A Cross-Sectoral “Ethical Leadership Scale”: Development and Validation

Abstract

Existing ethical leadership scales are often limited by sector-specific designs and lengthy multidimensional structures, restricting their applicability in diverse organizational contexts. Addressing this limitation, the present study develops and validates a concise, cross-sectoral Ethical Leadership Scale. Data were collected from three independent samples representing education (n₁ = 385), healthcare (n₂ = 447), and industry (n₃ = 503). Following a rigorous scale development procedure, an initial 14-item instrument was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, along with criterion-related validity testing. The results support a robust two-dimensional structure consisting of ten items: value-based ethical leadership and behavioral ethical leadership. The scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties, including high validity and reliability across heterogeneous samples. By introducing a short, theoretically grounded, and empirically validated instrument, this study contributes to the ethical leadership literature by overcoming limitations related to sector specificity and measurement complexity. The cross-sectoral validation enhances the generalizability and practical utility of the scale, particularly in large-scale and time-constrained research settings.The proposed scale provides researchers and practitioners with an efficient and reliable tool for assessing ethical leadership across diverse organizational environments, thereby advancing both empirical research and evidence-based management practices. The scale items are presented in both English and Turkish at the end of the study.