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Examination of the Relationships Between Servant Leadership, Organizational Commitment, and Voice and Antisocial Behaviors

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Abstract

This study examines the relationships of servant leadership to organizational commitment, voice behaviors, and antisocial behaviors. Adopting a multifaceted approach to commitment, we hypothesized that servant leadership would be positively related to affective, normative, and perceived sacrifice commitment, but unrelated to few alternatives commitment. We further hypothesized that affective commitment would be positively related to voice behaviors, controlling for the other commitment components, and would mediate a positive relationship between servant leadership and voice behaviors. Similarly, we hypothesized that normative commitment would be negatively related to antisocial behaviors, controlling for the other commitment components, and would mediate a negative relationship between servant leadership and antisocial behaviors. These predictions were tested using matched data from a sample of 181 Canadian customer service employees and their managers. Results largely supported the above predictions. Importantly, affective commitment mediated a positive relationship between servant leadership and voice behaviors. Yet, while servant leadership was positively related to normative commitment and the latter was negatively related to antisocial behaviors, the indirect effect of servant leadership on these behaviors through normative commitment was nonsignificant. Theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nottingham University Business School China, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo, 315100, China

    Émilie Lapointe

  2. HEC Montréal, 3000 Chemin de la Côte Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, QC, H3T 2A7, Canada

    Christian Vandenberghe

Authors
  1. Émilie Lapointe
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  2. Christian Vandenberghe
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Correspondence to Émilie Lapointe.

Appendix

Appendix

Items used to capture servant leadership in this study and their associated dimension in the original servant leadership instrument (Liden et al. 2008, 2015).

Item

Dimension

I would seek help from my manager if I had a personal problem

Emotional healing

My leader emphasizes the importance of giving back to the community

Creating value for the community

My manager can tell if something work related is going wrong

Conceptual skills

My manager gives me the freedom to handle difficult situations in the way that I feel is best

Empowering

My manager makes my career development a priority

Helping subordinates grow and succeed

My leader puts my best interests ahead of his/her own

Putting subordinates first

My manager is always honest

Behaving ethically

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Lapointe, É., Vandenberghe, C. Examination of the Relationships Between Servant Leadership, Organizational Commitment, and Voice and Antisocial Behaviors. J Bus Ethics 148, 99–115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-3002-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-3002-9

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