The effect of servant leadership, perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and job embeddedness on turnover intentions

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the effect of servant leadership on turnover intentions. The authors investigate the mediating effects of perceived organizational support (POS), job embeddedness and job satisfaction on the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions. In doing so, the authors seek to make the following contributions. First, the authors seek to provide additional empirical evidence for servant leadership as an effective organizational theory. Additionally, the authors seek to establish POS, embeddedness and job satisfaction as underlying mechanisms that transmit the positive effects of servant leadership. Design/methodology/approach - The data were collected from a paper and pencil survey questionnaire provided to employees of different organizations in a metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. The sample consisted of 150 participants; complete (listwise) data were available for 115 participants. Findings - The study shows that POS and embeddedness are mediating mechanisms through which servant leadership is related to employee turnover intentions. The authors found POS and job embeddedness to be significant mediating constructs which help explain the nature of the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions. Originality/value - By investigating these constructs in the present framework, we help to provide answers to the questions of how and why servant leadership affects employee outcomes. These answers are an important step towards more fully understanding the complex ways by which followers respond to servant leadership.