Understanding Leader Integrity on Employees’ Perceived Inclusion through Mediating Role of Leader-Member Exchange

Abstract

The emphasis of the current study is to investigate the relationship between leader integrity, and employees perceived inclusion in the workplace where Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) plays a mediating role. This study proposes and tests a mediation model to explain how leader integrity impacts employees’ perceived inclusion from the employe es’ points of view. Drawing from the social exchange theory, this study argues that leader integrity affects LMX relationships, subsequently affecting employees' perceived inclusion at work. Time-lagged data were collected from a public-school system in the southeastern United States using a field survey research design. The hypothesized relationships were examined using data from 263 (n = 263) full-time teachers and staff from 79 elementary, middle, and high schools, with an approximate average of four participants for each school/principal. The results confirm that leader integrity is positively related to LMX, and LMX is positively associated with employees’ perceived inclusion. Furthermore, there is a significant mediating effect in the relationship. These results suggest that leader integrity and LMX are critical for establishing perceived inclusion. By being the first study to consider LMX as a mediator from leader integrity for predicting perceived inclusion, this study contented a theoretical gap in the literature, thus advancing our knowledge of integrity in leadership and its relationship with other organizational phenomena. Finally, the paper discusses theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research directions.