The Importance of Ethical Leadership in Employees’ Value Congruence and Turnover

Guiyao Tang, Zhenyao Cai, Zhiqiang Liu*, Hong Zhu, Xin Yang, Ji Li

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    45 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This study investigates the relationship between leadership, value congruence, and employees’ intention to leave in China’s hospitality industry. We test the moderating effect of cultural values on the relationships between these factors using data gathered from employees at ten branches of a major restaurant chain in South China. Our results show (1) a positive relationship between ethical leadership and leader–follower value congruence, (2) a significant moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between ethical leadership and leader–follower value congruence, (3) a negative relationship between leader–follower value congruence and employees’ intention to leave, and (4) a significant mediating effect of value congruence on the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ intention to leave. Although these findings apply only to the restaurant industry, it is clear that ethical behavior by group leaders builds value congruence and discourages employee turnover.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)397-410
    Number of pages14
    JournalCornell Hospitality Quarterly
    Volume56
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2015

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

    User-Defined Keywords

    • collectivism
    • leadership
    • turnover intention
    • value congruence

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