Development of a Broader Conceptualization and Measurement Scale of Ethical Leadership

Abstract

This study presents a broader construct of ethical leadership as an alternative to existing understanding of the term. The study divides the existing literature into classical and contemporary thoughts. The study brings forth limitations of the existing classical conceptualization based on several shortcomings. Synthesis and development of existing studies lead to a broader narrative that essentially addresses the limitations posed in this study. This broader viewpoint is based on the categorization of ethical theories by Van Wart (2014). A new definition of ethical leadership is presented and a survey scale of ethical leadership based on this conceptualization is developed. This study calls for empirical studies to test the new scale and use it to re-validate existing studies.