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The impact of ethical leadership on employee creative deviance: the mediating role of job autonomy

Xiaoqin Liu (School of Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China)
Yevhen Baranchenko (Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
Fansuo An (School of Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China)
Zhibin Lin (Durham University Business School, Durham University, Durham, UK)
Jie Ma (Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

ISSN: 0143-7739

Article publication date: 23 December 2020

Issue publication date: 19 March 2021

1636

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the impact of ethical leadership on employee creative deviance, with job autonomy as a mediator and creative self-efficacy as a moderator between job autonomy and creative deviance.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was developed based on construct measures from the literature. A total of 316 responses were received from employees of information and communication technology companies located in China's Pearl River Delta.

Findings

Both ethical leadership and job autonomy have a positive impact on employee creative deviance; job autonomy plays a mediating role between ethical leadership and creative deviance; creative self-efficacy does not have a significant moderating effect on the job autonomy-creative deviance relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies could explore the potential moderating role of both job autonomy and creative-self efficacy in the link between ethical leadership and creative deviance.

Practical implications

This study recommends that organizations should adopt and promote an ethical leadership approach to manage creative deviance at work. Organizations could explore alternative methods of task completion to support the job autonomy for the employees to mitigate the dilemmas associated with creative deviance.

Originality/value

This is one of few studies that examine the impact of ethical leadership on employee's creative deviance, despite the fact that the influence of ethical leadership on the followers has been extensively examined.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This study was partly supported by the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No.: 17BGL095).

Citation

Liu, X., Baranchenko, Y., An, F., Lin, Z. and Ma, J. (2021), "The impact of ethical leadership on employee creative deviance: the mediating role of job autonomy", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 219-232. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2020-0026

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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