A Study on the Effect of Servant Leadership Perception on Employee Performance and Perceived Organizational Performance: A Comparative Analysis Based on Demographic Variables

Abstract

Purpose – This study was conducted with two main objectives. The first objective is to analyze the effect of servant leadership on employee performance and perceived organizational performance. The other objective is to determine whether this effect varies according to demographic factors. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, the relational survey model was used. The research population consists of employees working in various businesses operating in the goods and services sectors in the Marmara Region, and data were collected from 490 volunteer participants using the convenience sampling method. The data were collected through the survey method, and the analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 23 and IBM SPSS AMOS 23 programs. Findings – The findings of the study indicate that servant leadership perception has a positive and significant effect on both employee performance and perceived organisational performance. The main hypotheses developed in this context were supported within the scope of the study. The differentiation of these effects according to demographic factors (gender, age, marital status, educational status, working period, position/status within the organization) were analysed. Except for gender, no significant difference was found in other demographic factors. It was revealed that women exhibit high performance (at employee and perceived organisational level) with servant leadership perception compared to men. Discussion – As a result of the study, it was observed that the perception of servant leadership has a positive and significant effect on both employee performance and perceived organizational performance. This finding supports the notion that servant leadership has the potential to generate positive outcomes at both individual and organizational levels. The absence of significant differences in the effect across demographic variables, except for gender, suggests that servant leadership creates a universal impact among different employee groups. This result indicates that the value-oriented approach of servant leadership may produce similar perceptual effects across various employee profiles. Therefore, integrating servant leadership principles into organizational culture can be considered a strategic tool for enhancing both employee and organizational performance. Furthermore, the finding that female employees exhibited a higher positive response to servant leadership suggests that there may be perceptual sensitivity differences among demographic groups.