ABSTRACT
The strategic importance of ethical practices and ethical decisions in business has increased (Hosmer, 1994; Robertson, 2008; Fontrodona, 2018). Some ethical scandals and corporate governance practices have also highlighted the ethical behavior of executives, especially senior executives within business. According to social learning theory (Bandura, 1925), employees model the leader’s behaviors. As long as the leader acts ethically and directs employees to act ethically, employees adopt ethical codes not only behaviorally but also at cognitively. Based on social learning theory, leaders in business are the most important element in adopting ethical codes (Brown, Trevino, & Harrison, 2015).