Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How Leader Alignment of Words and Deeds Affects Followers: A Meta-analysis of Behavioral Integrity Research

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Substantial research examines the follower consequences of leader (mis)alignment of words and deeds, but no research has quantitatively reviewed these effects. This study examines extant research on behavioral integrity (BI) and contrasts it with two other constructs that focus on (mis)alignment: moral integrity and psychological contract breaches. We compare effect sizes between the three constructs, and find that BI has stronger effects on trust, in-role task performance and citizenship behavior (OCB) than moral integrity and stronger effects on commitment and OCB than psychological contract breach. These stronger attitudinal consequences run counter to our initial expectations, but they provide evidence of important conceptual distinctions and mechanisms that we articulate. BI theory suggests that BI’s greater performance impact is due to the notion that BI affects communication clarity in addition to attitudes. Results of meta-analytic structural equation modeling are consistent with this proposed dual path of BI’s impact. We highlight avenues for future research on BI and discuss how our findings inform the broader research on leader (mis)alignment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. To ensure that the estimation is successful, we have complemented our dataset with seven randomly chosen studies from the meta-analysis by LePine et al. (2002) on OCB.

References

*References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis

  • *Tomlinson, E., Lewicki, R., & Steven, A., Disentangling the moral integrity construct: Values congruence as a moderator of the behavioral integrity–citizenship relationship, Group & Organization Management, forthcoming

  • Aquino, K., & Reed, A, I. I. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1423–1440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Avey, J., Mayer, D., Simons, T., & Palanski, M. (2014). What happens to employee behavior when ethical leaders do not practice what they preach? Paper presented at Academy of Management conference, Philadelphia.

  • Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3, 193–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Basik, K. J. (2010). Expanding the boundaries of behavioral integrity in organizations. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Florida State University.

  • Becker, T. E. (1998). Integrity in organizations: Beyond honesty and conscientiousness. Academy of Management Review, 23(1), 154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennis, W., Goleman, D., & O’Toole, J. (2007). Transparency: How leaders create a culture of candor. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, M. W.-L. (2008). A model for integrating fixed-, random-, and mixed-effects meta-analyses into structural equation modeling. Psychological Methods, 13, 182–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, M. W.-L. (2013a). Multivariate meta-analysis as structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 20, 429–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, M. W.-L. (2013b). metaSEM: Meta-analysis using structural equation modeling. R package version 0.8-4. Retrieved from http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/psycwlm/Internet/metaSEM/.

  • Cheung, M. W.-L., & Chan, W. (2005). Meta-analytic structural equation modeling: A two-stage approach. Psychological Methods, 10(1), 40–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, Y., & Park, H. (2011). Exploring the relationships among trust, employee satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Public Management Review, 13(4), 551–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colquitt, J., Scott, B., & LePine, J. (2007). Trust, trustworthiness, and trust propensity: A meta-analytic test of their unique relationships with risk taking and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 902–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortina, J. M. (2003). Apples and Oranges (and Pears, Oh My!): The search for moderators in meta-analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 6, 415–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, S. B., & Gustafson, S. B. (1998). Perceived Leader Integrity Scale: An instrument for assessing employee perceptions of leader integrity. The Leadership Quarterly, 9, 127–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, D. R., & Dalton, C. M. (2005). Strategic management studies are a special case for meta-analysis. Research Methodology in Strategy and Management, 2, 31–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A., & Rothstein, H. (2006). The effects of perceived behavioral integrity of managers on employee attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 407–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detert, R., Sweitzer, V., & Teviño, L. (2008). Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: A study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 374–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Dineen, B. R., Lewicki, R. J., & Tomlinson, E. C. (2006). Supervisory guidance and behavioral integrity: Relationships with employee citizenship and deviant behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 622–635.

  • *Friedman, R., Simons, T., & Hong, Y. (2009). Culture’s impact on behavioral integrity: When is a promise not a promise? Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Chicago.

  • Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gentile, M. C. (2010). Giving voice to values: How to speak your mind when you know what’s right. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentry, W. A., Cullen, K. L., Sosik, J. J., Chun, J. U., Leupold, C. R., & Tonidandel, S. (in press). Integrity’s place among the character strengths of middle-level managers and top-level executives. The Leadership Quarterly, 24, 395-404.

  • *Greenbaum, R. L., Mawritz, M. B., & Piccolo, R. F. (2012). When leaders fail to “walk the talk”: Supervisor undermining and perceptions of leader hypocrisy. Journal of Management. doi:10.1177/0149206312442386.

  • Greenberg, J. (1990). Organizational justice: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Journal of Management, 16, 342–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Halbesleben, J. B., Leroy, H., Dierynck, B., Simons, T., Savage, G. T., & McCaughey, D. (2013). Living up to safety values in health care: The effect of leader behavioral integrity on occupational safety. Journal Of Occupational Health Psychology, 18(4), 395–405

  • *Hinkin, T. R., & Schriesheim, C. A. (2009). The psychological contract at work: Testing a model of leader reinforcement practices, behavioral integrity, trust, and subordinate outcomes. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Chicago.

  • Hunter, J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (1990). Methods of meta-analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (2004). Methods of meta-analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Kalshoven, K., Den Hartog, D., & De Hoogh, A. (2011). Ethical leadership at work questionnaire (ELW): Development and validation of a multidimensional measure. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 51–69.

  • *Kannan-Narasimhan, R., & Lawrence, B. (2012). Behavioral integrity: How leader referents and trust matter to workplace outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 111(2), 165–178.

  • Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral reasoning. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

  • Lawder, D., & Cowan, R. (2013). Congress quietly repeals plan for Internet financial disclosures. Reuters. Retrieved July 31, 2014, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/12/net-us-usa-congress-security-idUSBRE93B0ZJ20130412.

  • LePine, J. A., Erez, A., & Johnson, D. E. (2002). The nature and dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior: A critical review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 52–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Leroy, H., Dierynck, B., Anseel, F., Simons, T., Halbesleben, J. R. B., McCaughey, D., Savage, G., & Sels, L. (2012b). Behavioral integrity for safety, priority of safety, psychological safety, and patient safety: A team-level study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(6), 1273–1281.

  • *Leroy, H., Palanski, M., & Simons, T. (2012a). How being true to the self helps leaders walk the talk: Authentic leadership and leader behavioral integrity as drivers of follower affective organizational commitment and work role performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 107, 255–264.

  • Mahajan, A., Bishop, J., & Scott, D. (2012). Does trust in top management mediate top management communication, employee involvement and organizational commitment relationships? Journal of Managerial Issues, 24(2), 173–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R., Davis, J., & Schoorman, D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20, 709–734.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. P., Becker, T. E., & Vandenberghe, C. (2004). Employee commitment and motivation: A conceptual analysis and integrative model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 991–1007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. P., & Gagné, M. (2008). Employee engagement from a self-determination theory perspective. Industrial and Organizational Perspectives, 1, 60–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. P., Stanley, D. J., Herskovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61, 20–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, C., Detert, J., Teviño, L., Baker, V., & Mayer, D. (2012). Why employees do bad things: Moral disengagement and unethical organizational behavior. Personnel Psychology, 65, 1–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: How psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Palanski, M., Kahai, S., & Yammarino, F. J. (2011). Team virtues and performance: An examination of transparency, behavioral integrity and trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 99, 201–216.

  • *Palanski, M., & Vogelgesang, G. (2011). Virtuous creativity: The effects of leader behavioral integrity on follower creative thinking and risk taking. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 28, 259–269.

  • Palanski, M. E., & Yammarino, F. J. (2007). Integrity and leadership: Clearing the conceptual confusion. European Management Journal, 25, 171–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Palanski, M. E., & Yammarino, F. J. (2011) Impact of behavioral integrity on follower job performance: A three-study examination. The Leadership Quarterly. 22, 765–786

  • *Park, H., Leroy, H., Dragoni, L., & Simons, T. (2014). The masks we share: how leaders’ and followers’ impression management motives impact followers’ performance. Working Paper.

