Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics
The Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics (JLAE) is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of business and management knowledge by publishing, through a blind, refereed process, ongoing results of research in accordance with international scientific or scholarly standards. Articles are written by business leaders, policy analysts and active researchers for an audience of specialists, practitioners and students. Articles of regional interest are welcome, especially those dealing with lessons that may be applied in other regions around the world. Research addressing any of the business functions is encouraged as well as those from the non-profit and governmental sectors. Focus of the articles should be on applications and implications of management, leadership, ethics, and governance. Theoretical articles are welcome as long as there is an applied nature, which is in keeping with the North American Business Press mandate.
Mitigating Toxic Leaders Through the Experiences of Employees: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry
The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry explored the toxic leadership through the experiences and perceptions of employees to identify strategies and best practices for mitigation increase productivity, enhance job satisfaction, increase morale and retention in an organization in the Northeast region of the United States. Using purposive and snowball sampling, 15 employees participated in semi-structured interviews. Data analysis revealed five themes and two subthemes, highlighting toxic behaviors, lack of empathy, bullying, discrimination, poor communication, and impact on mental health. The study addresses a research gap by examining toxic leadership effects between employees and organizations, emphasizing the importance of addressing toxic leadership to foster a healthier work environment and enhance morale and job satisfaction.
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics
Fusion Centers, Network Science, and Strategic Leadership: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering Domestic Extremism and Foreign-Influenced Terrorism
Fusion centers and network science tools offer complementary strengths in countering both domestic extremism and foreign-influenced terrorism. This article examines three distinct yet interconnected studies that highlight how intelligence sharing, targeted disruption, and community engagement can prevent radicalization and dismantle violent networks. Drawing from criminological and leadership frameworks, Eberhardt (2025) explores the organizational, strategic, and ethical implications of preemptive law enforcement responses to hate crimes and terror threats.
An Analysis of How Police Chief Pamela A. Smith Addresses Resilience Policing
This resilience policing research illustrates the need for police leaders and departments to more directly address resilience policing elements. This analysis examines how Pamela A. Smith, the current Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), addresses resilience policing in Washington, DC. Our study uses document analysis to review content and themes related to resilience policing. We hypothesize that resilience policing will not be directly referenced but that resilience policing elements will be addressed. Through content and thematic analysis, we accepted our hypothesis. We also provide recommendations and policy implications to enhance resilience policing.
A DEI Dilemma: Race Versus Merit & an Erosion of Academic Civility
The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard & UNC (2023) and the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE, 2025) recent enforcement guidance has declared race-based preferences in education unconstitutional and illegal. This case study examines the legal and ethical conflicts surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies at a Midwestern university, where faculty disagreements over equity definitions escalated into public confrontations and a hostile work environment. The research highlights how DEI initiatives, initially rooted in affirmative action, have evolved into quota-based frameworks that prioritize race over merit and economic hardship. The Supreme Court and DOE now prohibit racial balancing in admissions, hiring, scholarships, and financial aid, with non-compliant institutions facing federal penalties. With President Trump’s 2025 revocation of Executive Order 11246, the policy landscape has decisively shifted against DEI mandates, signaling the end of race-based affirmative action in federally-funded institutions; institutions must now embrace merit-based policies or risk legal consequences.
The Impact of AI Risk Scores on Business Managers’ Ethical Decision-Making
Artificial intelligence (AI) presents significant benefits to the organizations and to the individuals, environments, and stakeholders they impact. However, AI systems can also pose a risk of harm. Development of an AI risk score representing the potential risk of the system may assist business managers with the ethical decision on whether to deploy an AI system. While the quantification of risks associated with AI has received attention from researchers, limited research exists analyzing summarized AI risk scores and their impact on decision-making in practice. Expanding on integrated and behavioral theories of ethical decision-making, this quantitative experimental study found that the presence of an AI risk score can reduce the likelihood of an unethical decision, and thus may positively influence business managers faced with an ethical decision. The study also explored the potential influence of the AI system’s use case when an AI risk score is present; however, no significant influence was identified in the scenarios tested. This study has implications for practice for organizations developing, deploying, and using AI systems.
Purchasing Leadership’s Effectiveness in the Adoption of Procurement 4.0: A Conceptual Framework for Future Research
Based on a systematic literature review approach, and drawing on the leadership-member exchange and contingency theories, we develop a conceptual model for the purchasing leadership’s effectiveness in the adoption of Procurement 4.0 that simultaneously consider different aspects of purchasing leadership effectiveness which are: the purchasing leadership behaviors, the contextual factors, and the quality of the relationship between the purchasing leaders and their subordinates as well as other members of the organization. In so doing, this study sheds great light on the central role that the purchasing leaders can play in the digitalization of a purchasing function, and offers unique insights on this process, which could provide a fertile ground for future research in this field. Moreover, this study suggests that the purchasing leaders have competencies to build-up the required capacities and capabilities which will support the organizational vision and the digital transformation of the purchasing function.
