A comprehensive model of leader moral courage - a study of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. using grounded theory approach

An individual's moral judgment only weakly predicts their moral behaviour and moral courage is a critical factor that reduces this disparity. However, research on moral courage and its antecedents has been sparse and studies have been largely conducted in contexts where the social costs for morally courageous actions are low. This study explores the antecedents of leader moral courage by investigating the lives of two renowned socio-political leaders - Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Eleven autobiographies and biographies of these leaders were studied and critical incidents from their lives that are relevant to this study were identified. A comprehensive model of leader moral courage has been developed by using grounded-theory-based theoretical sampling, coding and constant comparison techniques on these critical incidents. Three novel antecedents to leader moral courage have also been identified. The findings of this study have implications for both business ethics research and practice.