The topic of ethical work perception has received significant interest in recent years due to the alarming rate of ethical scandals in the organization. In this study, the researcher developed a theoretical framework that shows employees' psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and ethical work perception in the context of government organizations. A quantitative research approach was implemented to test hypotheses developed from the theoretical framework. Statistical analyses, such as the descriptive analysis, correlation, hierarchical regression, and structural equation modeling, were performed using survey data collected from 302 participants in Solomon Islands. The findings indicated that psychological empowerment of an employee has a significant mediating effect between ethical leadership and ethical work perception. Hence, employees who perceive their leader to have higher level of ethical leadership feel more empowered and the heightened empowerment creates a higher level of ethical work perception in the organization

The topic of ethical work perception has received significant interest in recent years due to the alarming rate of ethical scandals in the organization. In this study, the researcher developed a theoretical framework that shows employees' psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and ethical work perception in the context of government organizations. A quantitative research approach was implemented to test hypotheses developed from the theoretical framework. Statistical analyses, such as the descriptive analysis, correlation, hierarchical regression, and structural equation modeling, were performed using survey data collected from 302 participants in Solomon Islands. The findings indicated that psychological empowerment of an employee has a significant mediating effect between ethical leadership and ethical work perception. Hence, employees who perceive their leader to have higher level of ethical leadership feel more empowered and the heightened empowerment creates a higher level of ethical work perception in the organization

Abbey, A., & Dickson, J. W. (1983). R&D work climate and innovation in semiconductors. Academy of Management Journal, 26(2), 362-368.

Addae, H. M., Praveen Parboteeah, K., & Davis, E. E. (2006). Organizational commitment and intentions to quit: An examination of the moderating effects of psychological contract breach in Trinidad and Tobago. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 14(3), 225-238.

Akaah, I. P. (1992). Social inclusion as a marketing ethics correlate. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(8), 599-608.

Alasia, S. (1997). Party politics and government in Solomon Islands. Research School of Pacific and Asia Studies, The Australia National University, Canberra.

Albrecht, S. L., & Andreetta, M. (2011). The influence of empowering leadership, empowerment and engagement on affective commitment and turnover intentions in community health service workers: Test of a model. Leadership in Health Services, 24(3), 228-237.

Aşcıgil, S. F., & Parlakgümüş, A. B. (2012). Ethical work climate as an antecedent of trust in co-workers. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 31(3/4), 399-417.

Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T. S., & Palanski, M. E. (2012). Exploring the process of ethical leadership: The mediating role of employee voice and psychological ownership. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(1), 21-34.

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338.

Bandura, A. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 359-373.

Betz, M., O'Connell, L., & Shepard, J. M. (1989). Gender differences in proclivity for unethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 8(5), 321-324.

Blau, P. M. (1968). Social exchange. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 7, 452-457. Retrived from: https://books.google.com.tw.

Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

Browning, J., & Zabriskie, N. B. (1983). How ethical are industrial buyers?. Industrial Marketing Management, 12(4), 219-224.

Butts, M. M., Vandenberg, R. J., DeJoy, D. M., Schaffer, B. S., & Wilson, M. G. (2009). Individual reactions to high involvement work processes: Investigating the role of empowerment and perceived organizational support. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(2), 122-136.

Chene, M., & Hodess, R. (2017). Solomon Islands, overview of corruption and anti-corruption. Retrived from https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/helpdesk/solomon-islands-overview-of-corruption-and-anti-corruption.

Chen, G., Kirkman, B. L., Kanfer, R., Allen, D., & Rosen, B. (2007). A multilevel study of leadership, empowerment, and performance in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 331-346.

Cohen, D. V. (1995). Creating ethical work climates: A socioeconomic perspective. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 24(2), 317-343.

Colby, A., Kohlberg, L., Gibbs, J., & Lieberman, M. (1983). A longitudinal study of moral judgment. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 48, 1–124.

Conger, J. A., & Kanungo, R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13(3), 471-482.

Cooper, Terry L. (1982). The responsible administrator: An approach to the ethics of the administrative role. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press.

Cooper, R. W. (2007). Spitzer's Allegations of Unethical/Illegal Behavior: Has the Insurance Industry's Ethical Environment Really Changed Dramatically?. Elsevier Limited. In insurance ethics for a more ethical world (pp. 9-38). NY: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

De Hoogh, A. H., & Den Hartog, D. N. (2008). Ethical and despotic leadership, relationships with leader's social responsibility, top management team effectiveness and subordinates' optimism: A multi-method study. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(3), 297-311.

DeConinck, J. B., DeConinck, M. B., & Moss, H. K. (2016). The relationship among ethical leadership, ethical climate, supervisory trust, and moral judgment. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 20(3), 89-99.

Dewettinck, K., & van Ameijde, M. (2011). Linking leadership empowerment behaviour to employee attitudes and behavioural intentions: Testing the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Personnel Review, 40(3), 284-305.

