Enabling the engine of workplace thriving through servant leadership: The moderating role of core self-evaluations

ABSTRACTEmployees with high core self-evaluations (CSE) generally perform well in their jobs. The enactment of CSE in performance occurs within contexts, and leadership is one form of context that influences the activation and expression of CSE. Drawing on theories of CSE and leader–member exchange (LMX), we characterized the leadership context as the interaction between leader CSE and LMX quality. Examination of 173 followers and their 31 leaders in a manufacturing organization showed a positive association between follower CSE and performance when the context comprised high leader CSE and high LMX. Conversely, leadership contexts comprising high leader CSE and low LMX, or low leader CSE and high LMX, resulted in a negative relationship between follower CSE and performance. We also show that low CSE followers have relatively high performance under some circumstances. Thus, we contribute to understanding how some leadership contexts undermine high CSE followers’ performance and promote low CSE followers’ performance.

Recent developments in servant leadership theory exposed a gap in the research literature regarding traits that are important to servant leaders. Our study partially addresses this gap by examining the trait of core self-evaluations and its relationship to servant leadership and leader effectiveness. The results of our study indicate that leader’s core self-evaluations are positively related to followers’ perceptions of servant leadership and leader effectiveness, and the relationship between leaders’ core self-evaluations and leader effectiveness is fully mediated by servant leadership. The results add support to current servant leadership theory by confirming the role that core self-evaluations play in servant leader emergence, and extend the research on core self-evaluations as it relates to leader performance.

Based on the premises of social exchange theory, this study examined servant leadership as an impetus for teachers’ organisational citizenship and in-role behaviours through the mediation of felt obligation. Although several studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ performance behaviours, it is unclear why servant leadership would significantly induces employees’ performance behaviours. Data were collected from the teachers working in franchise schools. This study collected primary data using a 5-point Likert survey questionnaire (N=201), ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A random sampling technique was applied. Results showed that servant leadership is positively associated with teachers’ organisational citizenship behaviour and in-role behaviour. The effect of servant leadership was more on organisational citizenship than in-role behaviour. Further, felt obligation was found as a bridge thatmediates the relationship between servant leadership and both behaviours. However, like the total effect, the indirect effect of servant leadership was found more on organisational citizenship than in-role behaviour. Overall, based on the social exchange theory, this study offers a mechanism that how the principals of the schools, following the premises of servant leadership theory, induce the teachers through a sense of felt obligation to reciprocate by displaying positive work behaviours.

Previous research on the ‘dark side’ of high-performance work systems (HPWS) has generally recognized HPWS as a job demand and suggested that it induces a series of health problems to employees. However, so far, less attention has been paid to the remedies that alleviate this negative effect. In this study, we investigate whether and how employees’ personal and job resources help them refrain from health impairment due to service-oriented HPWS (SHPWS) in the healthcare service setting. Specifically, drawing on the job demands-resources model, we propose that core self-evaluations (CSE) and servant leadership (SL), representing personal and job resources, respectively, could buffer the health-impairment process of SHPWS due to strain. The results of a two-wave study of 223 healthcare employees in China generally support our hypotheses. For employees with a lower CSE or with leaders who demonstrate less SL, SHPWS increases their strain, which ultimately leads to mental and physical health problems. In contrast, for employees with a higher CSE or with leaders who demonstrate higher SL, the impact of SHPWS on strain and health is nonsignificant. We find no three-way interaction of SHPWS, CSE and SL on employees’ strain or health.

Cyberloafing is a form of counterproductive work behaviour (CWB), that is increasingly prominent yet easily concealed. This organizational phenomenon poses numerous detrimental effects on organizations, underscoring the importance of understanding the factors that can mitigate employee cyberloafing. Drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and social information processing theory (SIP), this study proposes an integrated model that explores the double-edged sword effect of servant leadership on cyberloafing. We hypothesize that servant leadership may increase meaningful work or citizenship pressure, thereby discouraging or facilitating cyberloafing. Meanwhile, we investigate the moderating effect of regulatory focus (promotion focus and prevention focus). Data were collected from 375 Chinese employees in three waves, with a two-week interval between each wave. The results showed that servant leadership enhanced meaningful work, resulting in a disincentive to cyberloafing. Conversely, servant leadership intensified citizenship pressure, leading to an increase in cyberloafing. The negative indirect effect of servant leadership on cyberloafing via meaningful work was moderated by promotion focus. Specifically, this indirect effect was more pronounced when the promotion focus was higher. Our research offers crucial insights for preventing employee cyberloafing in organizations.

