years for its effective enhancement of organizational performance. However, there remains a gap in understanding its efficacy. Therefore, this study aims to identify the potential risks of inclusive leadership by exploring its impact on employees’ willingness to engage in unethical pro-organizational behavior. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of workplace spirituality in the relationship between inclusive leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior. Research design, data, and methodology: A survey was conducted with 254 employees residing in China. First, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test convergent and discriminant validity. Common method bias was addressed through a single-factor analysis. Structural equation modeling was used to empirically test the hypotheses. Results: Inclusive leadership had a significant positive effect on unethical pro-organizational behavior and the three sub-dimensions of workplace spirituality. Furthermore, the three sub-dimensions of workplace spirituality positively influenced unethical pro-organizational behavior and partially mediated the relationship between inclusive leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior. Implications: This study examined both the positive and potential negative effects of inclusive leadership. The results indicated that while inclusive leadership can enhance subordinates’ workplace spirituality, it may also lead to an increased willingness among employees to engage in unethical pro-organizational behaviors. This finding provides a more objective understanding of the impacts of inclusive leadership. Therefore, to effectively utilize inclusive leadership, managers should strengthen the discipline of their own behavior and recognize and reward subordinates’ proper behavior.
Yuan et al. (Sat,) studied this question.