Predictors of Willingness Towards Unethical Behavior in Followers of Charismatic / Transformational Leaders: A Quantitative Path Analysis Study

Abstract

An anonymous survey of employees from two separate organizations was conducted to gather data regarding the relationship between charismatic, transformational leadership (CTL) and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). The purpose of the research was to identify potential predictors of this relationship in the demographic characteristics of followers, with the intent that identifying predictors may aid organizations in developing mitigation techniques. Survey data was collected using an instrument that combined basic participant demographic information, a version of the MLQ, and a previously developed measure to determine unethical willingness in participants. The data were analyzed using a path analysis and multivariate regression statistical model. All analyzed paths in the model were controlled for strong religious belief and job enjoyment levels. The predictor variables of follower job tenure and follower income level were shown to be statistically significant predictors of the relationship between CTL and UPB. Additionally, the negative value of the strong religious belief control variable was shown to moderate the effect of both job tenure and income level on the relationship between CTL and UPB. However, the positive value of strong religious belief completely mitigated the predictive ability of CTL on UPB, while job tenure and income level remained significant predictors of CTL.