Ethical leadership and productive work attitudes among micro financial institutions in Ghana

Purpose Ethical leadership wields a significant influence on productive work attitudes of employees. The relationship may partly be because of existing conditions in the organization. However, there is dearth of research on the impact that conditions in the organization affect work attitudes and other employee behaviours. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine organizational climate as an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ productive work attitudes (employee commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour). Design/methodology/approach The researchers obtained responses from 150 employees working in micro financial institutions in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was used. The hypotheses of the study were analysed using regression analyses. Findings Findings indicated a positive and significant relationship between ethical leadership and productive work attitudes (employee commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that organizational climate moderated the relationships between both ethical leadership – employee commitment and ethical leadership – organizational citizenship behaviours. Explicitly, ethical leadership produced the highest productive work attitudes when organizational climate was favourable for productive work attitudes. Originality/value Generally, this study highlights the prominence of organizational climate in understanding the influence of ethical leadership on employees’ work attitudes.