Ethical leadership and followers’ job crafting: the mediating role of followers’ role-breadth self-efficacy and work engagement

Purpose The objective of this study was to investigate the link between ethical leadership and followers’ job crafting. Based on social learning theory and the job demands-resources model, we expected that followers’ role-breadth self-efficacy and work engagement would serially mediate the association between this leadership style and followers’ job crafting. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative analysis was conducted among a sample of 458 subordinates that assessed the ethical leadership of their direct supervisor and reported on their own role-breadth self-efficacy, engagement and job crafting behaviours. Findings Ethical leadership was positively associated with followers’ increasing structural resources, increasing social resources and increasing challenging demands. The mediation hypothesis was supported for increasing challenging demands but not for increasing social resources. Results unexpectedly suggested that the indirect positive effect suppresses the direct negative effect of ethical leadership on followers’ increasing structural resources, the total effect becoming positive. This leadership style was not associated with followers’ decreasing hindering demands. Practical implications The research highlights the possibility that ethical leadership trainings may stimulate followers' job crafting. Originality/value The study explores for the first time the relationship between this leadership style and job crafting behaviours of subordinates and, moreover, provides an explanatory mechanism for the relationship between these variables.