Closing the Knowledge Gap: Reluctance in the Accounting Industry to Engage in the Blockchain Market
Blockchain, introduced with Bitcoin in 2008, enhances transparency, security, and efficiency in financial transactions (Nakamoto, 2008). Though its potential spans industries, the accounting sector lags in adoption due to regulatory uncertainty and limited expertise (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017). This study surveys California’s Central Valley accounting professionals, finding reluctance to engage with blockchain clients due to poor understanding and regulatory concerns. This hesitation highlights a leadership gap and missed opportunities to enhance accountability and ethical practices through blockchain’s transparency. Firms should invest in blockchain education, develop tailored auditing frameworks, and adopt compatible software to stay competitive as regulations evolve and demand grows.
Unleashing Success: A Strategic Empowerment Framework Inspired by Awaken Success
This paper presents a structured and interdisciplinary empowerment model inspired by Yency Milano’s book Awaken Success. The framework integrates emotional intelligence, identity clarity, purpose activation, disciplined habit formation, and strategic social contribution. Rooted in psychological theory and supported by qualitative data from over 40 empowerment seminars conducted across Latin America and the United States, this model promotes self-leadership, accountability, and purpose-driven action. It applies to leadership development, coaching, education, and community-based mentoring. The manuscript highlights the model’s theoretical foundation, practical methodology, and impact outcomes, offering a replicable path for ethical leadership and personal transformation in underserved communities.
When the Flood Wasn’t Real: How a Tenured Professor Fought Back Against a Manufactured Lawsuit: Legal Ethics, Self-Representation, and the Weaponization of Civil Procedure
This article concludes with three specific reforms for preventing abuse of process and strengthening protections for pro se litigants. This article presents a critical reflection on the author’s experience navigating a civil lawsuit based on fabricated claims of property damage. Drawing on legal documents, procedural records, and personal narrative, the article examines systemic vulnerabilities in civil litigation that allow baseless lawsuits to proceed — particularly when unethical counsel is involved. The case is explored through the lens of legal ethics, power asymmetries, and the resilience of self-representation, offering insights for legal reform and professional accountability.
Logic Education Needed in High School & College
This research provides a comprehensive exploration of integrating logic education into high school and college curricula, emphasizing the prevalence of logical fallacies and their impact on critical thinking. It highlights the importance of logical reasoning in fostering persuasive power among students and addresses the necessity of logic education for navigating misinformation and engaging in civic activities. Using Blooms Taxonomy various integration strategies, such as mandatory courses and extracurricular activities, are proposed, alongside potential challenges like curriculum resistance and educator training needs. Additionally, the research advocates for a balanced approach to logic education, promoting diverse viewpoints and ethical decision-making. It contributes to enhancing teaching and learning outcomes by fostering critical thinking skills among students.
Law Enforcement Leadership and Resiliency
Leadership styles are a contributing factor to the culture of policing. Efficacious leadership styles will contribute to cultural change. Senior management’s interactions with frontline leadership and followers create a cultural footprint. This will differentiate one organization from another and establish internal boundaries for management and follower interactions. Crime scene professionals are tasked with stressors unique to their amplified exposure to critical incidents over a career and the attention to detail required to accomplish the job demands. Leadership must recognize the specialized needs of these professionals and create an organizational structure laced with servant leaders and not simply managers and policymakers.
Increasing Student Employability Through Strategic Curricular Innovations
Employability is an important indicator of the success of academic programs, and it can be improved through intentional curricular adjustments. This paper describes three case studies, all of which are aimed at increasing student employability during and after the completion of academic credentials at a university with open admissions that champions access to higher education among underserved populations. In case one, the goal was to bridge disciplines by developing a credential that would be relevant within multiple industries. Case two focused on aligning the content of a credential with industry certifications to prepare students to enter their chosen field of study more easily. In the final case, an industry certificate was incorporated into an academic program to support students’ entry into their chosen field before completing their degree. Lessons learned and next steps are discussed in the context of employability theory.
