“Beyond leadership”: unraveling the impact of ethical leadership on the most influential factors, an analysis of the mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity

IntroductionIn the face of increasing global demands and growing concerns regarding organizational sustainability, ethical leadership has emerged as a critical factor shaping employee wellbeing, commitment, and ethical behavior in the workplace. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, while assessing the mediating roles of ethical climate and employee moral identity. This research is justified by the limited empirical evidence regarding the mechanisms through which ethical leadership influences employee attitudes and behaviors, particularly within integrated explanatory models that simultaneously consider both organizational and individual ethical factors.MethodThe study adopted an explanatory design, with 462 Peruvian workers. Participants were women (64.9%) and men (35.1%), aged between 21 and 64 years (M = 36.6; SD = 10.1). The model was statistically analyzed using PLS-SEM.ResultsThe hypotheses of the proposed model were confirmed, demonstrating the influence of ethical leadership on workplace happiness, affective commitment, willingness to report ethical problems, ethical climate, and employee moral identity, highlighting in turn the mediating role of the ethical climate and employee moral identity in the proposed model.DiscussionThese findings suggest that ethical leadership functions as an integrative mechanism that links the organizational, psychological, and behavioral dimensions of employee performance. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the simultaneous mediating role of ethical climate and employee moral identity in explaining how ethical leadership influences model components. By providing evidence from the Peruvian healthcare sector, a context that is still underrepresented in organizational behavior research, this study expands the current theoretical understanding of ethical leadership. It offers perspectives for strengthening integrity, transparency, and sustainable people management practices in healthcare institutions.