Abstract
In the context of a crisis of confidence in executive leadership in corporate America, this paper examines the role of integrity as a mediator within strategic leadership and its impact on credibility in reputational capital. A tension can occur within strategic leadership between the elements of strategic planning and leadership vision. This tension can destroy the credibility of reputational capital unless strategic leadership is managed effectively. Integrity can be used as the glue providing for credible leadership vision amid a strategic perspective oriented to competitive pressures, thereby enabling strategic leadership to contribute to a sustainable competitive advantage. A strategic leadership audit is presented as a tool by which strategic leadership and reputational capital can be managed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atwater, L., R. Penn and L. Rucker: 1991, 'Personal Qualities of Charismatic Leaders', Leadership & Organization Development Journal 12(2), 7–10.
Badaracco, J. L. and R. R. Ellsworth: 1989, Leadership and the Quest for Integrity (Harvard Business School Press, Boston).
Barney, J.: 1991, 'Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage', Journal of Management 17, 99–120.
Barry, B. and C. V. Stevens: 1998, 'Objections to an Objectivist Approach to Integrity', Academy of Management Review 23(1), 162–169.
Bass, B. M.: 1985, Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations (Free Press, NY).
Bass, B. M.: 1990, Bass and Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research and Managerial Applications (Free Press, NY).
Bass, B. M. and P. Steidlmeier: 1999, 'Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership Behavior', Leadership Quarterly 10(2), 181–218.
Beatty, R. P. and J. R. Ritter: 1986, 'Investment Banking, Reputation, and Underpricing of Initial Public Offerings', Journal of Financial Economics 15, 213–232.
Becker, T.: 1998, 'Integrity in Organizations: Beyond Honesty and Conscientiousness', Academy of Management Review 23(1), 154–161.
Bennis, W.: 1990, Why Leaders Can't Lead: The Unconscious Conspiracy Continues (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco).
Bennis, W. and B. Nanus: 1985, Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge (Harper & Row, NY).
Berger, P.: 1967, The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (Doubleday, Garden City, NY).
Bews, N. F. and G. J. Rossouw: 2002, 'A Role for Business Ethics in Facilitating Trustworthiness', Journal of Business Ethics 39(4), 377–390. Brunsson, N.: 1989, The Organization of Hypcrisy: Talk, Decisions, and Actions in Organizations (John Wiley, NY).
Butler, J. K. and R. S. Cantrell: 1984, 'A Behavioral Decision Theory Approach to Modeling Dyadic Trust in Superiors and Subordinates', Psychological Reports 55, 19–28.
Caldwell, C., S. J. Bischoff and R. Karri: 2002, 'The Four Umpires: A Paradigm for Ethical Leadership', Journal of Business Ethics 36, 153–163.
Cannella Jr., A. A. and M. J. Monroe: 1997, 'Contrasting Perspectives on Strategic Leaders: Toward a More Realistic View of Top Managers', Journal of Management 23, 213–237.
Caves, R. E. and M. E. Porter: 1977, 'From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers', Quarterly Journal of Economics 91, 421–434.
Ciulla, J.: 1995, 'Leadership Ethics: Mapping the Territory', Business Ethics Quarterly 5(1), 5–28.
Collins, J. C. and J. I. Porras: 1994, Built to Last (Harper Collins, NY).
Coyne, K. P.: 1986, 'Sustainable Competitive Advantage–What It Is and What It Isn't', Business Horizons, pp. 54–61.
Culbert, S., and J. T. McDonough: 1988, 'Organizational Alignments, Schisms, and Highintegrity Managerial Behavior', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 223–242.
Davids, M.: 1995, 'Where Style Meets Substance', Journal of Business Strategy 16, 48–60.
DePree, M.: 1989, Leadership is an Art (Doubleday, NY).
Dienhart, J.: 1999, Business, Institutions and Ethics (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
DiMaggio, P. J. and W. W. Powell: 1983, 'The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields', American Sociological Review 48, 147–160.
Dowling, G. R.: 1986, 'Managing Your Corporate Images', Industrial Marketing Management 15, 109–115.
Enderle, G.: 1987, 'Some Perspectives of Managerial Ethical Leadership', Journal of Business Ethics 6(8), 657–663.
Finkelstein, S. and D. Hambrick: 1996, Strategic Leadership: Top Executives and their Effects on Organizations (West Publishing, St. Paul, MN).
Fombrun, C.: 1996, Reputation: Realizing Value for the Corporate Image (Harvard Business School Press, Boston).
Fombrun, C. and M. Shanley: 1990, 'What's in a Name? Reputation Building and Corporate Strategy', Academy of Management Journal 33(2), 233–258.
Frederick, W. C.: 1998, 'Creatures, Corporations, Communities, Chaos, Complexity', Business & Society 37(4), 358–389.