Navigating Energy Transition and Leadership
The energy transition represents one of the most profound challenges of our time, encompassing technological and economic shifts and significant ethical and human considerations. This paper explores the intersection of humanistic leadership and ethical frameworks, specifically the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and John Rawls, as essential tools for navigating this transition. Humanistic leadership, rooted in dignity, empathy, and relational trust, provides a framework for addressing the human-centric challenges of the energy sector. Con-currently, the ethical perspectives of Kant’s universality and Rawls’ difference principle offer robust lenses to ensure fairness and sustainability in decision-making processes. By integrating these approaches, alongside practical strategies such as sense-making and the archetypal insights from the 'Lesson of Enea,' this paper argues for a holistic leader-ship paradigm that fosters equitable and sustainable outcomes for present and future generations.
For the Greater Good: Unequal Sacrifices
The case presents a realistic business scenario in which economic turbulences financially challenge a global aviation player, shining light on the financial interdependence between parent and subsidiary. The students slip into the role of an upper management sales leader with an accounting background working for a subsidiary of the aviation group. Despite record profits, he faces strictly enforced cost reduction measures mandated by the parent. Based on public events during the early 2020 COVID response, the case combines example financial statements and public sources to create a real business scenario for the students to analyze.
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)
How and When Technostress Predicts Abusive Supervisor Behavior in Remote Work: An Integrative Theoretical Framework
Technostress has become prevalent among employees due to the rise of remote work. While there is a plethora of research on the outcomes of technostress, its impact on abusive supervisor behavior has not been thoroughly explored. This study uses the transactional theory of stress and coping to propose a framework explaining how technostress can lead to abusive supervisor behavior in the context of remote work. The framework suggests that supervisors experience anxiety and anger as a result of technostress, which can lead them to engage in abusive behavior as a way of coping with these negative emotions. The study also suggests that supervisors' personality and moral traits can influence the relationship between technostress and abusive behavior. This framework contributes to understanding abusive supervision and expands the research on its causes and boundary conditions.
A Quantitative Analysis of Leadership Styles and Organisational Culture: A Data-Driven Study of the South Carolina Army National Guard
The National Guard in South Carolina has a rich culture of organised militiamen, with leadership playing a crucial role in shaping organisational culture. The study investigates the relationship between leadership styles (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) and organisational culture within the SCARNG, using the Competing Values Framework to identify dominant cultural dimensions. The study found a significant negative correlation between transformational and Clan culture, a positive correlation between transformational and Adhocracy culture, and a positive correlation between transactional and Adhocracy culture. Transformational leadership style predicted Clan, Market, and Hierarchy culture, while transactional leadership positively impacted market and hierarchy cultures. Laissez-faire leadership did not significantly affect any of the organisational cultures examined. The findings suggest that leadership styles play a crucial role in shaping organisational culture, with transformational and transactional leadership being more effective than laissez-faire leadership in fostering desired cultural outcomes.
Leading Through Turbulence: A 40-Year Empirical Synthesis of Crisis Leadership
Over the past four decades, crises such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires have exposed the strengths and shortcomings of leadership during unprecedented challenges. This article presents a thematic analysis of empirical peer-reviewed literature from 1985 to 2025, synthesizing lessons learned across diverse crises. By focusing on five core dimensions—decision-making under uncertainty, emotional intelligence, communication strategies, resilience-building, and ethical leadership—this analysis provides actionable insights for leaders navigating volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. The findings emphasize adaptability, transparency, empathy, and ethical stewardship as key factors that distinguish successful crisis leaders. The article also proposes a "Crisis Leadership Framework" to guide future leaders in addressing the dynamic demands of a rapidly changing world. Through this synthesis of research and practice, this article bridges academic insights with pragmatic tools, equipping leaders to respond effectively to global disruptions while fostering long-term resilience.
The Influence of Auditors’ Moral Disengagement on Audit Quality in Medium and Large-Sized Firms in the United States: A Focus on Ethical Decision-Making
Moral disengagement in auditors is a critical factor when shaping choices made during audit services and audit quality. Each component of ethical disengagement, judgment, and audit reliability can be broken down into factors that further affect the overarching relationship. Data shows that as an auditor’s moral disengagement increases, less ethical choices are made. This inverse relationship substantiates the need for a higher standard of training that focuses on increasing the elements that positively influence the performance of an audit in larger firms. Lack of high-quality audits from Big Four firms in the U.S. decreases trust and leads to audit results.
