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Going deep into a leader's integrity: A systematic review and the way forward

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  • Nawaz, Asif
  • Gilal, Faheem Gul
  • Channa, Khalil Ahmed
  • Gilal, Rukhsana Gul

Abstract

Both academics and industry experts prioritize integrity as the most important leadership quality. The attention placed on integrity is evident by the fact that 71 research papers have only been published in ISI/Scopus-indexed journals over the last five years. Given the importance of the topic, this study conducted a thorough evaluation of 129 research papers on leadership integrity published in 70 prestigious journals between 1998 and 2020 using the SPAR-4-SLR framework developed by Paul, Lim, O’Cass, Hao, and Bresciani (2021). The review examines the body of literature on leadership integrity, ranging from conceptual clarity to recent debate, and compares the theories advocated by different leadership academics. We also thoroughly examined each scale used (for example, ten measures) by leadership researchers in order to determine the best scales. The current review also offers recommendations for future leadership research and frames the nomological network of leadership integrity in relation to its correlates (i.e., antecedents, mediators, moderators, and multiple-level outcomes).

Suggested Citation

  • Nawaz, Asif & Gilal, Faheem Gul & Channa, Khalil Ahmed & Gilal, Rukhsana Gul, 2023. "Going deep into a leader's integrity: A systematic review and the way forward," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 845-863.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:41:y:2023:i:6:p:845-863
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2022.11.001
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