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Identifying the Mechanisms of the Relationship between Authentic Leadership and Employees’ Moral Capacities from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory A Study with a Mixed-Method Strategy

Karbasi, Naghmeh Sadat | 2024

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  1. Type of Document: Ph.D. Dissertation
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 57693 (44)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Management and Economics
  6. Advisor(s): Alavi, Babak
  7. Abstract:
  8. This research was conducted to identify the mechanisms of how authentic leadership behaviors influence employees' moral behaviors and suggest the processes of this influence. In order to obtain more valid results, a parallel mixed method was used. In that, we employed a qualitative method (data collection through semi-structured interviews) and a survey (distribution of questionnaires). This design was used to test the proposed influence model and to deeply understand the phenomenon of authentic leadership influence on the employees’ moral behavior. In the qualitative phase, 32 in-depth interviews with purchasing agents were conducted regarding the willingness to accept bribes in a company in the automotive industry. Four main processes of influencing authentic leaders on employees' intention not to accept bribes emerged; purchasing representatives as followers perceived that their direct supervisors influenced them to act morally with behaviors that were identified as related to the concept of authentic leadership: observing the leader’s peace of mind resulting from the leader's moral living, being influenced by the supportive climate and friendly relationships with the leader, being influenced through the leader’s role modeling to develop moral capacities and a shame-based regulation regarding the leader they appreciate. In the quantitative phase, the proposed model was tested by analyzing the field survey data (n=337) and conducting exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression. The results propose that the perceived authentic leadership influences followers' moral intention by mediating the variables of satisfying basic psychological needs, autonomous moral motivation, and moral capacities. The research results showed that moral courage and moral ownership were identified as a single variable in the research data. Also, the results showed that the positive relationships between autonomous moral motivation and moral capacities were supported, but the suggested negative relationships between moral control motivation and moral capacities were not supported. Also, among the relationships between autonomous moral motivation and moral capacities, only the relationship between autonomous moral motivation and the combined construct of moral courage and moral ownership was not supported after the 310 Holm-Bon-Ferroni test. Among the relationships between moral capacities and moral intention, only the relationship between moral efficacy and moral intention was not supported. The sum of these results leads to the suggestion that each component of moral capacities themselves may have effects on the formation or strengthening of others. By providing qualitative empirical evidence, this research presents two new authentic leadership influencing mechanisms as contributions to the literature. Apart from this, other results obtained in the qualitative and quantitative phases overlap and reinforce each other. In this way, this research empirically provides a complete picture of how authentic leadership affects the moral behavior of employees . The results of this research can help academics and practitioners understand how authentic leadership may help organizations strengthen moral behaviors and use this knowledge to design and implement training and coaching programs. This is especially crucial when organizational rules and regulations are insufficient to avoid unethical actions
  9. Keywords:
  10. Authentic Leadership ; Self-Determination Theory ; Autonomous Motivation ; Moral Behavior ; Moral Capacities

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