Ethical Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Mediation of Trust and Psychological Well-Being

• Main Authors: Huang N, Qiu S, Yang S, Deng R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-06-01
• Series: Psychology Research and Behavior Management
• Subjects: perceived ethical leadership; trust in management; organizational citizenship behavior; psychological health; nursing; chinese hospitals; covid-19
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/ethical-leadership-and-organizational-citizenship-behavior-mediation-o-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM

Naizhu Huang,1,* Shaoping Qiu,1,2,* Shengqin Yang,3 Ruidi Deng4 1Higher Education Institute, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan, 423099, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; 3Tongren Municipal People’s Hospital, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China; 4Hunan Anhua County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Anhua, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shaoping QiuDepartment of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USATel + 1-9794026510Email [e-mail] YangTongren Municipal People’s Hospital, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: Nurses’ behaviors are largely influenced by their managers’ leadership style. The relationships between ethical leadership, trust, psychological well-being, and organizational citizenship behaviors have rarely been investigated in nursing studies. The current study attempted to examine the relationships between perceived ethical leadership, trust, psychological health, and nurses’ organizational citizenship behaviors towards their patients in the context of Chinese hospitals.Methods: This research adopted a cross-sectional research design. Participants were 495 nurses solicited from six hospitals in China. Hayes’s PROCESS and SPSS 22 were employed to analyze the data.Results: This study demonstrated ethical leadership perceived by nurses is positively associated with trust in management and psychological well-being. Trust in management is also positively associated with nurses’ organizational citizenship behaviors. The indirect effects of perceived ethical leadership on organizational citizenship behaviors through trust in management and psychological well-being were statically significant.Conclusion: This study adds value to the literature by revealing ethical leadership boosts nurses’ trust in leadership and their psychological well-being, resulting in more organizational citizenship behaviors towards patients in the context of the Chinese hospitals. It is suggested that the hospital management creates an environment in which all members are treated fairly to boost nurses’ psychological health and improve their service quality toward patients’ satisfaction.Keywords: perceived ethical leadership, trust in management, organizational citizenship behavior, psychological health, nursing, Chinese hospitals, COVID-19