COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING: THE EFFECTS OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP BY CEOS ON MIDDLE MANAGERS’ WORK OUTCOMES

Received:October 13, 2017  Revised:October 13, 2017

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Author NameAffiliation
wen wu* Beijing Jiaotong University 

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Abstract:
      Existing studies have not explored the influence of the practice of servant leadership (leadership that emphasizes personal integrity and the needs of followers) by strategic leaders on the performance and attitudes of middle managers. Drawing from social learning theory as well as collective social learning theory, we examine the effects of servant leadership by CEOs on middle managers’ work outcomes. We use samples from 69 CEOs, matched with 552 members of top management teams (TMTs) and 1,378 middle managers from intelligence-intensive companies firms in China. Our results reveal that, through its effect on TMT cohesion, empowering organizational climate, and psychological empowerment of middle managers, servant leadership by CEOs has a positive influence on middle managers’ work outcomes (including in-role performance, affective organizational commitment, and intention to stay). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

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