The application of Laoziʹs DAODEJING to todayʹs maritime leaders: An empirical study from stakeholdersʹ viewpoints in Taiwan

This study looks at the twenty precepts of virtues set forth by the ancient philosopher Laoziʹs DAODEJING (DDJ) related to a leaderʹs ethical spirit (LES) and leaderʹs social responsibility (LSR) and applies them to todayʹs leaders in China. We define two constructs of LES and LSR, referred to as ʹDaoʹ and ʹDeʹ on the respective chapters in DDJ; we then provide an empirical validation and develop a scale of twenty virtues of LES and LSR with desirable psychometric properties, and explore theoretical and practical applications to Taiwanese stakeholders in the shipping industry. Linear structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied for measurement of the components of Laoziʹs ʹDao-Deʹ relationship to help readers understand these two constructs that underlie leadership of Chinese. The ʹvirtuesʹ aspect of a leaderʹs ethical spirit is defined in terms of humility, love, resolution, temperance, purity, sincerity, order, justice, benefit, and moderation. ʹSocial responsibilityʹ related to a leaderʹs virtues power are then described in terms of livelihood, welfare, happiness, follow-through, accomplishment, tolerance, support, everlastingness, practice, and credit. Empirical evidence proves that leaderʹs ethical spirit (LES) has a significant effect on leaderʹs social responsibility (LSR). The study results provide criteria for virtues applicable to the ethical spirit and social responsibility of a leader. With desirable psychometric twenty virtues and explore theoretical and practical applications to Chinese leaders, which serve as guiding criteria to improve leadership in current Chinese society.