Dickson, M. W., Smith, D. B., Grojean, M. W., & Ehrhart, M. (2001). An organizational climate regarding ethics: The outcome of leader values and the practices that reflect them. The Leadership Quarterly, 12(2), 197-217.

Douglas, R. M., Richard, L. G., & Lynn, M. H. (2004). The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 11–37.

Eisenberger, R., Fasolo, P., & Davis-LaMastro, V. (1990). Perceived organizational support and employee diligence, commitment, and innovation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(1), 51-59.

Ethics and Compliance Initiative. (2018). Global business ethics survey. Retrieved from https://www.ethics.org/knowledge-center/2018-gbes-2/.

Feldheim, M. A., & Wang, X. (2004). Ethics and public trust: Results from a national survey. Public Integrity, 6(1), 63–75.

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50.

Fulford, M. D., & Enz, C. A. (1995). The impact of empowerment on service employees. Journal of Managerial Issues, 7(2), 161-175.

Fry, L. W. (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 14(6), 693–727.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,

Grundstein-Amado, R. (2001). A strategy for formulation and implementation of codes of ethics in public service organizations. International Journal of Public Administration, 24(5), 461–478.

Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. New York, NY: Prentice Hall International.

Hassan, S., Wright, B. E., & Yukl, G. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government? effects on organizational commitment, absenteeism, and willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333–343.

Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 5-60.

Hart, D K. (1974). Social equity, justice, and the equitable administrator. Public Administration Review, 34(1), 3–11.

Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis. Conventional criteria versus new alternatives: Structural equation modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55.

Jackson, J. J., Bogg, T., Walton, K., Wood, D., Harms, P. D., Lodi-Smith, J. L., & Roberts, B. W. (2009). Not all conscientiousness scales change alike: A multimethod, multisample study of age differences in the facets of conscientiousness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 446 – 459.

Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366-395.

Kanungo, R. N. (2001). Ethical Values of Transactional and Transformational Leaders. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences (Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences), 18(4), 257-265.

Kettl, D. F. (2005). The next government of the United States: Challenges for performance in the 21st century. Washington, DC: IBM Center for the Business of Government.

Khuntia, R., & Suar, D. (2004). A scale to assess ethical leadership of Indian private and public sector managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 49(1), 13–26.

Kirkman, B. L., & Rosen, B. (1999). Beyond self-management: Antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 58-74.

Koberg, C. S., Boss, R. W., Senjem, J. C., & Goodman, E. A. (1999). Antecedents and outcomes of empowerment: Empirical evidence from the health care industry. Group & Organization Management, 24(1), 71-91.

Kraimer, M. L., Seibert, S. E., & Liden, R. C. (1999). Psychological empowerment as a multidimensional construct: A test of construct validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59(1), 127-142.

Laczniak, G. R., & Murphy, P. E. (1991). Fostering ethical marketing decisions. Journal of Business Ethics, 10(4), 259-271.

Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J., & Sparrowe, R. T. (2000). An examination of the mediating role of psychological empowerment on the relations between the job, interpersonal relationships, and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 407.

Lu, C. S., & Lin, C. C. (2014). The effects of ethical leadership and ethical climate on employee ethical behavior in the international port context. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(2), 209-223.

MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1(2), 130-149.

Martin, K. D., & Cullen, J. B. (2006). Continuities and extensions of ethical climate theory: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(2), 175–194.

Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1-13.

Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., &Greenbaum, R. L. (2010). Examining the link between ethical leadership and employee misconduct: The mediating role of ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(1), 7–16.

Mendonca, M. & Kanungo, R. N. (2007). Ethical leadership. NY: Open University Press.

Menon, S. (2001). Employee empowerment: An integrative psychological approach. Applied Psychology, 50(1), 153-180.

Menzel, D. C. (2015). Research on ethics and integrity in public administration: Moving forward, looking back. Public Integrity, 17(4), 343–370.

Mulki, J. P., Jaramillo, J. F., & Locander, W. B. (2007). Effect of ethical climate on turnover intention: Linking attitudinal and stress theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(4), 559–574.

Muthén, L., & Muthén, B. (2007). Mplus 5. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

Neese, W. T., Ferrell, L., & Ferrell, O. C. (2005). An analysis of federal mail and wire fraud cases related to marketing. Journal of Business Research, 58(6), 910–918.

Neubert, M. J., Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., Roberts, J. A., & Chonko, L. B. (2009). The virtuous influence of ethical leadership behavior: Evidence from the field. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(2), 157-170.

Neuman, W. L. (2014), Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative Approaches, (7th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited.

Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2015). Ethical leadership: Meta-analytic evidence of criterion-related and incremental validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 948–965.

Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric methods. NY: McGraw-Hill.

O'Toole Jr, L. J., & Meier, K. J. (2011). Public management: Organizations, governance, and performance. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Pacific Leadership Programme. (2014). Retrived from http://www.plp.org

Parboteeah, K. P., Chen, H. C., Lin, Y. T., Chen, I. H., Lee, A. Y., & Chung, A. (2010). Establishing organizational ethical climates: How do managerial practices work?. Journal of business ethics, 97(4), 599-611.