  • R Development Core Team. (2014). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, S., Dang, C., Yam, K., & Leavitt, K. (2014). The role of moral knowledge in everyday immorality: What does it matter if I know what is right? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 123, 124–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. S. (2005). The file-drawer problem revisited: A general weighted method for calculating fail-safe numbers in meta-analysis. Evolution, 59, 464–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothstein, H. R., Sutton, A. J., & Borenstein, M. (2005). Publication bias in meta-analysis: Prevention, assessment and adjustments. Sussex: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological contracts in organizations: Understanding written and unwritten agreements. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D., & McLean Parks, J. (1993). The contracts of individuals and organizations. In L. Cummings & B. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 15, pp. 1–13). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, D., Sitkin, S., Burt, R., & Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23, 393–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shao, R., Aquino, K., & Freeman, D. (2008). Beyond moral reasoning: A review of moral identity research and its implications for business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18, 513–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, T. L. (1999). Behavioral integrity as a critical ingredient for transformational leadership. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12, 89–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, T. L. (2002). Behavioral integrity: The perceived alignment between managers’ words and deeds as a research focus. Organization Science, 13, 18–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, T. L. (2008). The integrity dividend: Leading by the power of your word. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • *Simons, T., Friedman, R., Liu, L., & Mc Lean Parks, J. (2007). Racial differences in sensitivity to behavioral integrity: Attitudinal consequences, in-group effects, and “trickle down” among black and non-black employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 650–665.

  • Simons, T., & Hagen, J. (2006). The impact of behavioral integrity in supply chain management. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA.

  • *Simons, T., & McLean Parks, J. (2000). The sequential impact of behavioral integrity on trust, commitment, discretionary service behavior, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Toronto.

  • Simons, T., Tomlinson, E., & Leroy, H. (2011). Research on behavioral integrity: A promising construct for positive organizational scholarship. In K. S. Cameron & G. M. Spreitzer (Eds.), Handbook of positive organizational scholarship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinbock, K., & Simons, T. (2011). Behavioral integrity between strategy communication and strategic actions. Paper presented at AOM Conference in Texas, US.

  • Tremblay, M., Cloutier, J., Simard, G., Chênevert, D., & Vandenberghe, C. (2010). The role of HRM practices, procedural justice, organizational support and trust in organizational commitment and in-role and extra-role performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(3), 405–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • *Veestraeten, M., Sels, L., & Leroy, H. (2014) Introducing strength-oriented practices at work: The role of leader integrity. Paper presented at Academy of Management National Conference, Philadelphia.

  • *Vogelgesang, G., Leroy, H., & Avolio, B. (2013). How leader transparency impacts follower engagement: The mediating effects of behavioral integrity and participation in decision-making. The Leadership Quarterly. 24, 405–413.

  • Wanous, J. P., Poland, T. D., Premack, S. L., & Davis, K. S. (1992). The effects of met expectations on newcomer attitudes and behaviors: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 288–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, H., Wayne, S., Giblowski, B., & Bravo, J. (2007). The impact of psychological contract breaches on work-related outcomes: a meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 60, 647–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, Statler Hall 538, Ithaca, NY, 14853-6902, USA

    Tony Simons

  2. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, 342 Sage Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, US

    Hannes Leroy

  3. Area Entrepreneurship, Governance and Strategy, Vlerick Business School, Reep 1, 9000, Gent, Belgium

    Veroniek Collewaert

  4. Accounting and Finance, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Stijn Masschelein

  5. Research Center of Organization Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Hannes Leroy

Authors
  1. Tony Simons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hannes Leroy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Veroniek Collewaert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stijn Masschelein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tony Simons.

Additional information

T. Simons and H. Leroy contributed equally to this manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Simons, T., Leroy, H., Collewaert, V. et al. How Leader Alignment of Words and Deeds Affects Followers: A Meta-analysis of Behavioral Integrity Research. J Bus Ethics 132, 831–844 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2332-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2332-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation