The Impact of Exploitative Leadership and Moral Disengagement on Nurses’ Work Withdrawal Behaviors - A Mediation Model Using the Partial Least Squares Approach

Q: What is the study’s main aim regarding exploitative leadership and nurses’ withdrawal behaviors?

To examine whether moral disengagement mediates the association between exploitative leadership and nurses’ work withdrawal behaviors.

Q: How was the research conducted and analyzed?

A quantitative cross-sectional design used a convenience sample of 223 nurses and an online survey with validated scales, with hypotheses tested using a partial least squares approach.

Q: What were the key findings about moral disengagement?

Exploitative leadership had a significant positive effect on moral disengagement, which in turn significantly increased nurses’ work withdrawal behaviors; the indirect mediation effect was also significant.

Sep 29, 2026

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Work withdrawal behaviors undermine patient safety and care quality, yet the pathways linking exploitative leadership to these outcomes in nursing remain insufficiently clarified. This study investigates whether moral disengagement mediates the relationship between exploitative leadership and nurses’ work withdrawal behaviors, grounded in social cognitive and social exchange theories. A cross-sectional quantitative design surveyed 223 nurses from two healthcare settings, analyzing hypotheses with a partial least squares approach. Exploitative leadership increased moral disengagement and withdrawal behaviors directly, and indirectly through moral disengagement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Exploitative Leadership

Work Withdrawal Behaviors

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Wiley Journal of Nursing Management Volume 2025, Article ID 6932401, 11 pages [https://doi.org/10.1155/jonm/6932401](https://doi.org/10.1155/jonm/6932401) Research Article The Impact of Exploitative Leadership and Moral Disengagement on Nurses’ Work Withdrawal Behaviors: A Mediation Model Using the Partial Least Squares Approach Mennat Allah G. Abou Zeid , 1 Amirat A. Al-Sabeely , 1 and Ibrahim Abdullatif Ibrahim 2,3 1 Nursing Administration and Education Department, College of Nursing, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia 2 Department of Nursing Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt Correspondence should be addressed to Ibrahim Abdullatif Ibrahim; [ielhehe@su.edu.sa](ielhehe@su.edu.sa) Received 24 June 2025; Revised 1 December 2025; Accepted 16 December 2025 Academic Editor: Malakeh Malak Copyright © 2025 Mennat Allah G. Abou Zeid et al. Journal of Nursing Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Tis isan open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: Work withdrawal behaviors threaten patients’ safety and care quality. While exploitative leadership is a potential contributor to these negative behaviors, its impact remains underexplored in nursing context. Additionally, the mediating mechanism of moral disengagement in this association is understudied. Aim: Tis research aimed to investigate the mediating function of moral disengagement in the linkage between exploitative leadership and work withdrawal behaviors, framed by social cognitive and social exchange theories. Methods: Tis quantitative, cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 223 nurses recruited from two healthcare settings. Data were collected between February and April 2025 using an online survey comprising three validated and reliable scales in addition to demographic questionnaire. Te proposed hypotheses were tested using the partial least square approach. Results: Exploitative leadership demonstrated a signifcant positive direct efect on both moral disengagement (β 􀂈 0.616, t 􀂈 17.798, p < 0.001) and work withdrawal behaviors (β 􀂈 0.421, t 􀂈 5.592, p < 0.001) . Furthermore, moral disengagement hada signifcant positive efect on work withdrawal behaviors (β 􀂈 0.196, t 􀂈 2.365, p < 0.05) . Te indirect efect of exploitative leadership on work withdrawal behaviors, mediated by moral disengagement, was also signifcant (β 􀂈 0.121, t 􀂈 2.238, p < 0.05) . Conclusion: Tis research underscores the critical role of moral disengagement in elucidating how exploitative leadership fosters nurses’job withdrawal behaviors. Tese results underscore the need for healthcare organizations to advocate for ethical leadership practices and address processes that compromise nurses’ moral involvement to enhance nurse retention and ensure high-quality patient care. Keywords: leadership; moral disengagement; nursing staf; occupational stress; workplace behavior 1. Introduction Leadership is very important in establishing healthcare settings since it has a direct efect on both nurse well-being and patient outcomes [1, 2] . Efective leadership is recognized for improving nurse engagement and retention, while destructive leadership, such as exploitative leadership, may lead to disengagement and withdrawal behaviors [3–6] . Exploitative leadership may undermine employee morale, erode trust, and induce emotional and psychological distress [7, 8] . Studies indicate that exploitative leadership might promote job withdrawal behaviors [9–11] . In healthcare organizations, work withdrawal behaviors had a serious 2 Journal of Nursing Management threat to patient safety, health care quality, and organizational suita

FAQs

What is the study’s main aim regarding exploitative leadership and nurses’ withdrawal behaviors?

To examine whether moral disengagement mediates the association between exploitative leadership and nurses’ work withdrawal behaviors.

How was the research conducted and analyzed?

A quantitative cross-sectional design used a convenience sample of 223 nurses and an online survey with validated scales, with hypotheses tested using a partial least squares approach.

What were the key findings about moral disengagement?

Exploitative leadership had a significant positive effect on moral disengagement, which in turn significantly increased nurses’ work withdrawal behaviors; the indirect mediation effect was also significant.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by hdkawk