This study aims to enhance proactive knowledge sharing among employees, explore facilitators and barriers, and help managers understand their impact on subordinates' knowledge sharing behaviors. A quantitative survey analyzed 547 valid samples from Chinese enterprises to test hypotheses. (1) Servant leadership positively influences employee knowledge sharing behavior; (2) Servant leadership positively affects core self-evaluations; (3) Core self-evaluations positively impact knowledge sharing behavior; (4) Core self-evaluations partially mediate the relationship; (5) Individualism strengthens the positive effect of servant leadership on core self-evaluations; (6) Individualism enhances the positive effect of core self-evaluations on knowledge sharing behavior; (7) Individualism weakens the direct positive effect of servant leadership on knowledge sharing behavior. Servant leadership directly and indirectly promotes knowledge sharing through core self-evaluations. Individualism amplifies these effects but weakens the direct influence of servant leadership. The findings extend empirical research in the Chinese cultural context, enhancing understanding of the relationship between leadership behavior and employee knowledge sharing, while expanding research boundaries. They also offer insights for managers to optimize leadership practices and improve employee self-evaluations, thereby fostering knowledge sharing and enhancing organizational competitiveness.

PurposeThis study aims at ascertaining the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ organizational deviant behaviour in public sector organizations of Pakistan. Drawing on social cognitive and social exchange theories, this research also proposes to determine the mediating role of self-efficacy and trust in leader in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing convenience sampling method, three-wave time-lagged data were collected from 204 employees working in secretariats of two federal ministries in Pakistan.FindingsThe results derived from partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis using SmartPLS 3.2.9 software revealed that servant leadership is not negatively related to employee organizational deviant behaviour. Although the findings indicate that servant leadership is positively related to employee self-efficacy and trust in leader, these factors do not mediate the relationship between servant leadership and organizational deviant behaviour.Practical implicationsEmpirical evidence of this research emphasizes the role of servant leadership in fostering employees’ trust and self-efficacy. Additionally, this research suggests that alongside servant leadership, a moral climate and fairness in organizational policies and decisions are also inevitable to prompt employees to feel obligated to reduce undesirable workplace behaviours, particularly in public sector organizations.Originality/valueThis is amongst the earlier studies that investigates the association between servant leadership and organizational deviant behaviour of public sector employees in a developing context and examines the mediating role of trust in leader and self-efficacy simultaneously. Being contradictory to the underlying theories, findings of this research open the debate on effectiveness of servant leadership in public sector organizations of developing countries and expose avenues for future research.

A good deal of evidence indicates that servant leadership play a critical role in employees' job outcomes. However, research studies on the variables that could mediate the effect of servant leadership in determining this relationship are relatively few. Utilizing the framework of leader-member exchange and social exchange theories, this study examines the mediating effect of “trust in coworkers” in the effect of “servant leadership” on employee job outcomes. Survey data were sourced from 315 bank employees and managers in Northern Cyprus. Partial least square structural equation modeling was utilized with the aid of WarpPLS (7.0) to test the study hypotheses. Servant leadership was found to have a direct and indirect relationship with employees' career satisfaction, service recovery performance, and innovative work behavior. In contrast, the servant leadership relationship with job satisfaction was indirect. In addition, trust in coworkers was found to be a mediator in the relationship between servant leadership and employees' job outcomes. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were highlighted.

PurposeThe importance of innovation has attracted growing attention due to the complex and rapidly changing business environment. This study aimed, first, to examine the joint effect of servant and authentic leadership (AUL) styles on employee creativity (EC), second, to examine the direct and mediated effect of servant leadership (SL) on employees' innovative work behaviour (IWB), third, to examine the effect of EC on IWB and finally, to investigate the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy (CSE) on the relationship between AUL and EC.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was used, and the data were collected from 446 employees in the Qatari public sector. The data were then analysed by employing partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS software to validate the measures before testing the proposed model.FindingsThe results of this study emphasized the strong hypothesized link between EC and IWB. It also endorsed the mediating role of EC between SL and IWB and the moderating role of CSE in the AUL-EC relationship.Originality/valueThe originality of this study comes from various aspects. First, it is unique in separately examining EC and innovation and the link between them. Second, it investigates the joint impact of servant and AUL styles on EC. Third, it explores the mediating role of EC between SL and IWB. Fourth, the moderating effect of CSE on the AUL-EC link also was examined to gain a full understanding of the relation effect. Finally, the value of the current study also comes from the integration of the triangular theory of creativity, SL and AUL theories and self-efficacy theory to explain the proposed model of the study. Moreover, this study serves as a guideline for decision-makers on how to enhance IWB among employees by focusing on leadership programmes and the creative and innovative culture.

