Ethical Leadership and Courageous Followership Behavior: A Perspective of Social Identity Theory of Leadership

Abstract

Abstract: Drawing on the social identity theory of leadership, this paper puts leadership and followership into a research framework and explores the influence of ethical leadership on subordinates' courageous followership and the mechanism underlying the influence. Based on the two-stage longitudinal data of 256 samples, the results reveal that ethical leadership is significantly positively related to subordinates' courageous followership. subordinates' supervisor identification mediates the positive relationship between ethical leadership and courageous followership. subordinates' moral ownership also strengthens the relationship between supervisor identity and courageous followership behavior, such that the positive relationship between subordinates' supervisor identification and courageous following behavior is enhanced when moral ownership levels are high. At the same time, subordinates' organization-based self-esteem strengthens the relationship between supervisor identification and courageous followership behavior, such that the higher the level of organization-based self-esteem, the stronger the positive relation between supervisor identification and courageous followership behavior.

Key words: ethical leadership, courageous followership behavior, supervisor identification, moral ownership, organization-based self-esteem

Li You, Yu Guangtao, Sun Junping. Ethical Leadership and Courageous Followership Behavior: A Perspective of Social Identity Theory of Leadership[J]. Management Review, 2023, 35(11): 242-252.

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