How subjective ethical congruence facilitates leadership identification construction: A followership perspective

Abstract

This study examines subordinate subjective congruence resulting from personal ethical identity and perceived ethical leadership (PEL) on followership behaviors, including: obedience, proactive, and constructive resistance behaviors through identification with supervisors. Using polynomial regressions, results from self-reported data of 208 employees in China supported that higher level of identification with supervisor occurs because of the following: (1) ethical congruence rather than ethical incongruence; (2) high-high rather than low-low congruence; (3) incongruence when personal ethical identity is lower than PEL rather than when personal ethical identity is higher than PEL. Moreover, such perceived ethical congruence facilitates followership obedience and proactive behaviors but not constructive resistance behavior via identification with supervisors. Relevant theoretical and practical implications are discussed.