The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Safety Behavior: Focusing on the Sequential Mediating Effects of Organizational Trust and Organizational Commitment, and the Moderating Effects of Authentic Leadership
Prior studies focusing on safety behavior have not given sufficient consideration to the potential impact exerted by different leadership styles. Of these various styles, my attention is specifically drawn to the influence of ethical leadership on safety behavior. In this paper, I delve into the influence of ethical leadership on safety behavior, shedding light on both the underlying mechanisms(mediators) and a significant contextual factor(moderator). I probe into the successive mediating roles of employees' trust in the organization and their commitment to it, within the context of the relationship between ethical leadership and safety behavior. Further, I posit that authentic leadership positively adjusts the connection between ethical leadership and organizational trust. My findings underscore that ethical leadership enhances employee safety behavior, facilitated by the chain mediation of trust in the organization and organizational commitment. Moreover, I discover that authentic leadership, as a positive moderator, magnifies the favorable impact of ethical leadership on organizational trust. This paper will also articulate the theoretical implications, practical applications, and limitations of the study.