Executives’ ethical leadership and salespeople’s performance: A developing market experience. Oniku, A., Kuye, O., & Nnaji, C.

The interdisciplinary approach to business decision is imperative and strategic in 21^st century business organisations and this informs the focus of this study on the connection between salespeople’s performance and ethical leadership. Ethical leadership is strategic in contemporary selling and sales management because of the influence of sales executives on salespeople’s behaviours which connectedly has influence on sales performance. Ethical leadership determines the moral relationship between sales executives and salespeople on one side, and affects salespeople’s relationship with clients on the other end of sales operations. This study adapts the framework of Kalshoven et al. (2011) using six (6) out of the seven (7) items that form the scale. The study reveals weak and moderate relationships between sales executives’ disposition towards ethical leadership which affects salespeople’s performance. Salespeople’s performance was measured in terms of relationship building, customer-orientation, avoidance of incidence of misconduct and avoidance of incidence of bribery and deception. Keywords: Ethical leadership, developing markets, sales executives, salespeople’ performance