Do Servant Leaders Create Servant Followers? Exploring Social Learning and Social Exchange Processes

Abstract

Servant leadership researchers have continuously sought to confirm Greenleaf’s oft-quoted statement that servant leaders foster servant-like behaviors in their followers. A disconnect, however, emerges between how researchers theorize this phenomenon, choosing either to focus on whether followers internalize then emulate (a social learning process) or simply reciprocate (a social exchange process) the behaviors shown by their servant leader. By highlighting the theoretical mechanisms by which servant leadership transmits its effects, the present study determines whether servant leaders influence their followers to emulate or reciprocate their behaviors. Drawing on a longitudinal survey (n = 209) and a vignette experiment (n = 158) we find that servant leaders influence their followers’ helping behavior through fostering social exchange rather than social learning. In doing so, this study brings into question our current understanding as to how servant leaders foster servant-like behaviors amongst their followers. Our findings suggesting that the positive behavior displayed by followers might simply result from them reciprocating the good behavior of their leader, rather than a transformation of character, are concerning in that they suggest that servant leadership might not result in the creation of more servant leaders.