Servant leadership and academics outcomes in higher education: the role of job satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of servant leadership on work engagement and affective commitment among academics in higher education. Moreover, the paper highlights the role of job satisfaction as an intervening mechanism among the examined variables. Design/methodology/approach Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to academics working in the Palestinian higher education sector. We used structural equation modelling to examine the hypotheses. Findings A positive relationship was found between servant leadership and affective commitment. The relationship between servant leadership and work engagement is fully mediated by job satisfaction, whereas partial mediation was found between servant leadership and affective commitment. Both work engagement and affective commitment have a positive impact on academics’ job performance. Practical implications The paper provides a fertile ground for higher education managers concerning the role of leadership in stimulating work engagement and organisational commitment among academics. Originality/value First, the paper is one of the few studies that empirically examines servant leadership in higher education using data coming from a non-Western context because most of the servant leadership research is conducted in the Western part of the world (Parris and Peachey, 2013). Second, we empirically provide evidence for the argument that servant leadership is needed in higher education. Third, the paper contributes to the limited body of research on work engagement and commitment in the higher education sector.

Employee psychological well-being and job performance: exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms

“…Our study addresses recent calls for research to understand better how psychological well-being influence employees' performance at work (Huang et al, 2016), and adds to a growing body of work, which confirms the importance of psychological well-being in promoting work-related attitudes and behaviors (Devonish, 2016;Hewett et al, 2018;Ismail et al, 2019). Further, we have extended the literature on employee affective commitment, highlighting that psychological well-being is an important antecedent of employee' affective commitment and thereby confirming previous research by Aboramadan et al (2020) on the links between affective commitment and job performance.…”

How Does Servant Leadership Behaviour Affect Job Satisfaction? A Study on Indian Academia

“…These results are also supported by Harris et al (2016), who demonstrated that SL promotes JS and enhances retention. Aboramadan et al (2020) investigated the role of JS in the relationship between SL and academic performance and found that JS fully mediated this relationship, which means that SL affects JS, which in turn enhances the academic performance of schools. Likewise, researchers from different fields have found that SL in an institution affects the school climate, student performance, retention and JS (Al-Mahdy et al, 2016;Anderson, 2005;Black, 2010;Cerit, 2009;Gary, 2017;McCann et al, 2014;Miears, 2004;Thompson, 2003), all of which are crucial factors for the education system.…”

Servant leadership and affective commitment: the role of psychological ownership and person–organization fit

“…In an effort to bridge this gap in the literature, researchers started building on the relationship between SL and attitudinal work variables such as organizational commitment (Aboramadan et al , 2020a, 2020b; Dahleez and Ghali, 2018; Keith, 2015; Liden et al , 2014b; Pierro et al , 2013; VanMeter et al , 2016). Further, Jackson et al (2013), in a meta-analysis, stressed that organizational commitment is one of the most significant outcomes of effective leadership practices.…”