Is Constructive Discharge a Metaphor for a “Boy Named Sue”? The Remedial Role of Psychological Safety When Leadership Is Toxic
This paper uses the metaphor of “A Boy Named Sue” to explore resilience and conflict resolution within the workplace, focusing on how toxic leaders sabotage employees. It delves into the practice of constructive discharge, where leaders, instead of directly addressing performance issues, create hostile environments, pushing employees to resign. We examine how leaders gatekeep and undermine employees’ inputs to induce resignations without explicit dismissal. The literature shows that toxic leaders sabotage environments, create ethical dilemmas, power imbalances, and organizational dysfunction. Our review of the literature provides methods to mitigate destructive leadership practices, helping managers use psychological safety measures to foster more inclusive and supportive workplace environments. We present six recommended corrective actions managers can take to reduce the harm caused by toxic leaders.
Courageous, Fearful, Bureaucratic, and Quantum Organizational Types, and Personal Ethics
Integrating the perspective of the values in action classification theory (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), which asserts that personal attributes, such as fearlessness, authenticity, enthusiasm, and perseverance, create courage, and the deontological theory of ethics (Kant, 1996), which posits that what is wrong for one person to do is wrong for anyone and that morality is for everybody, this research examined four organizational types—courageous, fearful, bureaucratic, and quantum—to determine their effects on ethical behavior. The type of organization an employee works in can influence ethical behavior regarding supporting fairness and dignity, advocating for personal beliefs, challenging discrimination, defending colleagues’ rights, empowering underrepresented voices, and championing meritocracy and inclusivity (Kilmann et al., 2002). A statistically significant difference between fearful and quantum organizations was identified. This research affirms that individuals who worked in fearful organizations rated lower on personal ethics than those in quantum organizations, who rated higher on personal ethics. Furthermore, ethnicity emerged as the only statistically significant socio-demographic variable regarding the relationship between organizational type and personal ethics.
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics
Leader Perceptions of Gender (In)equality in the Workplace
Despite gains in gender equality in the workplace, data collection and reporting inconsistencies may mask ongoing issues. Research categorizes employment concerns into four areas: representation, pay, health, and satisfaction. These categories help organizations identify issues and metrics to assess progress. However, meaningful change requires shifts in mindsets and practices. This qualitative study explores insights on gender (in)equities through interviews with 36 leaders. Data, analyzed using the Four for Women framework, reveal a focus on representation and satisfaction for women in the workplace over health and pay and suggest the need for a deeper understanding of gender issues at work.
Complexity leadership, complex adaptive leadership, and adaptive leadership are distinct yet interconnected research areas, originating in the early 1980s. This article extends a systematic review, focusing on the third decade of literature in these fields. The authors examined 778 business-related articles, narrowing down to 91 published between 2003 and 2012 for detailed deductive analysis. Findings from this decade highlight a shift from traditional, leader-centric models to adaptive, holistic frameworks that emphasize emergence, nonlinearity, feedback loops, and interdependence. Key themes include adaptive capacity, self-organization, and distributed cognition, which underscore the importance of collaborative leadership in managing complex, volatile environments. These insights offer practical guidance, illustrating how organizations can use these principles to foster continuous innovation, adaptability, and resilience—laying the groundwork for the most recent fifteen years of complexity leadership research.
Organizational Leadership’s Responsibility to Better Understand the Occupational Stressors Effecting Crime Scene Investigators
Organizational leadership in law enforcement has an ethical responsibility to understand the emotional needs of law enforcement personnel. This includes those highly trained professionals referred to as crime scene investigators. These professionals are tasked with working in horrific environments, conducting investigations into some of the most heinous crimes. The impact to the crime scene investigator is both physically and mentally taxing. Leadership must produce highly trained and proficient crime scene professionals best suited to serve the community's needs. To achieve this, organizational leadership must recognize the occupational stressors and coping mechanisms that impact these professionals.
Examining Social and Economic Dynamics: A Comparative Analysis of Varna and Ashrama Systems in Ancient India and Adam Smith’s Division of Labor
This research paper presents a comparative analysis of social and economic dynamics, focusing on the Varna and Ashrama systems in ancient India and Adam Smith’s theory of the division of labor. Delving into the principles of the ancient Indian systems, namely Varna and Ashrama, the study examines their influence on social structures, labor allocation, and economic roles. Simultaneously, it explores Adam Smith’s influential theory on the division of labor during the Enlightenment era, emphasizing its conceptualization and implications for economic development. By comparing these distinct frameworks, the research seeks to unveil commonalities, disparities, and the enduring impact of these historical systems on societal organization, economic efficiency, and individual contributions. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of the historical roots of economic philosophies and their implications for social and economic dynamics.
