Abstract:
Despite the recognition of the importance of ethical leadership, there is a gap in
understanding what enables leaders to sustain it over time and under pressure. This
study proposed a process model integrating leader moral pride, earned legitimacy, and
leader humility to predict sustainable ethical leadership. Data were collected from 342
academic and administrative staff in four Zimbabwean state universities between May
and July 2025. Data were analysed using Hayes PROCESS Macro Model 1 and 7. Results
revealed: (1) earned legitimacy emerged as a direct driver of sustainable ethical
leadership; (2) Moral pride predicted legitimacy; (3) leader humility demonstrated an
independent positive effect on sustainable ethical leadership. The results did not
support either the moderation or the moderated mediation predictions, but a dual
process in which moral pride influences ethical leadership sustainability through
leader-earned legitimacy, whilst leader humility contributes its own unique value in the
process. The research contribution: (1) integrating affective and social-cognitive
perspectives to explain ethical leadership as a dynamic, sustained process; (2)
introducing moral pride as a socially embedded emotional driver which initiates the
conferment of legitimacy to leaders by followers. the findings offer practical guidance
for nurturing an ethical culture within institutions of higher education.