Hall, R.: 1993, 'A Framework Linking Intangible Resources and Capabilities to Sustainable Competitive Advantage', Strategic Management Journal 14(8), 607–618.
Hambrick, D. C. and P. Mason: 1984, 'Upper Echelons: The Organization as a Reflection of its Top Managers', Academy of Management Review 9, 193–206.
Harrison, R.: 1988, 'Quality of Service: A New Frontier for Integrity in Organizations', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 45–67.
Hitt, M. A., R. D. Ireland and R. E. Hoskisson: 1999, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization (South–Western Publishing, Cincinnati).
Hitt, W. D.: 1990, Ethics and Leadership: Putting Theory into Practice (Battelle Press, Columbus, OH).
Hosmer, L. T.: 1994, Moral Leadership in Business (Irwin, Burr Ridge, IL).
Hosmer, L. T.: 1995, 'Trust: The Connecting Link Between Organizational Theory and Philosophical Ethics', Academy of Management Review 20, 379–403.
Husted, B. W.: 1998, 'The Ethical Limits of Trust in Business Relations', Business Ethics Quarterly 8(2), 233–248.
Ireland, R. D. and M. A. Hitt: 1999, 'Achieving and Maintaining Strategic Competitiveness in the 21st Century: The Role of Strategic Leadership', Academy of Management Executive 13(1), 43–57.
Kerr, S.: 1988, 'Integrity in Effective Leadership', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 122–139.
Kirkpatrick, S. A. and E. A. Locke: 1991, 'Leadership: Do Traits Matter?', Academy of Management Executive 5, 48–60.
Klein, B. and K. Leffler: 1981, 'The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance', Journal of Political Economy 89, 615–641.
Kotter, J. P.: 1988, The Leadership Factor (The Free Press, NY).
Kouzes, J. M. and B. Z. Posner: 1987, The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco).
Kouzes, J. M. and B. Z. Posner: 1993, Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It (Jossey–Bass, San Francico).
Kramer, R. M.: 1996, 'Divergent Realities and Convergent Disappointments in the Hierarchic Relation: Trust and the Intuitive Auditor at Work', in R. M. Kramer and T. R. Tyler (eds.), Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA), pp. 114–139.
LeClair, D. T., O. C. Ferrell and J. P. Fraedrick: 1998, Integrity Management: A Guide to Managing Legal and Ethical Issues in the Workplace (University of Tampa Press, Tampa, FL).
Levinson, H.: 1988, 'To Thine Own Self Be True: Coping with the Dilemmas of Integrity', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 268–289.
Lowe, K. B., K. G. Kroeck and N. Sivasubramaniam: 1996, 'Effectiveness Coorelates of Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta–analytic Review of the MLQ Literature', Leadership Quarterly 7(3), 385–425.
Lundy, O. and A. Cowling: 1996, Strategic Human Resource Management (Routledge, London).
Madsen, P.: 1990, 'Managing Ethics', Executive Excellence 7(12): 11–12.
Mayer, R. C., J. H. Davis and F. D. Schoorman: 1995, 'An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust', Academy of Management Review 20(3), 709–734.
Mayo, B.: 1978, 'Moral Integrity', in G. Vesey (ed.), Human Values (Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, NJ).
McFall, L.: 1987, 'Integrity', Ethics 98(1), 5–20.
Milgrom, P. and J. Roberts: 1986, 'Relying on the Information of Interested Parties', Rand Journal of Economics 17, 18–32.
Mintzberg, H.: 1973, The Nature of Managerial Work (Prentice–Hall, Englewood Cliffs).
Mishra, A. K.: 1996, 'Organizational Responses to Crisis, The Centrality of Trust', in R. M. Kramer and T. R. Tyler (eds.), Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).
Morgan, G.: 1986, Images of Organisation (Sage, Newbury Park, CA).
Morgan, G.: 1989, 'Reliability and Validity of a Factor Analytically Derived Measure of Leadership Behavior and Characteristics', Educational and Psychological Measurement 49, 911–919.
Morgan, R. B.: 1993, 'Self–and Co–worker Perceptions of Ethics and their Relationships to Leadership and Salary', Academy of Management Journal 36(1), 200–214.
Nanus, B.: 1992, Visionary Leadership: Creating a Compelling Sense of Direction For Your Organization (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco).
Paine, L. S.: 1997, Cases in Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Integrity: A Strategic Perspective (Irwin, Chicago).
Parry, K. W.: 1998, 'The New Leader: A Synthesis of Leadership Research in Australia and New Zealand', Journal of Leadership Studies 5(5): 82–105.
Parry, K. W. and S. B. Proctor–Thompson: 2002, 'Perceived Integrity of Transformational Leaders in Organizational Settings', Journal of Business Ethics 35(2), 75–96.
