Role of Servant Leadership on Organizational Commitment: An Exploratory Survey of State Corporations in Kenya
Mrs. Wekesa S. Olesia, Prof. G.S. Namusonge, Dr. Mike E. Iravo
Abstract
The role of leadership in ensuring high performance organizations and employee organizational commitment
cannot be overemphasized. The business environment has become so complex and it is no longer possible for
organizations to guarantee employees a job for life which makes the issue of commitment even more pertinent. It
has been noted that one of the key factors that will influence an employee's decision to remain with or leave an
organization is the supervisors or manager's leadership style. Since committed employees are bound to perform
over and beyond the call of duty, it may be in the organization's best interest for managers to understand how
their leadership behaviour can influence employees’ commitment to the organization. One of the contemporary
leadership stylesthat holds great promise for effective organizational performance as well as enhancing employee
loyalty and commitment to the organization is servant leadership. Various studies have indicated that one of the
challenges facing state corporations in Kenya is the issue of commitment as evidenced by a shortage of human
resources both in the headquarters and in the field and poor service delivery. Employees in these corporations
are said to work only within the working hours and consider any work outside these working hours to be none of
their concern or their responsibility. This study therefore seeks to explore the role of servant leadership on
organizational commitment in Kenyan state corporations. Finally, this study develops a conceptual framework
that attempts to explain the relationship between servant leadership and employee organizational commitment.
Full Text: PDF