The Effect of the Supervisor' Ethical Leadership on the Internal Whistle-blowing Intention: A Focus on the Sequential Mediating Effect of Job Engagement and Self-efficacy

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to empirically verify the direct effect of the ethical leadership of supervisors on whistle-blowing intention in the organization, as well as the sequential mediating effect of job engagement and self-efficacy. For this study, a survey was conducted on employees of companies located in Incheon, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do, and 241 of the collected questionnaires were used to verify the research hypothesis. The results of this study are summarized as follows: First, it was found that the ethical leadership of the supervisor and job engagement of the members had a significant positive effect on the intention to blow the whistle. Second, it was confirmed that self-efficacy had no significant effect on the relationship between the ethical leadership of the supervisor and the intention to blow the whistle. Third, it was proved that the sequential mediation of job engagement and self-efficacy had no significant effect on the relationship between ethical leadership and the intention to blow the whistle. The results of this study substantially demonstrated the mediating effect of job engagement and self-efficacy on the relationship between the ethical leadership of the supervisor and the whistle-blowing intention of the members of the organization. In addition, although the ethical leadership of supervisors is a significant factor in establishing an ethical corporate culture, the study results show the influence of leaders' ethical leadership on the internal whistle-blowing intention and confirm the role of ethical leadership in expanding the area of ethical leadership research and enhancing corporate social responsibility and ethics.