A three-level examination of the cascading effects of ethical leadership on employee outcomes: A moderated mediation analysis

Based on social learning theory, we developed a moderated-mediation model of trickle-down effects to test how the ethical leadership of high-level leaders influences the ethical leadership of low-level leaders and the work outcomes of subordinate employees. Data were collected from 224 leader-employee dyads at six large companies in South Korea. The results of hierarchical regression analyses provided support for this model. Our results indicated that the ethical leadership of high-level leaders trickles down to low-level leaders, which then reduces the social loafing of employees while increasing their task performance. We also found that the self-enhancement motives of low-level leaders moderate the positive relationship between the ethical leadership of high and low-level leaders in a way that strengthens this relationship when the motives are low rather than high. This finding further suggests that low levels of self-enhancement motives strengthen the indirect effects of ethical, high-level leadership on employee social loafing and task performance.