The effects of ethical climates on trust in supervisor and trust in organization in a Polish context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of ethical climate types on two components of organizational trust, i.e. trust in supervisor and trust in organization. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 178 managerial employees from seven hospitals in Poland was used to investigate the specific relationships between ethical climates (i.e. egoistic, benevolent, and principled) and trust in supervisor and trust in organization. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationship between ethical climates and the two trust components. Findings – It was found that egoistic climates were negatively associated with trust in organization and trust in supervisor, whereas benevolent climates were positively associated with trust in supervisor and trust in organization. No support was obtained for any sort of association between principled climates and either of the two trust components. Research limitations/implications – Future research should examine the role of trust as a mediating variable in the relationship between ethical climates and variables such as commitment or productivity or satisfaction. Future research should also examine different national and work contexts to test out these relationships. Practical implications – Managers and organizations should try and establish benevolent ethical climates as opposed to egoistic ones, in order to bolster levels of trust among their employees. Originality/value – The findings of this paper are unique and original because this is the first study to suggest a relationship between ethical climate types and the two trust components. The value of this study is that it provides managers and organizations with a way by which they could potentially increase levels of trust among their employees.