IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sdo/regaec/v35y2026i1_6.html

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.15304/rge.35.1.10848
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.15304/rge.35.1.10848?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mónica Santana & Mar Bornay-Barrachina, 2024. "The future of work and strategic leadership," Chapters, in: Zeki Simsek & Ciaran Heavey & Brian C. Fox (ed.), Handbook of Research on Strategic Leadership in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, chapter 13, pages 310-329, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Lan Ye & Yanwei Li & Na Zhang, 2025. "The impact of autonomy-supportive organizational environments on employees’ emotions and creative performance: A self-determination theory perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(5), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Pengji Wang & Shaoyuan Chen & Angeline Lim Cuifang & Sophia Zhao Xiuxi, 2023. "The post-pandemic workplace: issues and insights for future research and action," Chapters, in: Eddy S. Ng & Jonathan E. Ramsay & K. Thirumaran & Jacob Wood (ed.), Elgar Companion to Managing People Across the Asia-Pacific, chapter 1, pages 19-46, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. repec:ehu:cuader:61307 is not listed on IDEAS
    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.

      More about this item

      Keywords

      ;
      ;
      ;
      ;
      ;

      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

      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:sdo:regaec:v:35:y:2026:i:1_6. 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: Marisa Chas-Amil (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feusces.html .

      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.