Ethical Performance in Local Governments: An Empirical Study of Organizational Leadership and Ethics Culture

How to promote ethical conduct in the public sector has been discussed extensively in the public administration literature, yet empirical studies that employ comprehensive datasets are rare. This study proposes a hybrid model to explain ethical performance in local governments. Results of our study point to the importance of leadership in creating ethical organizations. Analysis of comprehensive survey data collected from local governments supports our hypothesis that organizational leadership not only promotes ethical behavior directly but also indirectly through reinforcing ethics culture in local governments. This paper discusses the practical implications of our findings and advances some recommendations to enhance ethical conduct in the public sector.