Ethics is central to creating a good corporate culture in the organization, and building a reputation and acquiring socio-political legitimacy in society. Ethical leadership refers to the moral value-based words, actions, relationships and decisions of an organizational leader, which promotes and reinforces ethical behavior among employees. This paper studies the perception and orientation of ethical leaders towards various stakeholders. Stakeholders refer to any individual, group or organizations which can affect or are affected by the achievement of an organization’s objectives. This paper conceptualizes that an ethical leader has a high concern for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and leads to positive outcomes for stakeholders. Thus, ethical leadership is central to improved corporate social performance. An ethical leader sets ethical standard of morality, integrity, trustworthiness and honesty, and effectively balances stakeholder concerns, which leads to long run social performance of the organization.This paper identifiescharacteristics of stakeholder orientation of ethical leadership. Further it, investigates the qualities of ethical leadership in enhancing CSR and balancing stakeholder concerns, thereby leading to improved corporate social performance.

KEYWORDS: Ethical Leadership, CSR, Socio-political Legitimacy, Corporate Culture.