Ethical leadership, team leader’s cultural intelligence and ethical behavior of team members. Implications for managing human resources in global teams
| Date | 02 August 2019 |
| Pages | 1381-1392 |
| Published date | 02 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-01-2018-0016 |
| Author | Alfred Presbitero,Mendiola Teng-Calleja |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Global hrm |
Ethical leadership, team leader’s
cultural intelligence and ethical
behavior of team members
Implications for managing human resources
in global teams
Alfred Presbitero
Department of Management, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, and
Mendiola Teng-Calleja
Department of Psychology,
Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, The Philippines
Abstract
Purpose –Drawing from Social Learning Theory and Multiple Loci of Intelligence Theory, the purpose of this
paper is to assert that, through the mechanisms of social learning and role modeling, perceived ethical leadership is
positively and significantly related to ethical behavior of individual members of global teams. Moreover, this study
argues that perceived cultural intelligence (CQ) of leaders which consists of perceptions of members regarding
leader’s cultural knowledge and skills on how to act ethically in different cultural contexts would moderate the
relationship between ethical leadership and ethical behavior of individual members of global teams.
Design/methodology/approach –To test these assertions, a survey study was conducted involving
individual members of global teams in Australia (n¼234).
Findings –Results demonstrate that perceived ethical leadership is positively and significantly related to an
individual’s ethical behavior. Furthermore, results show that perceived leader’s CQ serves as a moderator in
strengthening the relationship between perceived ethical leadership and individual member’s display of
ethical behavior.
Originality/value –This study fills the gaps in the literature by examining ethical behavior of individual
membersofculturallydiverseteamsandtherolethatleadersplay in influencing their individual display of ethical
behavior. Such knowledge can provide insights particularly for human resource practitioners on how to effectively
generate and ensure the display of ethical behavior in contexts that are culturally diverse like in global teams.
Keywords Quantitative, Ethical leadership
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There is a growing interest in the field of human resourcemanagement (HRM) to understand
the natureand dynamics of global teams (Butleret al., 2018). Global teams aredefined as those
that operate in a dispersed environment characterized by heterogeneity in terms of national,
cultural and linguistic elements (Zander et al., 2012). Global teams, which can be collocated,
virtual or a combination of both, perform tasks across temporal and spatial boundaries
(Kaplan and Levinthal, 2015). These variations across time, space, as well as cultural and
contextual frames where members of global teams operate, pose greater challenge to line
leaders and the HRM practitioners that support them (Browne et al., 2016; Butler et al., 2018).
One of these challenges pertain to providing cues on expected behaviors (Butler et al., 2018),
especially by the leader of the global team, that may translate to a shared understanding and
practice of what is considered as ethical by team members.
Recent works on global teams have focused on the important role of leaders in shaping team
dynamics and outcomes (e.g. Caligiuri and Lundby, 2015; Lisak and Erez, 2015; Zander et al.,
2012; Joshi and Lazarova, 2005). These studies have emphasized the critical role of leaders in
fostering effective communication and intensive collaboration within global teams. While these
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 5, 2019
pp. 1381-1392
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-01-2018-0016
Received 11 January 2018
Revised 25 August 2018
Accepted 15 October 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
1381
Ethical
behavior of
team members
To continue reading
Request your trial