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Multilevel structural equation modeling analysis of the servant leadership construct and its relation to job satisfaction

Zhonghua Zhang (Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
John Chi-Kin Lee (Department of Curriculum and Instruction and The Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)
Ping Ho Wong (Department of International Education and Lifelong Learning and The Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

ISSN: 0143-7739

Publication date: 7 November 2016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the statistical issues associated with the hierarchically structured data in previous studies that focused on servant leadership. To resolve these issues, multilevel modeling methods were applied to re-visit the construct validity of the servant leadership questionnaire developed by Barbuto and Wheeler (2006) and investigate the relationship between servant leadership and job satisfaction under a multilevel framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey data was obtained from a sample of 2,089 teachers from 117 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. The analyses were conducted using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MLCFA) and multilevel structural equation modeling (MLSEM).

Findings

The results revealed the significant and non-trivial variances that were explained at the organization level in the items measuring servant leadership, which justified the use of MLCFA and MLSEM. The results of MLCFA provided empirical support for the multidimensional construct as well as the second-order factorial structure of servant leadership measures at both the individual and organization levels. In addition, the positive relationships between servant leadership and the followers’ job satisfaction were found to vary at different levels.

Originality/value

This study reiterates the importance of using appropriate methods to capture a solid definition of the construct of servant leadership and provides new insights into the conceptual framework of servant leadership as well as the effects of servant leadership on individual and organizational outcomes.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education, The Education University of Hong Kong for supporting the study. Thanks are extended to Professor John Barbuto, Jr and Professor Robert Eisenberger for their support as well as the editor and the reviewers for their advice for improving the manuscript.

Citation

Zhang, Z., Lee, J. and Wong, P. (2016), "Multilevel structural equation modeling analysis of the servant leadership construct and its relation to job satisfaction", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 37 No. 8, pp. 1147-1167. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2015-0159

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Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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