Central European Business Review 2020, 9(3):24-37 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.236

Servant Leadership and Its Relation to Work Performance

Jana Gašková1
1 University of Economics, Prague, Faculty of Business Administration, Department of Managerial Psychology and Sociology, Prague, Czech Republic, jana.gaskova@vse.cz

Servant leadership has been anchored in academia on the international level during recent years. However, there is a lack of studies within the Central European region. The aim of this study is to review the concept of servant leadership and examine its relation to work performance. The focus is placed on the supervisor’s servant leadership and their relationship with subordinate’s in-role and extra-role work performance. Data were collected via a self-report questionnaire based on validated and adapted scales. The sample included 106 Master students of a standard Management program at the University of Economics, Prague (VŠE) who have a job of 20 hours a week and more. Regression analysis showed a positive and significant relationship between supervisor’s servant leadership and both subordinate’s in-role and extra-role work performance. On the level of individual dimensions of servant leadership, only “empowering” showed to be positively and significantly related to work performance. Results suggest that working business students appreciate when supervisor provides them with responsibility and autonomy. The implications are limited due to the design of the study and the nature of the data. Organisations would benefit from the adoption of servant leadership if they aim to create an environment supportive for both in-role and extra-role work performance.
Implications for Central European audience: Servant leadership is a viable concept used and researched worldwide. Its factorial structure was supported in the Czech context, and it provides a base for future research. Servant leadership might offer a convenient roadmap to accommodate work expectations of millennials and Gen Z from Central European region, e.g. servant leadership behaviour “creating value for the community” aligns with their expectation “business leaders take responsibility for societal needs”.

Keywords: servant leadership; work performance; organisational citizenship behaviour
JEL classification: M10

Received: January 8, 2020; Revised: February 21, 2020; Accepted: February 24, 2020; Prepublished online: July 3, 2020; Published: July 10, 2020  Show citation

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Gašková, J. (2020). Servant Leadership and Its Relation to Work Performance. Central European Business Review, 9(3), 24-37. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.236
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