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Abstract
A critical analysis of the article "Leader and Organizational Behavioral Integrity and Follower
Behavioral Outcomes: The Role of Identification Processes" (Ete et al., 2020) provided the
author with additional information regarding behavioral integrity and its importance to leaders,
followers, and organizations. There is no doubt that organizational factors play a significant role
in shaping ethical behavior within organizations. Keeping ethics at the forefront of
organizational activities requires recognizing the moral dimension in all facets of organization
life as well as supporting collective improvement in ethical performance. An organization and its
leaders must act in accordance with their stated objectives and fulfill their commitments. In view
of the fact that followers view leaders as role models and adopt their behaviors, it is imperative
that leaders coordinate their words with their actions. They must follow through on their pledges.
As Christians, leaders need to ensure that their actions are in keeping with their testimony. It is
paramount for them to maintain their integrity in a manner that does not disrupt the organization
or their followers.
Keywords: leader, follower, organization, behavioral integrity, organizational ethics
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Marketing the Opioid Epidemic Ethics Case Study
As a result of critiquing the article "Leader and Organizational Behavioral Integrity and
Follower Behavioral Outcomes: The Role of Identification Processes" (Ete et al., 2020), this
paper aims to provide a more detailed analysis of the role ethics plays in organizational ethics.
Ete (2020) in their article examine the concept of behavioral integrity from the leader,
organization and the follower in the organizational settings. This author will examine their
research to determine the ethical dimensions discussed, the research methods and reasoning used,
the biases of the author, the key important findings. The author will incorporate critical reasoning
and worldview perspectives within this analysis as it relates to ethics. According to Johnson
(2022), the task is to ensure that ethics matter through the recognition of the moral dimension in
every aspect of organizational life, as well as by supporting improvement in collective ethical
performance. A key component of transformation, according to Johnson (2022), is putting ethics
at the center of the workplace, significantly altering attitudes, thinking, communication,
behavior, culture, and systems, influencing individual decisions, interpersonal relationships,
group interactions, and organizational objectives.
Elements Influencing the Believability of the Research
In their study of behavioral integrity, Ete et al. (2020) presented a well-written and well-
organized study. Qualifications and positions of the researchers indicate a degree of knowledge
of organizational ethics. All are affiliated with Durham University Business School in the United
Kingdom. Clearly stating the focus of their research study in the title of the study provides a
clear understanding of what the study is about. The abstract provided a concise overview of the
research, which immediately piqued this author's interest, leading her to want to learn more.
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Elements Influencing Robustness
A research problem has been presented by Ete et al. (2020) in their introduction in which
they state that organizations and their leaders need to recognize the importance of ethics and
virtues. Based on the authors' analysis, there is a gap in the literature regarding behavioral
integrity in organizational settings. In this study, the authors examine the impact of behavioral
integrity on an organization, a leader, and a follower. They conducted three separate studies
within the context of this study. In providing a literature review, the authors provided insight into
the definitions of behavioral integrity, leader identification, organizational behavioral integrity,
and organization identification. However, this author felt that more information could have been
provided in order to provide a better understanding of the importance of each of these terms, and
how they relate to the study. Despite using social learning theory and social identity theory to
support their hypotheses, the authors did not elaborate on these theories and explain how they
relate to behavioral integrity and how they could be linked to organizations and leaders in great
depth. In this author's opinion, more evidence is required to validate the rationale for choosing
these two theories.
According to Faheem et al. (2021), the influence of leaders can be highlighted on the
process through which employees define their ethical roles by incorporating social learning and
role theory. According to them, social learning theory has been widely used to predict the
determinants of employees' learned behaviors. The authors of the study suggest that
organizational factors play an instrumental role in shaping ethical behavior in organizations. It is
imperative for Christian leaders to remember that 1 Corinthians 10:24 instructs them not to seek
their own good, but rather their neighbor's good (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, 1
Corinthians 10:24).
