There is a growing concern about the relationship of servant leadership and employee loyalty recent years, but few are focusing on the intervening mechanisms between them. Especially in China, research on such mediating variables is nearly blank. In this paper, we make our attempt on detecting the role in such relationship by empirical studies through 186 samples using the structural equation model (SEM) method, and reach two conclusions: servant leadership is significantly positive correlated with employee loyalty; employee satisfaction is found to play mediating role which occupies 77% of the total effect between servant leadership and employee loyalty. Our result shows that, to improve employee loyalty, the managers should not only develop their servant leadership style, but also take into consideration the individual needs to improve psychological satisfaction.
KeywordsServant LeadershipEmployee SatisfactionEmployee LoyaltyMediating Role
T. N. Ingram, R. W. Laforge, W. B. Locander, S. B. Mackenzie and P. M. Podsakoff, “New Directions in Sales Leadership Research,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2005, pp. 137-154.
J. P. Mulki, F. Jaramillo and W. B. Locander, “Effects of Ethical Climate and Supervisory Trust on Salesperson’s Job Attitudes and Intentions to Quit,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2006, pp. 19-26.
T. G. Brashear, D. N. Bellenger, J. S. Boles, “An Exploratory Study of the Relative Effectiveness of Different Types of Sales Force Mentors,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2006, pp. 7-18. doi:10.2753/PSS0885-3134260101
F. Jaramillo, D. B. Grisaffe, L. B. Chonko, J. A. Roberts, “Examining the Impact of Servant Leadership on Sales-person’s Turnover Intention,” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2009, pp. 351-365. doi:10.2753/PSS0885-3134290404
R. C. Liden, S. J. Wayne, H. Zhao and D. Herderson, “Servant Leadership: Development of a Multidimensional Measures and Multilevel Assessment,” The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2008, pp. 161-177. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.01.006
J. E. Barbuto Jr. and D. W. Wheeler, “Scale Development and Construct Clarification of Servant Leadership,” Group and Organization Management, Vol. 31, No. 3, 2006, pp. 300-326. doi:10.1177/1059601106287091
B. J. Avolio and W. L. Gardner, “Authentic Leadership Development: Getting to the Root of Positive Forms of Leadership,” Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2005, pp. 315-338. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001
A. G. Stone, R. F. Russell and K. Patterson, “Transformational versus Servant Leadership: A Difference in Leader Focus,” Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2004, pp. 349-361. doi:10.1108/01437730410538671
S. Sendjaya, J. C. Sarros and J. C. Santora, “Defining and Measuring Servant Leadership Behaviour in Organizations,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2, 2008, pp. 402-424.
D. Van Dierendonck and I. Nuijten, “The Servant Leadership Survey: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure,” Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 26, No. 3, 2011, pp. 249-267. doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9194-1
C. X. Wang, Q. Ling and X. J. Zhang, “The Servant Lead-Ership Scale Design and Inspection in Chinese Enterprise,” Nankai Business Review, Vol. 3, 2009, pp. 94-103.
D. W. Hart and J. A. Thompson, “Untangling Employee Loyalty: A Psychological Contract Perspective,” Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2007, pp. 297-323. doi:10.5840/beq200717233
R. Ilies and T. A. Judge, “An Experience Sampling Measure of Job Satisfaction: Its Relationships with Affectivity, Mood at Work, Job Beliefs, and General Job Satisfaction,” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2004, pp. 367-389. doi:10.1080/13594320444000137
B. Mak and H. Sockel, “A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of IS Employee Motivation and Retention,” Information and Management, Vol. 38, No. 5, 2001, pp. 265-276. doi:10.1016/S0378-7206(00)00055-0
M. H. E. Khalifa, “Perceptions of Equity and Job Satisfaction: A Study of University Employees in Egypt,” International Journal of Management, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2011, pp. 130-144.
