The impact of leadership style on ethical decision-making, the moderating role of strategic thinking: a study among Malaysian managers

Abstract

This study develops and empirically tests a multilevel model of cross-level interactions between leadership style and ethical decision-making at the individual level. The study also examines the moderating role of strategic thinking support in the proposed cross-level relationships. Data were collected from 389 managers of electrical and electronic (E&E) companies in Penang. These data were evaluated using a partial least square-structural equation demonstrating via SmartPLS. Results confirmed the relationship between leadership style and ethical decision-making. Additionally, strategic thinking was found to perform the moderating role between leadership style and ethical decision-making. This research contributes to the literature on leadership styles and ethical decision-making. In recent times, no such study in (E&E) manufacturing context has been reported in Malaysia. Also using strategic thinking as a moderator is another novelty of this research.