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<p>Leadership behavior is critical in encouraging employees to report unethical behavior within the organization to maintain its integrity and reputation. However, employees may remain silent when they witness misconduct due to the potential for reprisals. This study investigates how responsible leadership (RL) influences employees' whistleblowing intentions in Ethiopian public universities, applying self-determination theory (SDT) to explore mediation and stepwise dual moderation effects. A survey was administered to 319 employees from public universities in Ethiopia, with a demographic gender proportion of 203 men (63.64%) and 116 women (36.36%). Using Hayes’s PROCESS macro in SPSS (models 4 and 21), results show that RL positively impacts employee whistleblowing intentions, mediated by public service motivation (PSM). Moral courage and ethical climate further moderate this relationship, amplifying RL’s effect through PSM under high moral courage and strong ethical climates. These findings highlight the importance of RL in fostering a positive organizational culture that encourages whistleblowing. Our study extends the theoretical understanding of how RL integrates with the analysis of employee whistleblowing intentions, proposing that public universities in emerging economies adopt RL practices to strengthen these intentions. This offers actionable strategies for leaders and organizations aiming to address unethical behavior while fostering ethical resilience in higher education systems.</p>

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Uncovering the impacts of responsible leadership on employee whistleblowing intentions: A self-determination perspective

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月4日

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  • Gerema Alemayehu Bekele,
  • Lu Chen,
  • Shen Ye

摘要

Leadership behavior is critical in encouraging employees to report unethical behavior within the organization to maintain its integrity and reputation. However, employees may remain silent when they witness misconduct due to the potential for reprisals. This study investigates how responsible leadership (RL) influences employees' whistleblowing intentions in Ethiopian public universities, applying self-determination theory (SDT) to explore mediation and stepwise dual moderation effects. A survey was administered to 319 employees from public universities in Ethiopia, with a demographic gender proportion of 203 men (63.64%) and 116 women (36.36%). Using Hayes’s PROCESS macro in SPSS (models 4 and 21), results show that RL positively impacts employee whistleblowing intentions, mediated by public service motivation (PSM). Moral courage and ethical climate further moderate this relationship, amplifying RL’s effect through PSM under high moral courage and strong ethical climates. These findings highlight the importance of RL in fostering a positive organizational culture that encourages whistleblowing. Our study extends the theoretical understanding of how RL integrates with the analysis of employee whistleblowing intentions, proposing that public universities in emerging economies adopt RL practices to strengthen these intentions. This offers actionable strategies for leaders and organizations aiming to address unethical behavior while fostering ethical resilience in higher education systems.