M. L. Voon, M. C. Lo, K. S. Ngui and N. B. Ayob, “The Influence of Leadership Styles on Employee Job Satisfaction in Public Sector Organization Malaysia,” International Journal of Business, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 24-32.
B. Shibru and G. M. Darshan, “Effects of Transformational Leadership on Subordinate Job Satisfaction in Leather Companies in Ethiopia,” International Journal of Business Management & Economic Research, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2011, pp. 284-296.
J. Y. Jiang, L.-Y. Sun and K. S. Law, “Job Satisfaction and Organization Structure as Moderators of the Effects of Empowerment on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Self-Consistency and Social Exchange Perspective,” International Journal of Management, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2011, pp. 675-694.
H. K. S. Laschinger, J. Finegan, J. Shamian and P. Wilk, “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Workplace Empowerment on Work Satisfaction,” Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2004, pp. 527-545. doi:10.1002/job.256
C. C. Chang, C. M. Chiu and C. A. Chen, “The Effect of TQM Practices on Employee Satisfaction and Loyalty in Government,” Total Quality Management, Vol. 21, No. 12, 2010, pp. 1299-1314. doi:10.1080/14783363.2010.530796
J. Marjorie and A. C. Stewart, “Enhancing Nurse Job Satisfaction: The Importance of a Servant Leader Orientation in Health Care,” Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2008, pp. 1-6.
S. Mehta and R. Pillay, “Revisiting Servant Leadership: An Empirical Study in Indian Context,” Contemporary Management Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2011, pp. 24-41.
M. A. Jones, K. E. Reynolds and M. J. Arnold, “Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value: Investigating Differential Effects on Retail Outcomes,” Journal of Business Research, Vol. 59, No. 9, 2006, pp. 974-981. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.03.006
B. J. Babin, Y. K. Lee, E. J. Kim and M. Griffin, “Modeling Consumer Satisfaction and Word-of-Mouth: Restaurant Patronage in Korea,” Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2005, pp. 133-139. doi:10.1108/08876040510596803
T. Yao, W. B. Huang and X. C. Fan, “Research about Employee Loyalty of the Services Sector Based on the Organizational Commitment Mechanism,” Management World Magazine, Vol. 5, 2008, pp. 102-123.
S. Alfonso and S.-P. Andres, “The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Labor Turnover by Gender: An Analysis for Switzerland,” Journal of Socioeconomics, Vol. 3, No. 6, 2007, pp. 859-913.
C. Chee, K. Haddad and G. Singh, “Human Resources Management, Job Satisfaction, Morale, Optimism and Turnover,” International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2007, pp. 73-88. doi:10.1300/J149v08n02_04
K. Falkenburg and B. Schyns, “Work Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Withdrawal Behaviors,” Management Research News, Vol. 30, No. 10, 2007, pp. 708-723. doi:10.1108/01409170710823430
C. M. Wagner, “Organizational Commitment as a Predictor Variable in Nursing Turnover Research: Literature Review,” Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 60, No. 3, 2007, pp. 235-247. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04421.x
T. A. Wright and D. G. Bonett, “Job Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being as Non-Additive Predictors of Workplace Turnover,” Journal of Management, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2007, pp. 141-160. doi:10.1177/0149206306297582
M. Riketta and R. Van Dick, “Foci of Attachment in Organizations: A Meta-Analytic Comparison of the Strength and Correlates of Workgroup versus Organizational Identification and Commitment,” Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2005, pp. 490-510. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2004.06.001
M. F. Y. Cheung and W.-P. Wu, “Leader-Member Exchange and Employee Work Outcomes in Chinese Firms: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction,” Asia Pacific Business Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2012, pp. 65-81. doi:10.1080/13602381.2010.535346
J. E. Bono, H. J. Foldes, G. Vinson and H. P. Muros, “Workplace Emotions: The Role of Supervision and Leadership,” Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 92, No. 5, 2007, pp. 1357-1367. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.5.1357