Servant leadership, commitment, and participatory behaviors in Korean Catholic church

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of servant leadership on leader commitment and organizational commitment, and members’ participatory behaviors in church service and events, based on 1232 members in 28 Catholic churches in South Korea. We found that those who perceived a high level of servant leadership from their priest(s) tended to commit more to the priest (i.e., leader) and to the church (i.e., organization). Members attended in weekday worships in addition to Sunday Mass more often, and participated in church activities and services, when highly committed to the church. Based on structural equation modeling, we found a linear relationship from servant leadership to leader commitment, to organizational commitment, and eventually to members’ participatory behaviors. A potential contribution lies in that this study confirmed the mediating roles of leader commitment and organizational commitment on the relationship between servant leadership and participatory behaviors in the context of Korean Catholic church.Abbreviation: SL: servant leadership; LC: leader commitment; OC: organizational commitment; PB: participatory behaviors