Putting the customer at the center: does store managers' ethical leadership make a difference in authentic customer orientation?

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the mediating role of both ethical climate and frontline employees' ethical intent on the relationship between store managers' ethical leadership and frontline employees’ customer orientation (FECO).Design/methodology/approachOriginal data on small and medium-sized enterprises in the Mexican retail industry were used. A survey provided a sample of 332 frontline employees. To test the hypotheses, the authors conducted a partial least squares (PLS) analysis.FindingsThe results show the positive effect of ethical leadership is mainly direct. This can primarily be explained through the mechanisms of social exchange theory. Additionally, the results show that ethical climate and ethical intent act as essential partial mediators.Originality/valueAlthough managers' ethical leadership typically exercises a direct and positive influence on employees' work performance, the path linking the ethical leadership of the upper echelons to this outcome has not been frequently studied, especially in terms of its impact on meeting customers' needs (i.e. frontline employees' customer orientation, or FECO). This study expands on existing knowledge by considering that a true FECO is necessarily linked to being “oriented to others”, which is fostered by the perception that moral values (i.e. honesty) are embedded in an organization's culture.