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Ethical leadership vs. servant leadership: convergences, tensions, and impact on individual creativity (2020-2025)

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  • Santiago-Torner, Carlos

Abstract

This article offers a critical reflection on the impact of ethical leadership and servant leadership on individual creativity in organizational contexts between 2020 and 2025. Drawing on a systematic and argumentative review of recent literature, it examines the convergences, divergences, and differentiated effects of these prosocial leadership styles on the psychosocial conditions that facilitate or hinder the generation of novel ideas. Although both styles share an ethical and relational foundation, their mechanisms of influence differ and may either foster or limit creativity depending on their moral intensity, normative orientation, and degree of emotional containment. The analysis also reveals paradoxical dynamics and shadow areas that challenge idealized views of prosocial leadership as an automatic driver of innovation. As a conceptual contribution, the study introduces the emerging model of prosocial–creative leadership, an interpretive proposal that integrates ethical principles, relational sensitivity, and psychological conditions conducive to creativity. The article concludes with theoretical and practical implications aimed at promoting organizational environments in which ethics and creativity mutually reinforce each other in a contextualized manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Santiago-Torner, Carlos, 2026. "Ethical leadership vs. servant leadership: convergences, tensions, and impact on individual creativity (2020-2025)," Revista Galega de Economía, University of Santiago de Compostela. Faculty of Economics and Business., vol. 35(1), pages 1-26.
    • Handle: RePEc:sdo:regaec:v:35:y:2026:i:1_6
    DOI: 10.15304/rge.35.1.10848
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    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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