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In search of clarity on servant leadership: domain specification and reconceptualization

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Abstract

There is considerable confusion about what constitutes servant leadership. This paper outlines an approach to guide empirical investigation, while also addressing current inexact specifications of servant leadership, the issue of the unique dimensions of the construct, and distinctive characteristics of servant leadership considering other leadership styles. With knowledge of the abundance of servant leadership domain elements from the literature as a background, we provide a conceptually distinct approach to studying servant leadership to advise future measurement of the construct. Additionally, we discuss the convoluted state of the conceptual and empirical attributes that currently comprise the dimensions of servant leadership in relation to those proposed in existing definitions. Likewise, we delineate the challenges of empirically parsing out distinctive servant leadership traits in search of an operational definition, identifying traits that might be distinct to servant leaders, and discuss the implications from both theoretical and managerial perspectives; also, we provide directions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing & Management, Miller College of Business, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, 47306, USA

    Rebecca VanMeter

  2. College of Business 232, University of Texas at Arlington, 701 S. West Street, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Lawrence B. Chonko

  3. College of Business 218, University of Texas at Arlington, 701 S. West Street, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Douglas B. Grisaffe

  4. Illinois State University, University Campus Box 5590, Normal, IL, 61790, USA

    Emily A. Goad

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  1. Rebecca VanMeter
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  2. Lawrence B. Chonko
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  3. Douglas B. Grisaffe
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  4. Emily A. Goad
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Correspondence to Rebecca VanMeter.

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VanMeter, R., Chonko, L.B., Grisaffe, D.B. et al. In search of clarity on servant leadership: domain specification and reconceptualization. AMS Rev 6, 59–78 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-016-0075-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-016-0075-2

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