Title: Ethical leadership and service innovative behaviour of hotel employees: the role of organisational identification and proactive personality

Authors: Bilal Afsar; Annam Bibi; Waheed Ali Umrani

Addresses: Department of Management Sciences, Hazara University, Pakistan ' Department of Management Sciences, Hazara University, Pakistan ' Department of Business Administration, Sukkur IBA University, Pakistan

Abstract: With the increasing demand for ethical standards in the current business environment, ethical leadership has received particular attention. Using social exchange theory and social learning theory, this study examines the relationship between ethical leadership and employees' service innovative behaviour with mediating role of organisational identification and moderating role of an employee's proactive personality. The sample for the study included 321 subordinates and 62 supervisors from 26 hotels across Pakistan. Results indicated that ethical leadership promotes service innovative behaviour at workplace, while organisational identification mediates the effect of ethical leadership on service innovative behaviour. Furthermore, the relationship between ethical leadership and service innovative behaviour via organisational identification is moderated by an employee's proactive personality. This study highlights the importance of ethical leadership in enhancing service innovative behaviours among hotel employees. It advances theory of ethical leadership by examining the intervening effect of organisational identification and proactive personality on employee's service innovative behaviours.

Keywords: ethical leadership; service innovative behaviour; creativity; organisational identification; proactive personality; hospitality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2020.110003

International Journal of Management Practice, 2020 Vol.13 No.5, pp.503 - 520

Received: 15 Feb 2018
Accepted: 25 Oct 2018
Published online: 01 Oct 2020 *

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