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This study extends that perspective by testing whether ethical leaders shape employees’ moral cognition about morally problematic decisions, thereby guiding subsequent conduct. Across four lab and field studies in the United States and China, ethical leadership reduces employees’ moral disengagement, lowering unethical decisions and deviant behavior. Employee moral identity moderates the effect, varying across studies as “saving grace” or “virtuous synergy.”",{"@graph":69,"@context":127},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/leaders-matter-morally-the-role-of-ethical-leadership-in-shaping-employee-moral-cognition-and-misconduct/148563/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/leaders-matter-morally-the-role-of-ethical-leadership-in-shaping-employee-moral-cognition-and-misconduct/148563.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Rowan","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-07","2026-08-26",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",21,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119,123],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How do ethical leaders influence employee misconduct according to the article?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Ethical leaders shape how employees construe morally problematic decisions, which reduces moral disengagement and thereby lowers unethical decisions and deviant behavior.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What evidence does the article use to support its claims?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The conclusions come from four studies with diverse methods (laboratory and field) and different national contexts, including the United States and China.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"How does employee moral identity affect the relationship between ethical leadership and outcomes?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Moral identity moderates the mediated effect, but the direction is inconsistent: Studies 2 and 4 show stronger benefits for weak moral identity, while Study 3 shows stronger benefits for strong moral identity.",{"name":124,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":125},"What do the terms “saving grace” and “virtuous synergy” refer to?",{"text":126,"@type":114},"They describe when ethical leaders’ influence is most beneficial depending on employees’ moral identity—either as a buffer for weak identity (“saving grace”) or as reinforcement for strong identity (“virtuous synergy”).","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":129,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":131,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":133,"site_id":62},148563,1787781342,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":136},{"doc_id":133,"user_id":137,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":138,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":139,"file_id":140,"file_url":141,"file_type":142,"file_size":143,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":144,"language":145,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":146,"faqs":147,"seo_title":148,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":134,"read_time":149,"preview_page_count":4},1099514067415,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002539d78ffe74a7?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779092875211072502","Journal of Applied Psychology  \n© 2018 American Psychological Association 2019, Vol. 104, No. 1, 123–145  \n0021-9010/19/$12.00 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000341](http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000341)  \nLeaders Matter Morally: The Role of Ethical Leadership in Shaping Employee Moral Cognition and Misconduct  \nCelia Moore Bocconi University  \nDavid M. Mayer University of Michigan  \nFlora F. T. Chiang  \nChina Europe International Business School  \nMatthew J. Karlesky  \nSuffolk University  \nCraig Crossley University of Central Florida  \nThomas A. Birtch University of South Australia  \nThere has long been interest in how leaders influence the unethical behavior of those who they lead. However, research in this area has tended to focus on leaders’ direct influence over subordinate behavior, such as through role modeling or eliciting positive social exchange. We extend this research by examining how ethical leaders affect how employees construe morally problematic decisions, ultimately influencing their behavior. Across four studies, diverse in methods (lab and field) and national context (the United States and China), we find that ethical leadership decreases employees’ propensity to morally disengage, with ultimate effects on employees’ unethical decisions and deviant behavior. Further, employee moral identity moderates this mediated effect. However, the form of this moderation is not consistent. In Studies 2 and 4, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a weak moral identity (providing a “saving grace”), whereas in Study 3, we find that ethical leaders have the largest positive influence over individuals with a strong moral identity (catalyzing a “virtuous synergy”) . We use these findings to speculate about when ethical leaders might function as a “saving grace” versus a “virtuous synergy.” Together, our results suggest that employee misconduct stems from a complex interaction between employees, their leaders, and the context in which this relationship takes place, specifically via leaders’ influence over employees’ moral cognition.  \nKeywords: ethical leadership, moral disengagement, moral identity, unethical behavior, employee deviance  \nLeadership is often singled out as a critical driver of both ethical and unethical behavior inside organizations (Brown & Mitchell, 2010; Brown & Treviño, 2006; Ng & Feldman, 2015) . Prior research has found that ethical leadership—that is, “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal ac-  \nThis article was published Online First September 17, 2018 .  \nCelia Moore, Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University; David M. Mayer, Department of Management and Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Flora F. T. Chiang, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS); Craig Crossley, Department of Management, University of Central Florida; Matthew J. Karlesky, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Suffolk University; Thomas A. Birtch, School of Management, UniSA Business School, University of South Australia.  \nMatthew J. Karlesky is now at the Department of Management, University of South Florida.  \nCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Celia Moore, Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University, Via Roentgen, 1, Milan 20136, Italy. E-mail: [celia.moore@unibocconi.it](celia.moore@unibocconi.it)  \ntions and interpersonal relationships and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision making”(Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005, p. 120)—predicts a wide range of subordinate outcomes. Most research on ethical leadership has focused on positive outcomes, from organizational commitment (Hannah, Jennings, Bluhm, Peng, & Schaubroeck, 2014) and job satisfaction (Avey, Wernsing, & Palanski, 2012), to prosocial helping behaviors (Mayer, Kuenz","cbCaisnNPuBLuQ8m","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisnNPuBLuQ8m","pdf",591822,23,"English","# Introduction and Background\n## Ethical leadership and outcomes\n## Need to examine underlying mechanisms\n# Theoretical Extension\n## Ethical leaders and moral cognition\n# Research Approach and Findings\n## Effects across four studies\n## Moderating role of moral identity\n# Implications\n## Saving grace vs virtuous synergy","[{\"question\":\"How do ethical leaders influence employee misconduct according to the article?\",\"answer\":\"Ethical leaders shape how employees construe morally problematic decisions, which reduces moral disengagement and thereby lowers unethical decisions and deviant behavior.\"},{\"question\":\"What evidence does the article use to support its claims?\",\"answer\":\"The conclusions come from four studies with diverse methods (laboratory and field) and different national contexts, including the United States and China.\"},{\"question\":\"How does employee moral identity affect the relationship between ethical leadership and outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"Moral identity moderates the mediated effect, but the direction is inconsistent: Studies 2 and 4 show stronger benefits for weak moral identity, while Study 3 shows stronger benefits for strong moral identity.\"},{\"question\":\"What do the terms “saving grace” and “virtuous synergy” refer to?\",\"answer\":\"They describe when ethical leaders’ influence is most beneficial depending on employees’ moral identity—either as a buffer for weak identity (“saving grace”) or as reinforcement for strong identity (“virtuous synergy”).\"}]","Leaders Matter Morally - The Role of Ethical Leadership in Shaping Employee Moral Cognition and Misconduct | PDF",58]