This study examined the dynamic relationships among ethical political leadership, the public’s confidence in political leaders, commitment to the nation, and the perception of being safe from a terrorist attack. Based on a U.S. national random sample (n = 1604), we found that the public’s confidence in political leaders mediates the effect of ethical political leadership on the public’s commitment to the nation and the perception of being safe from a terrorist attack. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
AllenNJMeyerJP (1990) The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology63: 1–18.
2.
AllenNJMeyerJP (1996) Affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization: An examination of construct validity. Journal of Vocational Behavior49: 252–276.
3.
AlmondGAVerbaS (1989) The Civic Culture Revisited. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
AronsonE (2001) Integrating leadership styles and ethical perspectives. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences18: 244–256.
5.
AvolioBJGardnerWLWalumbwaFOLuthansFMayDR (2004) Unlocking the mask: A look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors. Leadership Quarterly15: 801–823.
6.
BanduraA (2006) Toward a psychology of human agency. Perspectives on Social Science1: 164–180.
7.
BaronRMKennyDA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology51: 1173–1182.
8.
BassBM (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press.
9.
BeckerE (1973) The Denial of Death. New York: Simon and Schuster.
10.
BlauP (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley.
11.
BrocknerJSiegelPAKramerRMTylerTR (1996) Understanding the interaction between procedural and distributive justice: The role of trust. Trust in Organizations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 390–413.
12.
BrownMETreviñoLK (2006) Socialized charismatic leadership, values congruence, and deviance in work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology91(4): 954–962.
13.
BrownMETreviñoLKHarrisonDA (2005) Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes97(2): 117–134.
14.
BurnsJM (1978) Leadership. New York: Free Press.
15.
BycioPHackettRDAllenJS (1995) Further assessments of Bass’s (1985) conceptualization of transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology80(4): 468–478.
16.
CookJWallTD (1980) New work attitudes measures of trust, organizational commitment, and personal need non-fulfillment. Journal of Organizational Psychology53: 39–52.
17.
DentonREJr. (2005) Moral Leadership and the American Presidency. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
18.
DetertJRTreviñoLK (2010) Speaking up to higher-ups: How supervisors and skip-level leaders influence employee voice. Organization Science21(1): 249–270.
19.
DirksKTFerrinDL (2002) Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for organizational research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology87(4): 611–628.
20.
EricksonAL (2006) Ethical leadership and the public trust. Public Manager35(1): 62–63.
21.
GenoveseE (1995) The Southern Front: History and Politics in the Cultural War. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.
22.
GiniA (2004) Business, ethics, and leadership in a post Enron era. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies11: 9–15.
23.
GreenbergJPyszczynskiTSolomonSBaumeisterRF (1986) The causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. Public Self and Private Self. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 189–212.
24.
GreenbergJSolomonSArndtJShahJYGardnerWL (2008) A basic but uniquely human motivation: Terror management. Handbook of Motivation Science. New York, NY: Guilford Press, 114–134.
25.
HomansGC (1958) Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology63(6): 597–606.
26.
JermierJMBerkesLJ (1979) Leader behavior in a police command bureaucracy: A closer look at the quasi-military model. Administrative Science Quarterly24: 1–23.
27.
KahnWA (1990) Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal33: 692–724.
28.
Lipman-BlumenJ (2006) The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why we Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians—and How We Can Survive Them. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
29.
LuthansFAvolioBJ (2003) Authentic leadership: A positive developmental approach. In CameronKSDuttonJEQuinnRE (ed.) Positive Organizational Scholarship. San Francisco, CA: Barrett-Koehler, 241–261.
30.
MartineauJWTornowWW (1994) Confidence in leadership. Issues and Observations14(3): 8–9.
31.
MathieuJEZajacDM (1990) A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin108: 171–194.
32.
MayDRChanAYLHodgesTDAvolioBJ (2003) Developing the moral component of authentic leadership. Organizational Dynamics32: 247–260.
33.
MayDRGilsonRLHarterLM (2004) The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology77: 11–37.
34.
MorrisonA (2001) Integrity and global leadership. Journal of Business Ethics31: 65–76.
35.
MottazCJ (1988) Determinants of organizational commitment. Human Relations41: 467–482.
36.
MowdayRTPorterLWSteersRM (1982) Employee-Organization Linkages. New York: Academic Press.
37.
PittinskyTLRosenthalSABaconLMMontoyaRMZhuW (2006) National Leadership Index 2006: A national study of confidence in leadership. Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
38.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBLeeJLPodsakoffNP (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology88: 879–903.
39.
PyszczynskiT (2004) ‘What are we so afraid of? A terror management perspective on the politics of fear. Social Research71(4): 827–848.
40.
PyszczynskiTGreenbergJSolomonS (1999) A dual-process of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts: An extension of terror management theory. Psychological Review106: 835–845.
41.
RhodesSRSteersRM (1981) Conventional vs. worker-owned organizations. Human Relations12: 1013–1035.
42.
RiggioRE (1987) The Charisma Quotient. New York: Dodd-Mead.
TrevinoLKHartmanLPBrownME (2000) Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review42(4): 128–142.
46.
TrevinoLKWeaverGRReynoldsSJ (2006) Behavioral ethics in organizations: A review. Journal of Management32(6): 951–990.