Logistics and the Fall‒ Unpacking Civilization Collapse Through Two Lenses
The study of civilization collapse has gained significant attention since the 1980s, largely due to researchers like Joseph Tainter and Jared Diamond. Tainter explores how increasing societal complexity leads to higher management costs, ultimately causing collapse when marginal returns diminish, including in areas like logistics. In contrast, Diamond investigates various drivers of collapse, particularly environmental factors, and highlights that societies often fail when they cannot adapt their supply chains to challenges such as environmental degradation and climate crises. While Tainter views logistics as a fundamental aspect of societal complexity, Diamond includes it within his broader analysis of the causes of collapse. Despite this, it is unfortunate that the topic remains largely overlooked in supply chain management research. This paper seeks to fill that gap by demonstrating that logistical failures play a critical role in the collapse of civilizations, linking historical patterns to current vulnerabilities in modern, interconnected systems. By examining these past cases, the contribution underscores the need for resilient logistics in avoiding similar outcomes today.
Why the Way We Love Matters: A Comparative Examination of Sufi and Western Love Ideals in Shaping the Economy, Power, and Autonomy
This study investigates how cultural narratives of love- often overlooked in economic discourse-fundamentally shape economic behaviors, power dynamics, and autonomy in both personal and professional contexts. By analyzing 25 Sufi and 25 American texts, this paper contrasts the self-transcendent, communal love emphasized in Sufi literature with the economically conditional, individualistic relationships depicted in Western literature. Our findings reveal that these divergent narratives profoundly influence gender roles, financial dependence, and societal power structures. This cultural framing of love impacts economic decision-making, contributing to financial inequalities and reinforcing gendered economic dependencies. As artificial intelligence increasingly drives high-stakes economic and leadership decisions, AI models must incorporate cultural dimensions like those of love, which shape decision-making in nuanced and often unquantifiable ways. A more holistic understanding of human values will achieve socially responsible outcomes. By highlighting the economic significance of cultural ideals around love, this paper offers a novel framework for integrating culturally diverse narratives into economic modeling, ultimately supporting ethical leadership, accountability, and inclusivity in decision-making systems.
The Impact of Presidential Elections on Organizational Leadership in Business Environments
This essay delves into the impact of U.S. presidential elections on organizational leadership within the business sector. By scrutinizing shifts in economic policy, regulatory practices, market expectations, and leadership behavior, this work evaluates how these elections shape the strategic and operational decisions of corporate leaders. The study integrates various theories of leadership and organizational behavior, alongside recent case studies, to demonstrate how different election outcomes influence corporate governance and the broader market landscape. Ultimately, it highlights the intricate relationship between political events and business leadership, offering insights into the adaptive strategies employed by corporate leaders in response to electoral changes.
Artificial Intelligence’s Role in Student Plagiarism: A Graduate University’s Model of Best Practices
This white paper discusses a model of best practices to better identify and address plagiarism issues with students using AI. It serves as an example to help younger institutions that may not have a policy in place to recognize the importance of hitting this head-on. By creating a taskforce, we were able to quickly come to a resolution for a university that has three campuses in Chicago, Online, and in Vancouver, BC. We also share best practices that will help current professors and core faculty alike in dealing with plagiarism from students using AI in their work. We end with a discussion of examples that support this effort.
Examining Psychological and Physical Distance and Ethical Leadership During a Pandemic: A Two-Sample Study of the Effects on Ratings of Crisis Leader Effectiveness, Well-Being, and Improved Business-Related Outcomes
Amid the challenges posed by COVID-19, this research focuses on the role of ethical leadership in shaping perceptions of crisis leaders’ effectiveness, personal well-being, and business-related outcomes. In this two-sample study, we contrast political leadership at the highest level examining the ethical leadership of a distal executive (President Biden) and a proximal executive (CEO leadership) – advancing literature about why top management ethical leadership matters, the importance of moral and duty-based views, and distal or proximal leadership. This research expands our understanding of ethical leadership and prompts rethinking leadership roles, echoing the urgency to prioritize ethical leadership given its profound impact.
7Cups’ Support Services: A Critical Examination of the Risks and Ethical Concerns
This critical examination scrutinizes the risks and ethical concerns surrounding 7Cups, an online platform providing emotional support to individuals globally. Through firsthand experience and scientific analysis, this report highlights several issues within 7Cups’ support services, including the facilitation of gender transition in teens, shortcomings in group chat room moderation, and inadequacies in listener training. Concerns arise regarding the potential harm caused by hasty recommendations for gender transition without proper evaluation, the lack of supervision in group chat rooms leading to ineffective support, and the absence of accountability and oversight for listeners, potentially resulting in harmful advice. The report underscores the need for a more personalized and comprehensive approach to emotional support, prioritizing ethical principles, and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of mental health services provided by platforms like 7Cups.