 347–358.
45.
RiislaKWendtHBabalolaMT, et al.Building cohesive teams—the role of leaders’ bottom-line mentality and behavior. Sustainability2021; 13: 1–19.
46.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBLeeJY, et al.Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol2003; 88: 879–903.
