Effects of ethical leadership and formal control systems on employee opportunistic behavior in China

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how ethical leadership and formal control systems influence employee opportunistic behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Using survey data collected from Chinese employees (N=430), the authors conducted regression analysis to test hypothesized relationships between ethical leadership and formal control systems and employee opportunistic behavior. Both direct effects and an interaction effect were tested.

Findings

The authors found that both ethical leadership and formal control systems individually play significant roles in reducing employee opportunistic behavior. In addition, the results indicate that ethical leadership and formal control systems function as complements to jointly constrain employee opportunistic behaviors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to an understanding of the relationship between supervisors and followers in China by demonstrating the effects of ethical leadership and formal control systems on employee opportunistic behaviors, including an interesting interaction effect.

Citation

Ko, C., Haney, M.H. and Lee, G. (2018), "Effects of ethical leadership and formal control systems on employee opportunistic behavior in China", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 1350-1362. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-08-2017-0213