Petrick, J. A. and J. F. Quinn: 2000, 'The Integrity Capacity Construct and Moral Progress in Business', Journal of Business Ethics 23(1), 3–18.
Petrick, J. A. and J. F. Quinn: 2001, 'The Challenge of Leadership Accountability for Integrity Capacity as a Strategic Asset', Journal of Business Ethics 24(4), 331–343.
Petrick, J. A., R. F. Scherer, J. D. Brodzinski, J. F. Quinn and M. F. Ainina: 1999, 'Global Leadership Skills and Reputational Capital: Intangible Resources For Sustainable Competitive Advantage', Academy of Management Executive 13(1), 58–69.
Posner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1984, 'Values and the American Manager: An Update', California Management Review 26(3), 202–216.
Quinn, J. B., P. Anderson and S. Finkelstein: 1996, 'Leveraging Intellect', Academy of Management Executive 10, 7–27.
Reese, J.: 1993, 'America's Most Admired Corporations', Fortune (Feb 8), p. 44.
Rest, J.: 1986, Moral Development: Advances in Research and Theory (Praeger, NY).
Rieke, M. L. and S. J. Guastello: 1995, 'Unresolved Issues in Honesty and Integrity Testing', American Psychologist 50, 458–459.
Robbins, J. P.: 1997, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 5th edition (Prentice–Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ).
Robert, M.: 1991, The Essence of Leadership Innovation and Decisiveness (Quroum Books, NY).
Rowsell, K. and T. Berry: 1993, 'Leadership, Vision, Values and Systematic Wisdom', Leadership & Organization Development Journal 14(7), 18–22.
Sejersted, F.: 1996, 'Managers and Consultants as Manipulators', Business Ethics Quarterly 6(1), 64–79.
Shelton, K.: 1989, 'Counterfeit Leadership', Executive Excellence 6(7), 3–5.
Shrivastava, P. and S. A. Nachman: 1989, 'Strategic Leadership Patterns', Strategic Management Journal 10, 51–66.
Shrum, W. and R. Wuthnow: 1988, 'Reputational Status of Organizations in Technical Systems', American Journal of Sociology 93, 882–912.
Simons, T. L.: 1999, 'Behavioral Integrity as a Critical Ingredient for Transformational Leadership', Journal of Organizational Change 12(2):, 89–104.
Sims, R. R. and H. Brinkmann: 2002, 'Leaders as Moral Role Models: The Case of John Gutfreind at Solomon Brothers', Journal of Business Ethics 35(4), 327–339.
Smircich, L. and G. Morgan: 1982, 'Leadership: The Management of Meaning', Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 18, 257–273.
Solomon, Robert C.: 1999, A Better Way to Think About Business: How Personal Integrity Leads to Corporate Success (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Srivastra, S. and D. L. Cooperrider: 1988, 'Introduction: The Urgency For Executive Integrity', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (San Francisco, Jossey–Bass), pp. 1–28.
Stigler, G. J.: 1962, 'Information In the Labor Market', Journal of Political Economy 70, 49–73.
Teece, D. J., G. Pisano and A. Shuen: 1997, 'Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management', Strategic Management Journal 18(7), 509–533.
Velasquez, M.: 1996, 'Why Ethics Matters: A Defense of Ethics in Business Organizations', Business Ethics Quarterly 6(2), 201–222.
Waters, J. A.: 1988, 'Integrity Management: Learning and Implementing Ethical Principles in the Workplace', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 172–196.
Watson, C. E.: 1991, Managing with Integrity: Insights from America's CEO's (Praeger, NY).
Weber, J.: 1995, 'Influences upon Organizational Ethical Climates: A Multi–Departmental Analysis of a Single Firm', Organization Science 6(5), 509–523.
Westley, F. and H. Mintzberg: 1989, 'Visionary Leadership and Strategic Management', Strategic Management Journal 10, 17–32.
Wilson, R.: 1985, 'Reputations in Games and Markets', in A. E. Roth (ed.), Game–theoretic Models of Bargaining (Cambridge University Press, NY), pp. 27–62.
Wolfe, D. M.: 1988, 'Is There Integrity in the Bottom Line: Managing Obstacles to Executive Integrity', in S. Srivastra (ed.), Executive Integrity: The Search for High Human Values in Organizational Life (Jossey–Bass, San Francisco), pp. 140–171.
Worden, S.: 2003, 'Strategic Leadership as a Source of Competitive Advantage: A Qualified Dualistic Model', Midwestern Academy of Management Proceedings.
Yukl, G. A. and D. D. Van Fleet: 1992, 'Theory and Research on Leadership in Organizations', in M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2nd ed.), vol. 3 (Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA), pp. 147–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Worden, S. The Role of Integrity as a Mediator in Strategic Leadership: A Recipe for Reputational Capital. Journal of Business Ethics 46, 31–44 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024721028328
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024721028328