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Ethical Leadership and Its Cultural and Institutional Context: An Empirical Study in Japan

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  • Takuma Kimura

    (Hosei University)

  • Mizuki Nishikawa

    (Sophia University)

Abstract

In recent times, international comparative studies on managers’ beliefs regarding ethical/unethical leadership have increased in number. These studies focus on both Eastern and Western countries. However, although these previous studies focused on the effects of national culture, they did not pay sufficient attention to the effects of institutions. Moreover, these studies covered only a few countries. Despite Japan’s strong influence on the world economy, it has not been included in previous studies on ethical leadership. Thus, to reveal unexplored factors—particularly cultural and institutional factors—and to determine the generalizability of previous findings, this study used a qualitative research method to examine Japanese business managers’ beliefs about ethical/unethical leadership. The data revealed the convergence and divergence in beliefs regarding ethical/unethical leadership between managers in Japan and in other countries. The analysis identified mostly the same themes of ethical/unethical leadership as found in other countries albeit with different distributions. In addition, We identified new themes that may be specific to Japan or that were neglected in previous studies. Moreover, this study suggests the necessity of considering each society’s history of business ethics and current ethics-related institutional contexts in ethical/unethical leadership studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Takuma Kimura & Mizuki Nishikawa, 2018. "Ethical Leadership and Its Cultural and Institutional Context: An Empirical Study in Japan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 707-724, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:151:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3268-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3268-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Sharfa Hassan & Puneet Kaur & Michael Muchiri & Chidiebere Ogbonnaya & Amandeep Dhir, 2023. "Unethical Leadership: Review, Synthesis and Directions for Future Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 511-550, March.
    5. Eduardo Ordonez-Ponce, 2021. "The Role of Institutional Context for Sustainability Cross-Sector Partnerships. An Exploratory Analysis of European Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.

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