Examining the follower-related antecedents and effects of servant leadership in the PRC and Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

The study drew on Conservation of Resources Theory to explain the adoption of servant leadership behaviours vis-a-vis targeted followers and these behaviours’ positive association with worker effectiveness. We collected 365 follower-leader dyadic questionnaire responses in mainland China and conducted 20 interviews in Hong Kong. Results showed that followers’ proactive personality and high person-supervisor fit are positively associated with supervisors’ servant leadership behaviours, with the latter in turn positively associated with followers’ work effectiveness. Our findings challenge the conventional assumption that servant leadership is solely a manifestation of the traits of the leader.

KEYWORDS:

• Conservation of Resources Theory
• follower proactive personality
• followership
• Mainland China and Hong Kong
• person-supervisor fit
• servant leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Crystal Xinru Wu

Crystal Xinru Wu is a lecturer in the Department of Management at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. Dr. Wu has published in journals including Academy of Management Learning & Education, Journal of Business Research, Asian Journal of Business Ethics and Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. Her areas of research interest are servant leadership, ethics and conflict management.

Robin Stanley Snell

Robin Stanley Snell is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Management at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. An exponent of qualitative research methodology, Prof. Snell has completed several funded projects in the areas of business ethics, managerial and organizational learning, service leadership and service-learning. His work has been published in many journals, including Academy of Management Learning and Education, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, British Journal of Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, Human Relations, Human Resource Management Journal, International Business Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, Management Learning and Organization Studies.