How critical is ethical leadership during COVID? Its role in enhancing creativity in nursing

Abstract

Purpose The ethical requirement for nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic reached the peak. Healthcare professionals were asked to provide creative services to patients while making ethical decisions. This study aims to understand how ethical leadership and ethical climate interact with help seeking behavior to influence nurses’ creativity. Design/methodology/approach In this longitudinal study, the authors employed 193 nurses from a large hospital in China. Eligible nurses completed two surveys (one month apart) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings This study found that help seeking during problem-solving mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and creativity while ethical climate moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and help seeking in nurses. Originality/value Scholars have rarely studied the relationship between ethical leadership and creativity in the healthcare setting. More importantly, this study unveiled the compounded effect of ethical leadership and ethical climate on creativity via nurses’ help seeking behavior in China.