J Bus Ethics
DOI 10.1007/s10551-014-2196-6
The Effect of Ethical Leadership Behavior on Ethical Climate,
Turnover Intention, and Affective Commitment
Ozgur Demirtas A. Asuman Akdogan
Received: 30 December 2013 / Accepted: 20 April 2014
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Abstract This study examines a mediated model of eth-
ical leadership on ethical climate, turnover intention, and
affective commitment. It is suggested that managers are
role models in their organizations. Specifically, through
ethical leadership behavior, managers can influence per-
ceptions of ethical climate, which in turn will positively
influence organizational members turnover intention, and
affective commitment. The results indicate that ethical
leadership has both direct and indirect effect on affective
commitment and turnover intention. The indirect effect of
ethical leadership involves shaping perceptions of ethical
climate, which in turn, engenders greater affective orga-
nizational commitment and less turnover intention.
Keywords Ethical leadership behavior
Ethical climate

Affective commitment
Turnover intention
Role model
Over the years, several attempts have been made in the
ethics literature to explain and understand ethical decision-
making and ethical behavior (Berkman and Arslan 2009;
Callan 1992; Dubinsky and Ingram 1984; Dubinsky and
Levy 1985; Drucker 1981; Harris 1990; Simpson 1982;
Mathison 1988; Nyaw and Ng 1994; Ozgener 2009). In
accordance with this global trend, a vast amount of
research has explored the relationship between organiza-
tional ethics and its outcomes. A majority of corporate
ethics researches have focused on ethical leadership, and
O. Demirtas (&)
Turkish Air Force, Kayseri, Turkey
e-mail: ozgurdemirtas@hvkk.tsk.tr
A. A. Akdogan
Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
e-mail: akdogana@erciyes.edu.tr
ethical climate as a critical antecedent of organizational
outcomes.
Today, the corporate social responsibility is more
essential, and the corporate image becomes crucial
according to the transparent management viewpoint.
Therefore, the managers values are so important in influ-
encing the working environment. The role of managers and
their ethical behavior play a critical role in providing a
moral framework for organizational members (Grojean
et al. 2004; Mendonca 2001) and in building the collective
character of the organization (Moore 2005; Wright and
Goodstein 2007). So, ethical leaders are fundamental fac-
tors in shaping the moral framework for an organization.
Ethical leadership refers to the display of behaviors
consistent with appropriate norms, which are visible
through leaders actions and relationships (Brown et al.
2005). Scholars have mostly discussed ethical leadership
with theoretical and conceptual terms. Brown et al. (2005)
carried out field investigations to test and validate the
construct of ethical leadership within organizations. Some
researches focusing on ethical leadership have demon-
strated its positive effects on prosocial behaviors (Mayer
et al. 2010; Piccolo et al. 2010; Walumbwa and Schau-
broeck 2009).
However, the majority of the studies on ethical leader-
ship have not been done in industries such as manufac-
turing, logistics, or in other major parts of the countries.
These studies generally used university students as
subjects.
Ethical leadership is the demonstration of normatively
appropriate conduct through personal actions and inter-
personal relationships, and it emphasizes the promotion of
such conduct to followers through two-way communica-
tion, reinforcement, and decision-making (Brown et al.
2005; Neubert et al. 2009). Besides, ethical leadership
123

