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This study investigates the impact of political interference on the capacity to combat corruption within Indonesian public sector institutions. It analyses the troubling impact of politicians in strategic leadership positions in public institutions and the impact this has on its ethical leadership credibility.

A qualitative multi-method approach was followed. Firstly, media publications were analysed to describe typical cases of corruption by political and public leaders and to evaluate the current state of the country. Secondly, the authors studied the selection and appointment processes for strategic leadership in two types of leading Indonesian public sector institutions based on laws and regulations and critical (media) publications to assess the problem of political interference. Lastly, the authors used insights from 42 face-to-face interviews within one leading public institution to understand the problem of political interference and its impact on ethical leadership credibility in Indonesia.

When politicians are appointed in strategic leadership positions of public institutions, including CEOs, the board of directors and commissioners, the downside is that such political support causes a conflict of interest that seriously threatens the independent functioning of public institutions and the ethical reputation of the public sector as a whole. The influence of specific Indonesian cultural values and norms only reinforces these ethical challenges in building public sector integrity.

Most empirical studies on ethical leadership focus on middle managers and the impact of ethical leadership on organisational outcomes. In addition, little is yet known about the effectiveness of ethical leadership in developing countries. This study attempts to address this gap and analyses the troubling role of politicians in strategic leadership positions in Indonesia's public institutions and the impact this has on its ethical leadership credibility.

In Dutch detainee care custodial transport police officers experience high levels of aggression and violence from detainees. Being a first of its kind in the Netherlands, the purpose of this paper is to unravel the true nature and origins of such workplace aggression against transport officers and focuses on the role of street-level leadership and leadership by management for its mitigation and prevention.

Unique in such closed institutions as the prison system, the study employs an extensive mixed methods approach, combining observations, interviews and survey data collected among transport officers and detainees in 2012-2013.

The research shows that within the exercised street-level leadership of transport officers especially staff orientation towards detainees has great impact. Perceived inappropriate treatment is likely to increase detainees’ aggressive behaviours, with potentially detrimental effects such as heightened levels of officers’ job stress, decreased safety and decreased quality of detainee transport. The solutions offered indicate that while transport officers could benefit from a supportive staff orientation, transport police management might need to pay more attention to rule enforcement leadership within their efforts to optimize working conditions.

The major practical implication of this research is the potential impact of training in affecting the decisions of frontline public employees in a way that their street-level leadership practices manifest the organizational values and alignment with societal values to ensure an adequate public sector service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between three aspects of leadership – role modeling, strictness, and openness – and nine types of integrity violations within the Dutch police force.

In this paper data were collected by means of a questionnaire from five regional police organizations in The Netherlands (2,130 questionnaires to regular police officers, response rate 51 percent). Respondents were requested to describe their direct supervisor's leadership qualities and the frequency of integrity violations in their unit. Multivariate analysis techniques were employed to test the relation between the three leadership styles and the nine types of integrity violations.

The paper finds that role modeling, strictness, and openness of leaders influence the behavior of police officers, but the impact of the variables on the different types of integrity violations varies. Role modeling is especially significant in limiting unethical conduct in the context of interpersonal relationships. Employees appear to copy the leader's integrity standards in their daily interaction with one another. Strictness is important as well, but appears to be particularly effective in controlling fraud, corruption and the misuse of resources. The impact of openness is less evident.

The study in this paper has taken the field of leadership and ethics a step forward by relating different aspects of leadership with different types of violations. The results are significant for further development of theories on ethics and leadership. Future research should combine different sources and methods in order to further test the findings.

The results in this paper have implications for integrity policies and leadership training. A multifaceted leadership strategy will be most effective in safeguarding and improving the integrity of (police) organizations.

The paper shows that leadership is the most frequently cited organizational factor in discussions about the safeguarding of ethics and integrity. However, empirical data are lacking regarding the extent to which different aspects of leadership individually contribute to different kinds of integrity violations.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of ethical leadership and ethical culture as a safeguard against corruption.

Using survey data from public managers in local authorities in The Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro and the USA in a comparative study.

The USA and The Netherlands, generally, display higher levels of organizational integrity than Montenegro and Serbia. Second, the strongest effects of ethical leadership were found in Montenegro. Third, in all four countries a rule‐based approach to ethics dominated.

It is difficult to determine the extent to which survey participants felt free to express their true opinions. Different social values need to be included as part of any comparative analysis.

The role of ethical leadership is crucial; the importance of laws and rules underpinning ethical conduct cannot be underestimated.

The paper contributes to the growing interest in comparative studies.