The past decade has witnessed growing interests in empirically examining the effectiveness of servant leadership in management research. Our study reviews the literature on servant leadership and analyzes the relationship between servant leadership and its outcome variables. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study uses meta-analysis and find that servant leadership is positively related to followers’ job-related outcomes (e.g., psychological empowerment, organizational commitment, service quality), leader-related outcomes (e.g., leader effectiveness), and group-related outcomes (e.g., group service performance). Further, we find that the relationships between servant leadership and its outcomes are moderated by cultural factors (i.e., traditionality, masculinity, individualism, and power distance). Finally, we examine the incremental validity of servant leadership by taking transformational leadership into account and comparing their effects on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) via leader-member exchange (LMX). Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and an agenda for future research is proposed.

With the increasing demand for ethical standards in the current business environment, ethical leadership has received particular attention. Drawing on self-verification theory and social exchange theory, this study investigated the effect of leaders’ core self-evaluation on the display of ethical leadership and the moderating role of employees’ exchange ideology in the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ job performance (i.e., task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). Consistent with the hypotheses, the results from a sample of 225 dyads of employees and their immediate leaders showed a positive relationship between leaders’ core self-evaluation and ethical leadership. Moreover, the results showed that ethical leadership mediates the effects of leaders’ core self-evaluation on employees’ job performance. Furthermore, we found that employees’ exchange ideology moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and job performance. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Research assumes an effect of servant leadership on adaptive performance but has neglected the psychological processes underlying this link. Based on Social Exchange Theory and Job Demands–Resources Theory, this study sheds light on how servant leadership triggers job embeddedness, adaptive performance, and mitigates burnout. It also examines the mediating roles of job embeddedness and burnout between servant leadership and adaptive performance. We used three-wave data of 318 employees and their supervisors in the hospitality industry of Pakistan, applying structural equation modeling to examine six main effect hypotheses and three mediation hypotheses. Our findings suggest that servant leadership practices foster employees’ job embeddedness and adaptive performance, and mitigate burnout. Job embeddedness and burnout sequentially mediate the relationship between servant leadership and adaptive performance. Further unraveling the mechanisms between servant leadership and adaptive performance, this study implies that managers should recognize employee-perceived servant leadership as an influential factor that enhances engagement and well-being and ultimately the adaptive performance of their followers.

With the development of communication technology, employees are more easily controlled by electronic monitoring systems or algorithms. In this context, servant leadership that values employees’ growth needs is more likely to be recognized by them and stimulate their work enthusiasm and motivation. Drawing on the Self-Determination Theory, this study examines the effect of servant leadership on employees’ innovative behavior through psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of core self-evaluation. This moderated mediation model was tested with data from 468 employees in China. Results reveal that: (1) Psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ innovative behavior. (2) Core self-evaluation strengthens the relationship between servant leadership and psychological empowerment and the indirect impact of servant leadership on employees’ innovative behavior. Findings suggest that servant leadership is related to increased innovative behavior due to its positive influence on the psychological empowerment of employees. This study highlights the importance of developing a favorable self-evaluation score.

To better understand the effect of workplace well‐being on employee creativity, we examine the effect of servant leadership on employee creativity. Using the social exchange and conservation of resources theories, we constructed a research model to identify how servant leadership affects employee creativity and to investigate its mechanism and boundary conditions. Using data collected from employees and their supervisors, we adapted the hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping approach to test our research model. The results showed that servant leadership positively affected workplace well‐being, which enhances employee creativity. Psychological availability moderated the relationship between workplace well‐being and employee creativity. We also found that the indirect effect of servant leadership on employee creativity via workplace well‐being was significant when the employees had a high level of psychological availability. Moreover, the results indicated that experienced creative time pressure was negatively related to employee creativity and negatively moderated the link between workplace well‐being and employee creativity. The indirect effect of servant leadership on employee creativity was significant when the employees had a low level of experienced creative time pressure. The results of this study provide important theoretical and practical implications for servant leadership and employee creativity.

Leadership has become an important and hot researching field in the present. Based on social exchange and learning theory, we present the relationship between servant leadership, authoritarian leadership and group-level OCB, which is mediated by interactional justice climate and moderated by group power distance. Servant leadership has positive relationship with OCB mediated by interactional justice climate; on the contrary, authoritarian leadership has negative relationship. Furthermore, the positive relationship between servant leadership and interactional justice climate becomes weaker with high group power distance, while the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and interactional justice climate becomes weaker with high group power distance. Implications and limitations were discussed in the end.