Servant leadership and job satisfaction in higher education: the mediating roles of organizational justice and organizational trust

ABSTRACT

Drawing upon social exchange and self-determination theories, we propose a model to examine the mediating role of organizational justice and organizational trust in the relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction. Data from 258 Palestinian academics were collected and analyzed using correlation-based structural equation modeling (partial least squares). Our findings show that organizational justice and organizational trust partly mediate the relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction. In addition, the results show that there are significant differences in gender and experience pertaining to job satisfaction levels. This research advances the knowledge on servant leadership literature and adds insight into its relationship with job satisfaction in the field of higher education through examining the mediating role of organizational justice and organizational trust in the aforesaid relationship. Our findings encourage academic institutions to employ and nurture servant behaviors among academic leaders and managers. Academic institutions are also encouraged to embrace clear measures toward building a satisfied workforce through instilling a climate of justice and mutual trust.

KEYWORDS:

• Servant leadership
• organizational trust
• organizational justice
• job satisfaction
• higher education
• academic staff

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Khalid Dahleez

Dr. Khalid Dahleez is associate professor in management at Asharqyia University in Oman. His research interests are centered on innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and others. He has published at international journal of contemporary hospitality management, journal of management development, international journal of organizational analysis, evidence based-HRM., international journal of educational management, journal for higher education policy and management, benchmarking: international journal, journal of management spirituality and religion, and others.

Mohammed Aboramadan

Dr. Mohammed Aboramadan received his PhD in Economics and Management (Major: Management) from the university of Pavia, Italy. Currently, Dr. Aboramadan works as a research fellow at the department of economics of Insubria University, Italy. His areas of research are focused on HRM, Leadership, employee performance, organizational performance. Dr. Aboramadan has published at the international journal of hospitality management, personnel review, international journal of contemporary hospitality management, journal of hospitality marketing and management, journal of management development, Voluntas, academy of management proceedings, international journal of organizational analysis, evidence based-HRM., international journal of educational management, journal for higher education policy and management, international journal of public administration, journal for global business advancement, journal of Islamic accounting and business research, journal of enterprise information systems, benchmarking: international journal, journal of management spirituality and religion, and others.