Affective
Commitment
Ethical Leadership Ethical Climate
Turnover
Intention
Fig. 1 Model of the study
behavior promotes organizational members attitudes to
everyday work and their attachments to the organization
(i.e. affective organizational commitment) (Brown and
Trevino 2006; Schminke et al. 2005).
The relationship between leadership styles and its out-
comes have been studied by many scholars in the organi-
zational behavior field. However, there are limited
researches on ethical leadership styles and behavioral
outcomes in Turkey. As a role model in an organization,
the ethical leadership behavior is an essential issue in
aviation industry, because commitment and work engage-
ment are so important in aviation industry. Thus, it can be
said that leaders ethical judgments influence their
followers.
This study focused on ethical leadership behavior to
fulfill these needs, especially for Turkish literature. In
that regard, the purpose in this study is to examine the
effect of ethical leadership behavior on perceptions of
ethical climate and, in turn, on the turnover intention and
affective commitment of organizational members (see
Fig. 1). The article is organized as four main sections.
First, a review of the literature on ethical leadership,
ethical climate, affective commitment, and turnover
intention is presented, and then the hypotheses were
developed. Second, the research methodology is given.
Afterwards, the field study analyses were given com-
paratively with the results in the literature. Finally, the
results of the study, strengths and weakness, research
implications, and future research recommendations are
mentioned.
Theoretical Frameworks and Hypotheses
Social learning theory suggests that individuals learn by
focusing their attentions on role models and learn appro-
priate behavior through witnessing what is rewarded and
what is punished or which actions attract attention and
which do not (Bandura 1986). Leadership involves influ-
ence to others (Yukl 2002). Managers exhibiting ethical
leadership influence organizational members through per-
sonal actions and interpersonal relations (Brown et al.
2005). Employees can learn what behavior is expected,
123
O. Demirtas, A. A. Akdogan
rewarded, and punished through role modeling. Leaders are
important sources for such modeling because of their role.
Previous researches have also demonstrated that role
models in an organization influence prosocial behaviors
(Bryan and Test 1967; Mayer et al. 2010; Piccolo et al.
2010). In the following sections, ethical leadership
behavior and its effects on perceptions of ethical climate,
affective organizational commitment, and turnover inten-
tion are defined.
Ethical Leadership
Leaders behaviors are very important in order to have
efficient work conditions and organizational culture. In this
era, the new leadership style highlights the importance of
virtue and morality. Many scholars mainly emphasize
truthfulness and honesty in the leadership style (Brown
et al. 2005). According to Brown and Trevino (2006),
ethical scandals in work environment (i.e., in nonprofit
organizations, sports, and religious institutions) point out
the importance of ethical issues and leadership behaviors
that have ethical content (Waddock 2004).
Ethical leadership is defined as the demonstration of
normatively conduct behavior through personal actions and
interpersonal relationships (Brown et al. 2005). It empha-
sizes the promotion of such conduct to followers through
two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-
making (Neubert et al. 2009). In the literature, ethical
leadership is mostly emphasized on integrity and honesty
(Eubanks et al. 2012; Kuntz et al. 2013), and ethical leaders
were seen as fair, and principled decision-makers. The
researchers characterized these characteristics as the moral
aspect of ethical leadership.
In todays changing conditions, if organizations aim to
have a sustainable growth, strategic superiority, and cor-
porate image, then they have to establish a culture that
supports and encourages the ethical behaviors. While
establishing the ethical working condition as a role model,
leaders behaviors influence the other behaviors in the
organizations, and their behaviors become the most
important factor in this process. In this context, ethical
leadership can be defined as the demonstration of norma-
tively appropriate conduct through personal actions and
interpersonal relationships (Brown et al. 2005).
A number of studies on ethical content examined the
leadership style and their ethical behaviors (Alzola 2008;
Kahai et al. 2003; Neubert et al. 2009; Trevino 1986).
Researchers emphasized that the ethical climate of the
work context is generally shaped by organizational man-
agers (Schein 1985; Schminke et al. 2005; Trevino et al.
2000). Furthermore, ethical leadership behavior reduces
peoples anxiety about the uncertainty of the jobs or
behaviors in the organizations by being considerate, open,
Effect of Ethical Leadership Behavior
trustworthy, and honest, and by stressing the importance of
adherence to high ethical principles (Trevino et al. 2003).
In todays world, organizations implement some sys-
tems that indicate the ethical codes, corporate ethics,
standardized procedures, and ethics training programs.
However, it is a fact that ethical principles need action
rather than words. Therefore, the managers attitudes
toward the jobs are more important than the established
systems. At all levels in the organizations, managers have a
primary role in shaping ethical climate. Constituting this
climate, managers exemplify what is appropriate through
their behavior (Dickson et al. 2001). By modeling appro-
priate behavior, managers provide justice and trust (Brown
et al. 2005; Brown and Trevino 2006).
The integration of social-cognitive theories and virtue
theory essentially point out the potential of managers, who
model ethical leadership behavior and create relational
attachments in order to exert moral authority that contrib-
utes to an environment conducive, and the flourishing of
organizational members (Neubert et al. 2009). In the fol-
lowing section, it is argued that this influence occurs by
means of creating and perpetuating an ethical climate.
Mediator: Ethical Climate
A work climate can be defined as the perceptions of psy-
chologically meaningful moral attitudes in a work envi-
ronment (Schneider 1975). There are various kinds of work
climates. One of them is ethical work climate that can be
defined as the predominant perceptions about the proce-
dures and practices of the organization that has ethical
content or the prevailing perceptions of typical organiza-
tional practices and procedures that have ethical content
(Victor and Cullen 1988). Ethical behavior of the leader is
a necessary condition to establish an ethical organization,
but this is not sufficient. The managers who engage in
ethical leadership behavior must also act as virtuous agents
in promoting an ethical climate (Flynn 2008).
The socio-cultural environment, organizational form,
and organization-specific history are identified as deter-
minants of the ethical climates. Victor and Cullen (1988)
composed a chart showing possible ethical climates based
on philosophical, sociological, and psychological theory.
The chart has two axes representing how the ethical sys-
tems are derived from and to whom they are applied. This
matrix forms nine theoretical dimensions of ethical climate
typology. The typology served as the basis for the creation
of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire.
As a result of a series of survey studies, Victor and
Cullen (1988) approved the existence of five out of nine
climate types (Cullen et al. 1993) which emphasized caring
(Friendship and Team Interest), law and code (Laws and
Professional Codes), rules (Company Rules and
Procedures), instrumental (Self-Interest and Company
Profit), and independence (Personal Morality) climate
types. This ethical climate typology and questionnaire were
used later in different studies (Cullen et al. 2003; Mayer
et al. 2009; Neubaum et al. 2004; Webber 2007; Wimbush
et al. 1997).
When behaviors in an organization are perceived to be
ethical, these perceptions influence ethical decision-making
and the behaviors of organizational members as well as
their attitudes toward individual jobs (Brown and Trevino
2006). The collective effect of multiple organizational
members ethical perceptions creates a work environment
characterized by shared ethical work norms (Davidovitz
et al. 2007; Dickson et al. 2001). An ethical climate affects
individuals attitudes toward their jobs and the organization
(Cullen et al. 2003). The influence of ethical leadership
extends to influence organizational members turnover
intention and organizational commitment through an ethi-
cal climate (Brown et al. 2005). From this point, it is
hypothesized as
Hypothesis 1 Ethical leadership will positively related to
the perceptions of ethical climate
Affective Commitment
Many scholars have defined the concept of organizational
commitment in different ways. Porter et al. (1974) defined
organizational commitment as a belief and acceptance of
organizational goals and values, the willingness to exert
effort toward organizational goals, accomplishments, and a
strong desire to maintain organizational membership.
Basically, it is individuals affective binding with his/her
organization as a consequence of accepting organizational
values, and the willingness to keep working within the
organization. Meyer and Allen (1984, 1991) mentioned
three types of commitment, including commitment from
necessity (continuous commitment), commitment from
obligation (normative commitment), and the affective
organizational commitment which is studied extensively
and the most relevant form compared to the organizational
identification (Gautam et al. 2004). Meyer and Allen
(1991) defined affective commitment as an emotional
attachment, identification, and involvement in the organi-
zation. Affective commitment refers to the feelings of
belonging and the sense of attachment to the organization.
It has been related to the personal characteristics, leader-
ship behaviors, and the organizational structures (Hart-
mann 2000).
All of the definitions concerning affective organizational
commitment emphasize the employees bond with the
organization, captured by the characteristics such as
acceptance of organizational goals, values, and a strong
123

