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The Curvilinear Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Team Creativity: The Moderating Role of Team Faultlines

Author

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  • Shenjiang Mo

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Chu-Ding Ling

    (Zhejiang University
    Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

  • Xiao-Yun Xie

    (Zhejiang University)

Abstract

In this study, we built and tested a theoretical model to determine how ethical leadership affects team creativity among teams composed of different characteristics. Following social learning theory and an antecedent–benefit–cost framework, we conducted analyses of multisource data from 50 team supervisors and 186 employees, which revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship between ethical leadership and team creativity. The teams exhibited more creativity when there was a moderate level of ethical leadership than when there were very low or very high levels. Moreover, from an interactional perspective, we found that team faultlines significantly moderated the curvilinear relationship between ethical leadership and team creativity such that the inverted U-shaped relationship was more significant among teams with weak team faultlines. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Shenjiang Mo & Chu-Ding Ling & Xiao-Yun Xie, 2019. "The Curvilinear Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Team Creativity: The Moderating Role of Team Faultlines," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 229-242, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:154:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3430-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3430-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhen Wang & Lu Xing & Haoying Xu & Sean T. Hannah, 2021. "Not All Followers Socially Learn from Ethical Leaders: The Roles of Followers’ Moral Identity and Leader Identification in the Ethical Leadership Process," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 449-469, May.
    2. Junli Wang & Wendong Lv, 2023. "Research on the Impact of Green Innovation Network Embeddedness on Corporate Environmental Responsibility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-28, February.
    3. Xin Liu & Yan Huang & Jaehyoung Kim & Sanggyun Na, 2023. "How Ethical Leadership Cultivates Innovative Work Behaviors in Employees? Psychological Safety, Work Engagement and Openness to Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    4. Gustavo A. Esguerra, 2022. "Efecto del liderazgo ético sobre la creatividad de los empleados: una revisión del estado de la investigación," Estudios Gerenciales, Universidad Icesi, vol. 38(162), pages 109-119, March.
    5. Yun Song & Hongqu He & Caiyu Yan, 2022. "Impacts of top management team fault‐line on firm's innovation—Financial slack over‐investment and underinvestment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3348-3360, December.
    6. Seung-Wan Kang, 2019. "Sustainable Influence of Ethical Leadership on Work Performance: Empirical Study of Multinational Enterprise in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Qi, Meng & Armstrong, Steven J. & Yang, Zaoli & Li, Xiaoyi, 2022. "Cognitive diversity and team creativity: Effects of demographic faultlines, subgroup imbalance and information elaboration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 819-830.
    8. Jue Wang & Hae-Ryong Kim & Byung-Jik Kim, 2021. "From Ethical Leadership to Team Creativity: The Mediating Role of Shared Leadership and the Moderating Effect of Leader–Member Exchange Differentiation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Christopher Winchester & Kelsey E. Medeiros, 2023. "In Bounds but Out of the Box: A Meta-Analysis Clarifying the Effect of Ethicality on Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 713-743, March.

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