How ethical leadership reduces corruption in Pakistan’s public sector

Job satisfaction as a mediator

Bibliographic Data

ID22169644
AuthorsWazir Arif Hussain (0000-0002-4520-5566, Nazarbayev University), Basit Gulzar (Nazarbayev University)
Year2026
Pages1-13
Publication date2026-06-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Administration and Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2517-679X • E-ISSN: 1727-2645
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/pap-03-2025-0028
OpenAlexW7164879978
LanguageEN
References cited26

Propose The study investigates the effect of ethical leadership on administrative corruption, focusing on the mediating role of job satisfaction in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was collected from 402 public employees in the local government of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. Hypotheses were tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) in SPSS and AMOS23. Findings The findings demonstrated adequate model fitness, indicating that job satisfaction acts as a critical mediator between ethical leadership and the reduction of corruption among public employees. Ethical leadership fosters job satisfaction by enhancing employees’ intrinsic satisfaction in serving the public, thereby reducing their inclination to engage in corruption. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on ethical leadership in public administration by examining how public managers’ ethical leadership shapes subordinates’ job satisfaction and mitigates workplace corruption in the public sector of a developing Muslim country in South Asia

Confirmatory factor analysis · Ethical Leadership · Job satisfaction · Language change · Public sector · Structural equation modeling · Corruption and Economic Development · Ethics in Business and Education · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

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