پژوهشهای مدیریت عمومی (Jun 2024)
Evaluating the Effect of Leader Moral Anger on Trust in Leader, Perceived Integrity and Organizational Justice: The Moderating Role of Islamic Work Ethics
Abstract
AbstractLeaders’ expression of moral anger is considered very important in curbing unethical behaviors and maintaining an ethical environment in organizations. However, how and the mechanism of its effect is unknown. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of leader moral anger on trust in leader, perceived integrity and organizational justice considering the moderating role of Islamic work ethics. The statistical population of this research was employees working in selected hospitals of Isfahan province. 320 questionnaires were distributed, of which 272 correct questionnaires were used for data analysis. Questionnaires from Shao (2019), Schoorman et al. (2016) and Mayer and Davis (1999), Mayer and Gavin (2005), Colquitt et al. (2022), and Ali (1988) were used to measure the leader moral anger, perceived integrity, trust in the leader, perceived organizational justice, and Islamic work ethic, respectively. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by the Cronbach’s alpha method and its validity by the factor analysis method. Structural equation modeling and SmartPLS software were used to test the research hypotheses. The results showed that the leader moral anger has a positive and significant effect on trust in leader, perceived integrity and organizational justice. Also, the leader’s perceived integrity has a positive and significant effect on trust in leader and perceived organizational justice. In addition the results showed that Islamic work ethics has a moderator effect in the relationship between leader moral anger and perceived integrity. Overall, the research findings suggest that the leader moral anger can have positive consequences for both the leader and the organization.IntroductionIn recent years, many researches have been conducted in the field of leadership. In more than a century of leadership studies, several paradigm shifts have occurred. One of the emerging issues is the issue of ethics. For this reason, in recent years, there has been a lot of emphasis on the emergence and display of ethical behavior by leaders, to the point that many researchers have been concerned about the consequences of this issue in new studies. Researches have shown that the sensitivity and verbal and behavioral reactions of leaders towards the occurrence of unethical behavior in the organization can have positive consequences both at the individual and organizational levels. The concept of moral anger of leaders refers to their expression of anger from observing various negative events that they see in the organization. In the leadership literature, most of the research on leader anger is related to employee performance. In other words, poor performance can lead to anger from the manager. However, the role of leader anger in moral contexts, such as when leaders express anger at their followers’ moral transgressions, differs from that in performance contexts. Leaders’ expression of moral anger is considered very important in curbing unethical behaviors and maintaining an ethical environment in organizations. However, how and the mechanism of its effect is unknown. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of leader moral anger on trust in leader, perceived integrity and organizational justice considering the moderating role of Islamic work ethics.Case studyGiven the sensitivity and influence of hospital professions, the issue of ethics in these organizations is doubly important. Therefore, the statistical population of this study includes employees who work in some selected hospitals in Isfahan province. 320 questionnaires were distributed, of which 272 correct questionnaires were used for data analysis.Materials and MethodsThis research is an applied research in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey based on the method. Questionnaires from Shao (2019), Schoorman et al. (2016) and Mayer and Davis (1999), Mayer and Gavin (2005), Colquitt et al. (2022), and Ali (1988) were used to measure the leader moral anger, perceived integrity, trust in the leader, perceived organizational justice, and Islamic work ethic, respectively. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by the Cronbach’s alpha method and its validity by the factor analysis method. Structural equation modeling and SmartPLS software were used to test the research hypotheses.Discussion and ResultsThe results showed that the leader moral anger has a positive and significant effect on trust in leader, perceived integrity and organizational justice. Also, the leader’s perceived integrity has a positive and significant effect on trust in leader and perceived organizational justice. In addition the results showed that Islamic work ethics has a moderator effect in the relationship between leader moral anger and perceived integrity. However, the moderating role of Islamic work ethics in the relationship between leader moral anger and perceived integrity and the moderating role of Islamic work ethics in the relationship between leader moral anger and perceived organizational justice were not confirmed.ConclusionThe review of the research literature shows that the subject of ethical leadership has gained significant importance in recent years with the emergence and importance of business ethics issues and due to the moral weakness of some organizational leaders. That is why much attention is paid to the description of the moral behavior of leaders. Based on the importance of the topic, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of leader moral anger on leader trust, perceived integrity, and organizational justice, considering the moderating role of Islamic work ethics. As the results showed, leader’s moral anger and perceived integrity influence trust in the leader and perceived organizational justice. In this regard, hospital administrators are advised not to refrain from expressing their true feelings in the face of observed violations and to use the positive functions of moral anger. In addition, as it was said, the leader’s moral anger increases trust in him, and this trust increases the effect of moral anger in a good period. Often times, leaders get angry when they give negative feedback to their followers. Although negative feedback can help employees improve their performance, the negative effects of expressing anger can reduce the usefulness of the feedback and, therefore, reduce the leader’s effectiveness. Followers trust in the leader can offset the negative effects of the leader expressing anger through negative feedback. Therefore, hospital leaders need to build strong trust with their employees to reduce the negative impact of anger expression on leadership effectiveness. Overall, the research findings suggest that the leader moral anger can have positive consequences for both the leader and the organization.
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