IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i22p15901-d1279410.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Servant Leadership Decrease Bad Behaviors? The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety and the Moderating Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility

Author

Listed:
  • Taewoo Roh

    (School of International Studies, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea)

  • Min-Jik Kim

    (School of Industrial Management, Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan 31253, Republic of Korea)

  • Yunsook Hong

    (College of Business Administration, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

The aim of this research is to elucidate the intricate dynamics of the effects of servant leadership on employee behavior, particularly focusing on counterproductive work behavior. Drawing on the context–attitude–behavior framework, this study underscores the mediating role of psychological safety in this relationship. Additionally, it unveils the pivotal moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR), emphasizing its interaction with servant leadership in influencing psychological safety. To empirically test our hypotheses, we gathered survey data from 394 South Korean workers with a three-wave time-lagged research design. Findings indicate that in contexts with pronounced CSR, servant leadership significantly elevates psychological safety, mitigating negative employee behaviors. Conversely, in organizations with less CSR engagement, these positive effects are attenuated. The results underscore the integral role of CSR in complementing leadership initiatives, advocating for its holistic incorporation into organizational strategies to foster conducive work environments. This research bridges several gaps in the current literature, highlighting the imperative for organizations to intertwine servant leadership with robust CSR endeavors to curtail detrimental employee behaviors. This paper also proposes potential directions for future research in this crucial area.

Suggested Citation

  • Taewoo Roh & Min-Jik Kim & Yunsook Hong, 2023. "Does Servant Leadership Decrease Bad Behaviors? The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety and the Moderating Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-31, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15901-:d:1279410
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15901/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15901/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    2. Zarei, Mohammad & Supphellen, Magne & Bagozzi, Richard P., 2022. "Servant leadership in marketing: A critical review and a model of creativity-effects," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 172-184.
    3. Min-Jik Kim & Byung-Jik Kim, 2020. "Analysis of the Importance of Job Insecurity, Psychological Safety and Job Satisfaction in the CSR-Performance Link," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Benedict Sheehy, 2015. "Defining CSR: Problems and Solutions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 625-648, October.
    5. Duygu Turker, 2009. "Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility: A Scale Development Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(4), pages 411-427, April.
    6. Byung-Jik Kim, 2020. "Unstable Jobs Harm Performance: The Importance of Psychological Safety and Organizational Commitment in Employees," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    7. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francisco González Santa Cruz & Iliana Loor Alcívar & Nelly Moreira Mero & Amalia Hidalgo-Fernández, 2020. "Analysis of the Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Study Applied to Co-operativism in Ecuador," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 517-534, April.
    2. Basheer M. Al-Ghazali & M. Sadiq Sohail, 2021. "The Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of CSR on Career Satisfaction: Evidence from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-26, May.
    3. Mark Panton, 2012. "Football and Corporate Social Responsibility," Birkbeck Sports Business Centre Working Papers 5, Birkbeck College, Department of Management.
    4. Souguir Guioi, & Ezzeddine Boussoura & Hanini, Nesrine, 2022. "Les styles de leadership permettent-ils d'expliquer les pratiques RSE de l'entreprise ?," Post-Print hal-04488100, HAL.
    5. Adewole Olukorede, 2025. "Stakeholder engagement and participation in environmental contexts, social responsibility and society based on a study conducted in Rome, Italy," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-45, December.
    6. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    7. Nur Faliza, 2016. "CSR and Islamic Banking Performance in Aceh: The Role of Innovation as Mediation ," GATR Journals jmmr116, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    8. Shilong Wei & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Ubaldo Comite & Phung Anh Thu & Daniel Badulescu & József Popp, 2021. "An Examination to Explain the Mechanism of Employees’ Environment-Specific Behavior through CSR and Work Engagement from the Perspective of Stewardship Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Zaheer Alam & Yasir Bin Tariq, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Evaluation and Firm Financial Performance: Evidence from Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    10. Percy Marquina & Vincent Charles, 2021. "A Bayesian resampling approach to estimate the difference in effect sizes in consumer social responses to CSR initiatives versus corporate abilities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1680-1699, November.
    11. Dustin Smith & Eric Rhiney, 2020. "CSR commitments, perceptions of hypocrisy, and recovery," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. Charles H. Schwepker & Sean R. Valentine & Robert A. Giacalone & Mark Promislo, 2021. "Good Barrels Yield Healthy Apples: Organizational Ethics as a Mechanism for Mitigating Work-Related Stress and Promoting Employee Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 143-159, November.
    13. Astrid Kainzbauer & Parisa Rungruang & Philip Hallinger, 2021. "How Does Research on Sustainable Human Resource Management Contribute to Corporate Sustainability: A Document Co-Citation Analysis, 1982–2021," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    14. Juan Carlos Fandos-Roig & Javier Sánchez-García & Sandra Tena-Monferrer & Luis José Callarisa-Fiol, 2020. "Does CSR Help to Retain Customers in a Service Company?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, December.
    15. Dong Ding & Bin Liu & Millicent Chang, 2023. "Carbon Emissions and TCFD Aligned Climate-Related Information Disclosures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 967-1001, February.
    16. Qu, Shawn, 2024. "Litigation risk and corporate philanthropy: A managerial perspective analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    17. Petya Koleva, 2021. "Towards the Development of an Empirical Model for Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the Middle East," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 789-813, July.
    18. Ranjan DasGupta & Arup Roy, 2025. "Performance shortfall condition and environmental, social, governance performance: Does economic policy uncertainty and national culture matter?," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 81-132, March.
    19. Mónica Santana & Rafael Morales-Sánchez & Susana Pasamar, 2020. "Mapping the Link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Human Resource Management (HRM): How Is This Relationship Measured?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-28, February.
    20. Maria Victoria Uribe Bohorquez & Isabel María García Sánchez, 2023. "Sustainability in times of crisis: Female employment during COVID‐19," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3124-3139, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15901-:d:1279410. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.