The Mediating Role of Psychological Well-Being in the Impact of Ethical Climate Perception on Organizational Identification among Nurses

Objective: This study aims to examine the mediating role of psychological well-being in the relationship between ethical climate perception and organizational identification among nurses.Methods: This study employs a quantitative research method and utilizes a "relational research design." The sample of the study consists of 260 nurses actively working at a state hospital in Türkiye. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS program with the addition of the Process Macro software.Results: The analyses revealed a significant and positive relationship between the variables. The results indicated that nurses’ perceptions of ethical climate, psychological well-being, and organizational identification were above moderate levels. Correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between ethical climate perception and psychological well-being (r = .316, P < .001), ethical climate perception and organizational identification (r = .379, P < .001), and psychological well-being and organizational identification (r = .200, P < .001). Analysis using the PROCESS Macro (Model 4) revealed that psychological well-being mediates the effect of perceived ethical climate on organizational identification.Conclusion: The study found that psychological well-being plays a full mediating role in the effect of ethical climate perception on organizational identification among nurses. These findings empirically indicate that a positive ethical climate fosters nurses’ organizational identification primarily by enhancing their psychological well-being. Therefore, hospital management is advised to focus on cultivating an ethical organizational climate to support nurses' well-being and, consequently, their identification with the institution