ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND PUBLIC SECTOR GOVERNANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF MALAYSIAN CIVIL SERVANTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJLGC.1145003Keywords:
Empathy, Ethical Leadership, Peer Influence, Personal Integrity, Organisational CultureAbstract
Ethical leadership has become increasingly important in the public sector amid ongoing concerns about governance and integrity, and declining public trust. This study examines the determinants of ethical leadership among public servants in Northern Malaysia, focusing on empathy, personal integrity, peer influence, and organisational culture. Guided by Transformational Leadership Theory, this study conceptualises empathy, personal integrity, peer influence, and organisational culture as key mechanisms shaping ethical leadership behaviour among public servants. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed to examine the influence of these individual and organisational determinants on ethical leadership practices within the Malaysian public sector. Data were collected from 166 public servants in Kedah using structured questionnaires. Ethical leadership was measured using the Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS), while the independent variables were assessed using established and adapted measurement instruments. The findings indicate that the overall level of ethical leadership among public servants is high. Correlation analysis revealed that empathy, personal integrity, peer influence, and organisational culture were all positively and significantly associated with ethical leadership. However, multiple regression analysis identified organisational culture as the strongest and most significant predictor of ethical leadership practices. Although personal integrity and peer influence showed positive relationships, their effects became insignificant when other variables were controlled. These findings indicate that organisational culture exerts a stronger influence on ethical leadership than individual-level characteristics, highlighting the critical role of institutional values and organisational environments in fostering ethical conduct within the Malaysian public sector. This study contributes to ethical leadership literature by extending empirical evidence from the Malaysian public sector, demonstrating the relative influence of organisational and individual determinants of ethical leadership, and offering practical insights for governance reform, integrity enhancement, and leadership development within public institutions.
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