The Mediating Role of Trust in the Effect of Ethical Leadership on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors

Abstract

This empirical study aims to analyze the effect of ethical leadership on employees’ citizenship behavior in organization, commitment, and job satisfaction by determining how the trust-based relationships within the organization are related to that effect. Data were gathered from 328 employees who are employed in various durable goods manufacturing companies in organized industrial region in Ankara/Turkey. The consequences of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that ethical leadership was related to trust both in leader and in organization. In accordance with the expectations, the results indicated that trust in leader partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership, organizational commitment, satisfaction from job, and organizational citizenship behavior. On the other hand, trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between citizenship behavior in organization, commitment and ethical leadership. Contrary to the expectations, it was observed that the relationship between ethical leadership and satisfaction from job was not mediated by trust in organization.