Knowledge sharing in public organizations in Pakistan: leaders’ ethical role and psychological capital of employees

Purpose: This study aims to examine the role of ethical leaders on the knowledge-sharing behavior of public sector employees. Ethical leaders engender knowledge-sharing behavior of employees by influencing their psychological capital. Design/methodology/approach: To explore the mechanism by which ethical leaders shape the knowledge-sharing behavior of employees, cross-sectional self-reported data (n = 339) are collected from employees working at decision-making positions in federal ministries in Pakistan. Findings: Analysis results indicate that ethical leaders influence public employees to share knowledge with colleagues. Moreover, the mediary role of ethical values, organizational identification and altruism is evident, however, the mediary role of self-efficacy is not evident from results. Practical implications: This implies that policymakers should be cognizant of the indirect mechanism by which ethical leaders positively influence the behavior of public employees. This knowledge helps them consider the recruitment, promotion and training of employees, especially the leaders, in line with the required ethical value consideration in public sector organizations. Originality/value: This research is based on originally collected data from the field.