Relationships among executive servant leadership, firm performance and international strategic alliance partner performance: a network analysis

Purpose – This study aims to empirically test a multidimensional model of executive servant leadership with respect to firm performance and alliance partner performance. A network perspective was adopted to gain a better understanding of the processes and outcomes associated with servant leadership at the upper echelon. Design/methodology/approach – A survey design was used to collect a sample of 134 Polish senior executives managing international strategic alliances. Data were collected on-site and were analyzed with psychometric network analysis. Findings – Results indicated that there were both direct and indirect relationships between executive servant leadership and firm performance. Specifically, two dimensions of executive servant leadership, interpersonal support and morality, were directly related to firm performance. Morality was also related to cooperation, a proximate antecedent of firm performance. In addition, the morality and egalitarian dimensions of servant leadership were directly related to alliance partner performance. Originality/value – This study was a response to calls to advance servant leadership research by studying multidimensional models of servant leadership. It was also unique in that performance outcomes included external stakeholders.