desire to associate with the organization (Perry 2004).
According to the studies, there are some variables related
to the affective commitment, the structure, and the envi-
ronment of the organization. The characteristics of the job,
interesting work, job security, opportunities for advance-
ment, development, organizational support, supervisory
support, fair treatment (distributional justice, formal pro-
cedural justice, and interactional justice), participatory
management, openness to new ideas, change, satisfaction
with salary, the employees job experience, mismatch in
working hours (negatively correlated), and downsizing are
some of these variables. (Lee and Corbett 2006; VanEm-
merik and Sanders 2005; Yew 2005). As the affective
commitment is more important than the other commitment
types, affective commitment and its relations with the
ethical leadership and ethical climate are discussed in this
study. Therefore, the hypothesis is established as
Hypothesis 2 Ethical climate will mediate the relation-
ship between ethical leadership and affective commitment.
Turnover Intention
Employee turnover is defined as the cessation of mem-
bership in an organization by an individual who received
monetary compensation from the organization (Mobley
1982). The causes of employee turnover in the organiza-
tions are generally because of the external factors (i.e.
availability of jobs and unemployment levels), organiza-
tional factors (i.e., leadership style, work environment, and
reward system), and individual factors (i.e., dissatisfaction
of the work and another persons performance) (Mobley
1982; Vandenberg and Nelson 1999).
Many studies have been conducted to understand turn-
over intention of the employees, reasons behind the turn-
over, and its consequences. Mobley (1977) pioneered a
comprehensive explanation of the psychological process
underlying withdrawal. According to his formulation of the
withdrawal decision process, individuals first evaluate their
existing jobs, and experience satisfaction or dissatisfaction
based on their jobs. If dissatisfaction is experienced, then it
leads to thoughts about quitting. There are number of
possible mediating steps between dissatisfaction and actual
quitting. First, one of the consequences of dissatisfaction is
the thoughts about leaving. These thoughts, in turn, stim-
ulate consideration of the expected utility of a job research
and the costs of quitting. The next step would be the
behavioral intent to search for an alternative. The intention
to search is followed by an actual research. If alternatives
are available, then an evaluation process of the alternatives
is initiated. The evaluation process of the alternatives is
followed by a comparison of the present job with the
alternatives. If the comparison favors the alternatives, then
123
O. Demirtas, A. A. Akdogan
it will inspire a behavioral intention for quitting the job
which is followed by actual withdrawal.
Aviation needs high education standards, employees
caution, and especially work experience which explains the
long-term working. Since less turnover is important for
aviation industry, ethical leadership behavior and ethical
climate perception become more important. So, the ethical
leadershipturnover intention relationship and the mediat-
ing effect of the ethical climate are hypothesized as
follows;
Hypothesis 3 Ethical climate will mediate the relation-
ship between ethical leadership and turnover intention
Methodology
In this study, several precautions are taken to minimize
common method biases (Podsakoff et al. 2012). For
example, the data collection procedure was designed, and
our independent and dependent variables were collected in
different times (in May, and July 2013) in order to mini-
mize the common method variance. Detailed information
was also given to ensure the confidentiality of our
respondents and to decrease social desirability. Finally, in
order to decrease the evaluation apprehension, it was
stressed that there were no correct or incorrect answers for
the given items in the survey. In this study, a 5-point Likert
scale in which 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly
agree was conducted. Items are averaged within the scales
to create composite measures for each variable. Items were
coded in a way that high scores equate to high levels of the
construct of interest.
Sample
The participants who are working as middle-level manag-
ers, engineers, chiefs of the maintenance shops, and blue-
collar members are chosen from three aviation mainte-
nance centers. 500 employees were chosen randomly from
these facilities in which 2.000 (N) member are still work-
ing. From the missing or incorrect coding, 447 (n) ques-
tionnaires are taken to the survey. This sample size is
sufficient according to the Kishs (1980) methodology. The
final sample consists of 68 % male and 32 % female par-
ticipants. The average of their age is 40.32 years, and they
spent average 7.4 years in their current job. All participants
have a direct contact with their leaders and they work in a
full-time job in aviation industry. Also, the sample is dis-
tributed according to theirs department. 41 % of the sample
is in the manufacturing; 22 % is in the quality manage-
ment; 19 % is in the technical (R&D); 10 % is in the
programming; and 8 % in the budgeting department.
Effect of Ethical Leadership Behavior

