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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how leader integrity and ethical leadership can influence trust in the leader and employee work engagement.

Data were collected using an electronic web-based questionnaire completed by 204 employees from various business organisations. Data were analysed by means of item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis conducted via structural equation modelling.

High levels of reliability were found for the measurement scales. Good model fit was demonstrated for the measurement and structural models. Empirical support was found for all the postulated relationships in the structural model.

This study is the first to analyse the joint relationships between leader integrity and work engagement through the mediating role of ethical leadership (i.e. moral management) and trust in the leader. The findings emphasise the key role played by ethical leaders in creating an ethical and trusting work climate conducive for employee engagement.