| The research was designed to study the relationship between ethical leadership, follower attitudes, and the influence of service climate on the relationship. The framework draws on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) and social learning theory (Bandura, 1977, 1986) to form the basis of the study. The sample consisted of associates in a community bank located in the Northeastern U.S. (n=264). The Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS) developed by Brown, Trevino and Harrision (2005) was used to measure a follower's perception of the leader's behavior. The attitudes were measured using separate instruments: job satisfaction includes extrinsic and intrinsic factors (Tate, Whatley, & Clugston, 1997), and organizational identification assesses cognitive and affective elements (Smidts, Pruyn, & van Riel, 2001). Service climate was evaluated using the Global Service Climate Scale developed by Schneider, White and Paul (1998) to measure overall climate for service. Data analysis was conducted using the partial least squares (PLS) methodology for factor analysis and path modeling. Results indicate a significant relationship between ethical leadership, both attitudinal constructs, and service climate. While an interactive effect of service climate on these relationships was not significant, a partially mediated effect of service climate was revealed. Implications for theory and practice, and directions for future research are discussed. |
