Study shows unethical leadership likely to 'prevent corruption' Unethical leadership can increase the prevalence of corrupt behaviour in organisations and workplaces. This is according to two Maastricht University studies, carried out by doctoral candidate Untung Manara and associate professor Suzanne van Gils, a lecturer in management communications and ethics, who were particularly interested in whether ethical leaders could help change the behaviour of employees who were prone to unethical practises. Ethical leadership and corruption The first study surveyed 321 employees from various job sectors, including construction, health care, and education and measured the relationship between ethical leadership and corruption. The results showed that greater ethical leadership is related to reduced corrupt behaviours, such as taking money from an organisation for personal benefit.