Two faces of ethical leadership: how promotion- and prevention-focus differently influence knowledge sharing

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how promotion- versus prevention-focused ethical leadership differently influence knowledge sharing. Specifically, it investigates the emotional mechanisms underlying these effects and the moderating role of employees’ moral identity. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on affective events theory, this research conducted a scenario-based experiment to investigate how promotion- and prevention-focused ethical leadership elicits employees’ emotional responses. The authors then used an experience sampling method study to validate the differential effects of these two forms of ethical leadership on knowledge sharing, while examining the mediating role of employees’ emotions and the moderating effect of moral identity. Findings Promotion-focused ethical leadership enhances employee knowledge sharing by eliciting supervisor-directed, other-praising moral emotions. In contrast, prevention-focused ethical leadership evokes supervisor frustration, which in turn inhibits knowledge sharing. Furthermore, employees’ moral identity amplifies both emotional pathways, such that individuals with higher levels of moral identity experience stronger emotional responses in reaction to both types of ethical leadership. Originality/value This research offers a fine-grained understanding of the relationship between ethical leadership and knowledge sharing by differentiating between promotion- and prevention-focused ethical leadership. It also introduces emotion-based mechanisms and highlights moral identity as a key boundary condition.