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Method of Research
Within the scope of this research, Ete et al. (2020) conducted three different studies. In
two of the studies, experiments were conducted and in the other, field studies were conducted.
211 participants were included in their first study, ranging in age from 19 to 67, with 56% of
them being female. Participants were full-time working professionals in the United Kingdom.
Among the 200 participants in the second study, 57% were men and their ages ranged from 20 to
73. Participants in the study were full-time working professionals from the United States. In the
third study, 282 surveys were completed, of which 78.4% were completed by men. Firefighters
and non-operational staff from the United Kingdom participated in the study. Despite the fact
that the participants were so different, it did not seem clear to this author how or why this
particular sample was selected.
Key Findings
There are a number of key findings in their report that are useful to organizations,
managers, and employees. Their results demonstrate the importance of organizations and leaders
acting in accordance with their stated objectives and keeping their commitments. According to
the authors, employees are vigilantly monitoring these patterns of behavior and responding
accordingly in terms of adopting behavioral integrity and engaging in extra-role behavior toward
the organization. According to them, it is not sufficient for organizations to have value
statements, rules, and policies that encourage employees to conduct themselves in an ethical and
prosocial manner, rather, the actual actions of the organization should be in keeping with these
statements. As a result, according to these researchers, leaders must ensure their words and
actions are aligned and that they follow through on their commitments since followers take these
leaders as role models and tend to adopt leader behaviors. In order to produce ethical behavior
BEHAVIORAL INTEGRITY 6
among subordinates (follower BI) and prosocial behavior, they recommend that organizations
recruit leaders who possess behavioral integrity.
According to He and Feng (2020), leadership behaviors have a significant impact on
followers' attitudes and behaviors. Based on their findings, when organizations emphasize
building strong corporate ethical values, supervisors' behavioral integrity is more likely to
positively influence employee voice as a result of information regarding a climate of
independence among team members. There appears to be some unspoken bias in this study,
according to this author. It should be noted that while this author is not an expert in critical
analysis, she did make an attempt to critique this particular study. It may have been difficult for
this author to critique this particular study. However, the title and abstract of this study caught
her attention and she wanted to know more about what the researchers had discovered about
behavioral integrity.
Conclusion
The author learned more about behavioral integrity and the importance it plays on
leaders, followers, and organizations after critiquing the article "Leader and Organizational
Behavioral Integrity and Follower Behavioral Outcomes: The Role of Identification Processes"
(Ete et al., 2020). Based on Ete et al.'s (2020) study, a number of key findings were drawn that
demonstrate the necessity of organizations and leaders acting in accordance with their stated
objectives and keeping their promises. Since followers view leaders as role models and adopt
their behaviors, it is crucial that leaders coordinate their words and actions are aligned and follow
through with their commitments. Leaders who are Christians must ensure that their actions are
consistent with their testimony. They should ensure that their integrity is not compromised in a
manner that would disrupt the organization or their followers. Solomon was instructed in 1 Kings
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Referenes
English Standard Version Bible.(2020). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001)
Ete, Z., Epitropaki, O., Zhou, Q., & Graham, L. (2020). Leader andHOrganizational Behavioral
Integrity andHFollower Behavioral Outcomes: The Role ofHIdentification Processes.
Journal of Business Ethics, 176(4), 741-760. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04728-6
Faheem, M., Ahmed, I., Ain, I., & Iqbal, Z. (2021). Authentic Leadership and Follower’s Role
Ethnicality: The Role of Leader’s Ethical Voice and Ethical Culture.International
Journal of Ethics and Systems,37(3), 422-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-09-2020-
0150
He, P., & Feng, W. (2020). How and When Does Leader Behavioral Integrity Influence
Employee Voice? The Roles of Team Independence Climate and Corporate Ethical
Values.Journal of Business Ethics,166(3), 505-521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-
04114-x
Johnson, C. (2022). Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach. (5th Ed.) SAGE Publishing.
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