Table 1 Descriptive statistics for dependent and independent Table 3 Regression analyses for mediation
variables
Variables Dependent variable: ethical climate
Scale Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis (EC)

Ethical leadership 3.29 .81 -.41 -.44 Model 2 Model 1 Model 3

(b) (b) (b)
Ethical climate 3.26 .48 -.727 1.97
ELEC ELAC EL/ACEC
Affective commitment 3.27 1.16 -.28 -.85
Turnover intention 2.94 1.02 .03 -.78 Ethical leadership (EL) .507* .634* .385*
Affective commitment .177**
(AC)
Table 2 Mean, standard deviations, and correlations Adjusted R2 .253 .536 .256
F change 151.012* 779.078* 76.190*
Variable Mean SD 1 2 3
DurbinWatson 1.746 1.757 1.754
1. Ethical leadership 3.29 .81
Standardized betas are shown
2. Ethical climate 3.26 .48 .51**
* p \ 0.01
3. Affective 3.27 1.16 .63** .37**
** p \ 0.05
commitment
4. Turnover 2.94 1.02 -.43** -.30** -.38**
intention
** p \ 0.05
members perceive the organizational climate and act ethi-
cally, and they are committed to their organizations. Con-
sequently, they do not think of leaving their organizations.
Measures
Hypotheses Testing
Brown et al. (2005) developed and validated the 10-item
ethical leadership scale, which is used in this study. An The correlations between and descriptive statistics for the
example item is My supervisor listens to what employees variables in the study is shown in Table 2. As expected,
have to say. The Cronbachs alpha for this scale was 0.93. ethical leadership is significantly correlated with the ethical
The ethical climate scale which was developed by climate, affective commitment, and turnover intention.
Victor and Cullen (1988) is used in this survey. The scale
consists of 10 items. An example item is The most effi- Hypothesis 1
cient way is always the right way in this company. The
Cronbachs alpha for this scale was 0.88. To test the hypotheses, we first entered the mediator (eth-
Affective organizational commitment scale which was ical climate) variable on the independent variable (ethical
developed by Meyer and Allen (1991) is used. The scale leadership). As shown in Table 3, the beta weight for
consists of 8 items. An example item is I would be very ethical leadership was significant and in the direction pre-
happy to continue my career in this organization. The dicted. Thus, with Hypothesis 1, the positive relationship
Cronbachs alpha for this scale was 0.85. between ethical leadership and ethical climate was sup-
For the last variable, turnover intention scale which was ported, and the first requirement for mediation was
developed by Rosin and Korabik (1991) is used. The scale satisfied.
consists of 4 items. An example item is I am thinking of
changing my job. The Cronbachs alpha for this scale was 0.91. Hypothesis 2

Baron and Kennys (1986) procedure for assessing the

Results
Initial Analysis
To evaluate the distribution of the sample, Durbin-Watson
(skewness and kurtosis) values are observed in Table 1.
Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) stated that the values of the
skewness and kurtosis must be between -2 and ?2 for a
normal distribution. As seen from the table, the sample in
this survey has a normal distribution. From the given values,
mediating role of the affective commitment is used. First,
the independent variable should be significantly related to
the mediator variable. Second, the independent variable
should be related to the dependent variable. Third, the
mediating variable should be related to the dependent
variable and the independent variable included in the
equation. If the first three conditions hold, then at least
partial mediation is present. If the independent variable has
a non-significant beta weight in the third step, then com-
plete mediation is present (MacKinnon et al. 2002).

123
 O. Demirtas, A. A. Akdogan

Table 4 Regression analyses for mediation z-distribution to determine the statistical significance of the
Variables Dependent variable: turnover intention (TI)
indirect effect. Supporting hypotheses 2 and 3, the Sobel
test results indicated that the indirect effects of ethical
Model 1 (b) Model 2 (b) Model 3 (b) leadership on affective commitment for ethical climate
ELEC ELTI EL/ECTI
(z = (a*b)/sab = -6.75 for 95 % confidence level) and
Ethical leadership (EL) .507* -.428* -.467** ethical leadership on turnover intention for ethical climate
Ethical climate (EC) -.218* (z = 2.27 for 95 % confidence level) were in the antici-
Adjusted R2 .253 .183 .189 pated direction and statistically significant.
F change 151.012* 99.532 53.139 To evaluate the confidence levels, we tested the upper
DurbinWatson 1.746 1.940 1.914 and the lower confidence levels (MacKinnon and Luecken
2011). For hypothesis 2, these values were UCL = -.076
Standardized betas are shown
and LCL = -.139. For hypothesis 3, they were
* p \ 0.01
UCL = .216 and LCL = .016. The results were not
** p \ 0.05
included zero value. So, our model was in the confidence
levels (MacKinnon and Luecken 2011).
Hypothesis 2 asserts the mediating effect of ethical From the above results, we can say that ethical leader-
climate on the ethical leadership and affective commitment ship is positively related to ethical climate. Mediation
relationship. First, ethical leadership and ethical climate analyses show that ethical climate partially mediates the
were entered in step 1. The results from this step demon- relationship between ethical leadership and affective
strated the significance of dependent variable. In step 2, the commitment. In addition, it was found that ethical climate
ethical leadership and affective commitment relationship also partially mediates the relationship between ethical
was searched. The beta weight was also significant in this leadership and turnover intention. Therefore, our hypoth-
step. Thus, second requirement of the mediation was sat- eses were supported parallel to the literature findings.
isfied. In order to test the third step of mediation, we
regressed the dependent variables on the mediating vari-
able with the independent variable included in the equa- Conclusion
tion. The results, shown in Table 3, indicate that the ethical
climate partially mediated the relationship of between Managers are important sources for organizational success
ethical leadership and affective commitment, as the beta and unethical behavior. This study examined a mediating
for ethical leadership decreased after adding ethical climate model about the effect of managers ethical leadership
but it remained significant. Thus, it can be said that behavior on organizational members. In this study, it is
Hypothesis 2 was supported. argued that as role models in their organizations, and by
modeling ethical leadership behavior and engendering
Hypothesis 3 relational attachments, managers achieve moral authority
that has a virtuous influence on organizational members.
Similarly, Hypothesis 3 searched the mediating effect of Furthermore, it is argued that the influence of ethical
ethical climate between ethical leadership and turnover leadership behavior spreads through the work context and
intention. the process of social contagion in order to shape the ethical
The results, shown in Table 4, indicate that ethical cli- climate, which, in turn, contributes to organizational
mate partially mediated the relationship between ethical members commitments to their organizations and less
leadership and turnover intention, as the beta for ethical turnover intention as a whole. In other words, if managers
leadership decreased after adding ethical climate but it act in an honest and trustworthy way, these behaviors then
remained significant. create a virtuous cycle in which ethical leadership behavior
perpetuates an ethical work climate that allows flourishing.
Sobel Test The results are similar with those which assert that
managers displaying ethical leadership behavior play a
Finally, to support our mediational hypotheses, Sobel tests critical role in shaping perceptions of ethical climate
were used to assess the significance of the indirect effects (Brown and Trevino 2006; Dickson et al. 2001; Schminke
(MacKinnon 2008; Sobel 1982). These tests involve cal- et al. 2005; Trevino et al. 2003; Trevino et al. 2000).
culating the magnitude of the unstandardized indirect effect Besides, in this study, these existing researches are exten-
(a and b), and its accompanying standard error (sa and sb). ded by demonstrating the diverse samples of people. It is
The ratio of the indirect effect over its standard error, concluded that the ethical leadership behavior is related to
referred to the Sobel statistic, is then compared to a the perceptions of ethical climate, and the ethical climate

