Direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership on workplace deviance in public healthcare sector of Pakistan

Purpose Over the years, increased level of deviant behavior among the employees of public sector organizations has been observed. The situation is worst in the public healthcare sector of Pakistan, where numerous incidents of employee deviant behavior have been reported recently. This scenario is compelling scholars and practitioners to find appropriate solutions to address this issue. As previous literature lacks empirical evidence regarding the role of ethical leadership in establishing an ethical climate in order to minimize workplace deviance in the public healthcare sector. Thus, to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of organizational ethical climate as a mediator in the relationship between ethical leadership and workplace deviance in public healthcare sector of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach This study employed survey strategy, using quantitative method with a cross-sectional research design, and with multi-stage sampling technique. Two hundred and eighty nine usable questionnaires were collected from doctors and nurses. Further, Structural Equation Modeling was conducted in order to test the hypothesized model and determine the direct and indirect effects. Findings Results of this study revealed that ethical leadership negatively influenced workplace deviance. Ethical leadership was further found to have a positive effect on ethical climate. Moreover, the ethical climate had a negative relationship with workplace deviance. Finally, ethical climate mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and workplace deviance. Originality/value This study identified the significance of ethical leadership behavior which assists in establishing an ethical organizational climate leading towards less likelihood of the emergence of workplace deviance.