The role of ethical leadership on employees’ behaviours and commitment to the organisation

Orientation: The rapid competition among companies puts pressure on managers to maintain their business’s competitive advantage. However, because of the massive competition and economic downturn during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, financial scandals occurred at a much higher rate than in the past. This phenomenon has caused organisational leaders to shift their focus from material concerns to ethical leadership contexts in the workplace. It has a strong correlation with employee attitudes.Research purpose: This research examined the effects of ethical leadership on work engagement and knowledge sharing, which influence job performance and commitment among employees to the organisations.Motivation for the study: Investigating the relationship between ethical leadership, work engagement, and knowledge sharing among employees in Indonesia can provide insight on strategies to enhance employees’ job performance and commitment to the organisation. It plays an important role in significantly obtaining organisational outcomes and goals.Main findings: A survey was conducted with 670 Indonesian government employees, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to validate the research framework. The results showed that ethical leadership significantly affects employees’ work engagement and knowledge-sharing, which further enhances employees’ job performance and commitment to organisations. Furthermore, the mediator variables partially mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and outcome variables (e.g., employees’ job performance and organisational commitment).Practical/managerial implications: The leaders of public organisations should address moral and rational concerns to improve service quality in society. Additionally, it should be centred on purifying employees’ and organisation leaders’ ethical concerns and communication patterns to promote society’s service quality.Contribution: The research outcomes provide insight into the fact that leadership style plays an important role in employees’ attitudes and commitment. Hence, the organisation leaders should apply it to enhance employees’ commitment to organisations and performance.