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The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of followers’ perceptions of their leaders’ authentic leadership behaviors on how followers become motivated to develop moral intention.

Using field survey data (n = 337), exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression, the authors suggest that perceived authentic leadership positively affects followers’ moral intent. The authors tested a self-determination theory-based model to explain the mediations.

The authors found that perceived authentic leadership is related to employees’ autonomous moral motivation through basic psychological need satisfaction, which in turn predicts their moral capacities and moral intent.

This study is unique in that it has examined various motivational variables to explain the mechanism by which authentic leadership influences morality. In addition, this is also novel in empirically using the autonomous motivation construct in the moral domain to explain how employees may develop moral capacities over time, impacting their moral intent. This research is also unique in testing the relationship between all moral capacities proposed in the literature and moral intent. The theoretical implications, practical implications and avenues for further research are also discussed.