A systematic literature review on the relationship between servant leadership and its team and organizational level outcomes

Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to develop an in-depth understanding of the outcomes of servant leadership at the team and organizational levels. It reviews the relationship between servant leadership and its team- and organizational-level outcomes, and examines the mediation and moderation effect of the relationship. It further identifies the mechanism by which servant leadership is beneficial to the organization.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is conducted, focused on 52 articles published between 2012 and 2022. Content analysis and descriptive analysis were used to respond to the research questions.FindingsA new conceptual model was developed to better understand the outcomes, mediators and moderators of servant leadership at team and organization level.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should further explore outcomes of servant leadership at team and organizational levels and test how mediators affect the relationship between servant leadership and associated outcomes.Practical implicationsThis study provides a framework for leaders on how servant leadership contributes to teams and organizations, and how a leader applies servant leadership.Originality/valueThis systematic review presents a new model that builds on existing research into servant leadership and its impact on team and organizational levels completed in the past decade. To date, there have been no reviews of servant leadership that focus only on outcomes at the team and organizational levels using a widely recognized database.