123
Effect of Ethical Leadership Behavior
mediates the influence of the manager who performs ethi-
cal leadership on individuals outcomes. The results also
affirm that the prominence of ethical leadership behavior
among many factors may influence the attitudes and
attachments of organizational members, (Brown and Tre-
vino 2006) and contribute to individual flourishing (Wright
and Goodstein 2007).
This study emphasizes that organizations would benefit
from their employees who perceive high ethical working
environment. Such perceptions can be enhanced via diverse
management techniques, practices such as maintaining
open channels of communications and interactions. Results
of this study also point to the need for additional research
that examines the role of potential mediators of relations
between ethical leadership and employee outcomes (e.g.,
organizational identification, engagement, task, and con-
textual performance). It may follow a variety of interesting
directions. As a predictor, ethical leadership is gaining
more importance in the organizational behavior field. So, it
may help the organizations to arrange and establish an
ethical framework in their environment working. In addi-
tion, managers should include communication and inter-
action in their managerial values in order to lessen negative
perceptions that can arise from individual predispositions.
Managers may develop and raise extra communication
systems to have better working conditions for their
followers.
Managers ethical values and their fair and honest
behaviors are important factors to shape the organizational
climate (Schein 1985; Trevino et al. 1998). Therefore,
organizations should pay attention to select and promote
their managers in order to establish an ethical climate. This
perception is highly important for aviation industry since
human factor is the most important issue in all processes
for the aviation. The aviation industry needs highly edu-
cated and committed members for sustainable strategic
superiority. This study is important to contribute to the
business ethics literature. Another contribution of the
present study is that, it is the first study which searched the
direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership on indi-
vidual behavior outcomes in the aviation industry in
Turkey.
Our study also has other several strengths. First, a large
number of employees from aviation industry are involved.
Second, the survey is conducted face to face to reduce the
mistakes of questionnaire and the mistakes of variables
collected in different times. Finally, this study is an
important contribution to the business ethics literature by
showing the direct and indirect effects of ethical leader-
ship. Although our sample incorporated a wide variety of
organizations and job positions, the sample was not
demographically diverse. The data in this study are gath-
ered from the aviation industry in Turkey. Thus, the results
cannot be generalized compared to the other industries or
cultures. So, future researchers should consider the weak-
nesses outlined above, and they could extend the given
results by including additional outcome variables such as
political, counterproductive, or deviant behaviors. Future
research could also use a multi-level approach to theorize
and analyze the effects of ethical leadership. In this study,
we were interested in the individual level effects of ethical
leadership on perceptions of climate and individual out-
comes. Future research could gather data from work groups
so that the data could be aggregated to assess the impact of
ethical leadership on group level climate and behavioral
variables.
In conclusion, this study examined the ways in which
managers perform ethical leadership behavior contribute to
individuals flourishing. It is a fact that ethical leadership
behavior influence affective commitment and turnover
intention directly and indirectly through shaping ethical
climate.
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