Pelletier, K. L., & Bligh, M. C. (2006). Rebounding from corruption: Perceptions of ethics program effectiveness in a public sector organization. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(4), 359-374.

Povey, J. (2016). Goverment. Retrived from https://www.researchgate.net

Pfeffer, J. (2005). Producing sustainable competitive advantage through the effective management of people. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(4), 95-106.

Rainey, H. G. (2009). Understanding and managing public organizations. San Francisco, CA: Wiley & Son.

Sama, L. M., & Shoaf, V. (2008). Ethical leadership for the professions: Fostering a moral community. Journal of Business Ethics, 78, 39–46.

Sanga, K., & Walker, K. D. (2005). Apem Moa: Solomon Islands leadership. He Parekereke, Institute for research and development in Maori and Pacific education. NZ: Victoria University.

Sanga, K. (2015). Fānanaua. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 8(1), 17-31.

Schein, E. (2004). H.(2004). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Schminke, M., Ambrose, M. L., & Neubaum, D. O. (2005). The effect of leader moral development on ethical climate and employee attitudes. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 135–151.

Schneider, B., & Rentsch, J. (1988). Managing climates and cultures: A futures perspective. MA, MA, UK: Lexington Books.

Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1994). Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 580-607.

Shin, Y. (2012). CEO Ethical Leadership, Ethical Climate, Climate Strength, and Collective Organizational Citizenship Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 108(3), 299–312.

Sparrowe, R. T. (1994). Empowerment in the hospitality industry: An exploration of antecedents and outcomes. Hospitality Research Journal, 17(3), 51-73.

Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M. A., & Nason, S. W. (1997). A dimensional analysis of the relationship between psychological empowerment and effectiveness satisfaction, and strain. Journal of Management, 23(5), 679-704.

Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465.

Spreitzer, G. M. (1996). Social structural characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39(2), 483–504.

Stead, W. E., Worrell, D. L., & Stead, J. G. (1990). An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242.

Stewart, G. L., & Manz, C. C. (1997). Understanding and overcoming supervisor resistance during the transition to employee empowerment. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 10, 169–196.

Stouten, J., Baillien, E., Van den Broeck, A., Camps, J., de Witte, H., & Euwema, M. (2010). Discouraging bullying: The role of ethical leadership and its effects on the work environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(1), 17–27.

Thomas, K.W., & Tymon, W. G. (1994), Does empowerment always work: Understanding the role of intrinsic motivation and personal interpretation, Journal of Management Systems, 6(3), 1–13.

Thomas, K. W., and Velthouse, B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An interpretive model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 666–681.

Toor, S. R., & Ofori, G. (2009). Ethical leadership: Examining the relationships with full range leadership model, employee outcomes, and organizational culture. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(4), 533–547.

Tonge, A., Greer, L., & Lawton, A. (2003). The Enron story: you can fool some of the people some of the time ... Business Ethics: A European Review, 12(1), 4–22.

Treviño, L. K., Brown, M., & Hartman, L. P. (2003). A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite. Human Relations, 56(1), 5-37.

Trevino, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4), 128-142.

Trevino, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision making in organizations: A person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601-617.

Trevinyo-Rodríguez, R. (2007). Integrity: A systems theory classification. Journal of Management History, 13(1), 74-93.

VanSandt, C. V., & Neck, C. P. (2003). Bridging ethics and self leadership: Overcoming ethical discrepancies between employee and organizational standards. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(4), 363-387.

Verschoor, C. C. (2018). Survey of workplace ethics: Pressure grows to compromise ethics, and little progress is being made in developing strong ethical cultures. Strategic Finance, 100(1), 17-19.

Victor, B., & Cullen, J. B. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33(1), 101-125.

Viswesvaran, C., Deshpande, S. P., & Joseph, J. (1998). Job satisfaction as a function of top management support for ethical behavior: A study of Indian managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 17(4), 365–371.

Weeks, W. A., Loe, T. W., Chonko, L. B., & Wakefield, K. (2004). The effect of perceived ethical climate on the search for sales force excellence. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 24(3), 199-214.

Wimbush, J. C., Shepard, J. M., & Markham, S. E. (1997). An empirical examination of the relationship between ethical climate and ethical behavior from multiple levels of analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(16), 1705-1716.

William, F., & Monge, P. (2001). Reasoning with statistics. CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Yener, M., Yaldıran, M., & Ergun, S. (2012). The effect of ethical climate on work engagement. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58, 724-733.

Yukl, G., Mahsud, R., Hassan, S., & Prussia, G. E. (2013). An improved measure of ethical leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(1), 38-48.

Zhu, W., May, D. R., & Avolio, B. J. (2004). The impact of ethical leadership behavior on employee outcomes: The roles of psychological empowerment and authenticity. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 11(1), 16-26.

Zhu, W. (2008). The effect of ethical leadership on follower moral identity: The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Leadership Review Claremont McKenna College Kravis Leadership Institute, Leadership Review, 8(8), 62–73.