International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Servant leadership and perceptions of service quality provided by front-line service

workers in hotels in Turkey: Achieving competitive advantage
Mustafa Koyuncu Ronald J. Burke Marina Astakhova Duygu Eren Hayrullah Cetin
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Mustafa Koyuncu Ronald J. Burke Marina Astakhova Duygu Eren Hayrullah Cetin , (2014),"Servant
leadership and perceptions of service quality provided by front-line service workers in hotels in Turkey",
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 26 Iss 7 pp. 1083 - 1099
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Servant leadership and Service quality

by front-line
perceptions of service quality workers in hotels
in Turkey
provided by front-line service
workers in hotels in Turkey 1083

Achieving competitive advantage Received 5 June 2013

Revised 8 September 2013
Mustafa Koyuncu 29 November 2013
Accepted 24 December 2013
Faculty of Tourism, Canakkale Onsekizmart University,
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Canakkale, Turkey
Ronald J. Burke
Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada
Marina Astakhova
Department of Management and Marketing, University of Texas,
Tyler, Texas, USA, and
Duygu Eren and Hayrullah Cetin
Faculty of Tourism, Nevsehir University, Nevsehir, Turkey

Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this article is to examine the relationship of service employees perceptions of
servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and employee’s reports of service quality
provided to clients by their hotels.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 221 frontline employees, a 37 per cent
response rate, working in four- and five-star hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey. Previously developed and
validated measures of servant leadership (Liden et al., 2008) and service quality (Parasuraman et al.,
1988) were used and both were found to be highly reliable in this study.
Findings – Respondents were generally young, had relatively short organizational tenure and had
high school educations. Respondents having longer organizational tenures and those working in
five-star hotels reported lower levels of servant leadership. Longer tenured employees, and males, rated
some dimensions of service quality lower as well. Service employees reporting higher levels of servant
leadership from their supervisors/managers generally indicated higher levels of service quality.
Research limitations/implications – Some limitations should be noted. First, all data were
collected using respondent self-reports, raising the limited possibility of response set tendencies.
Second, the sample, while reasonably large, may not be representative of all hotel employees in Turkey.
Third, all properties were located in one region of Turkey and may not be representative of hotel
employees in other regions of the country. International Journal of
Practical implications – First, organizations could select individuals exhibiting higher levels of Contemporary Hospitality
Management
servant leadership potential based on indications that these individuals are interested in developing Vol. 26 No. 7, 2014
long-term relationships with staff and co-workers and in helping them become more skilled in doing pp. 1083-1099
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
their jobs. Selection can also be augmented by servant leadership training (Fulmer and Conger, 2004). 0959-6119
Supervisors/managers could be coached to help them develop their staff and help them meet their DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-06-2013-0238
 IJCHM unique goals (Raelin, 2003). Finally, workplace cultural value supportive of both servant leadership and
service quality can be identified, modeled by senior level managers, supported and rewarded.
26,7 Originality/value – Most studies focus on defining and measuring servant leadership or service
quality. This study investigates the relationship between servant leadership and service quality.
Keywords Competitive advantage, Service quality, Turkey, Hotels, Servant leadership, Tourism
Paper type Research paper
1084
Introduction
This research examines the relationship of perceptions of supervisor/manager servant
leadership and quality of service provided by frontline employees of four- and five-star
hotels in Turkey. There is considerable writing (see Kusluvan et al., 2010; Kusluvan,
2003, for a review) that ways frontline workers are managed contributes to
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organizational performance and success. Effective servant leadership influences

employee motivation and commitment, increases the quality of service provided to
clients, increases client satisfaction and retention and makes these organizations more
competitive in a demanding marketplace.
Leadership may have greater importance in the tourism and hospitality industry
given the negative image of working in this sector (Kusluvan et al., 2010). Negative
features include low levels of pay, seasonal work, long work hours, the routine nature of
many of the jobs, high turnover rates among frontline workers and the presence of
poorly trained and autocratic supervision (Ayupp and Chung, 2010; Baum, 2007;
Kusluvan et al., 2010). Human resource management policies and practices have
historically received low levels of attention by employing organizations in this sector
(Kusluvan et al., 2010).
Human resources are regarded as one of the most important aspects of organizations
in the tourism and hospitality industry. Employees bring with them skills, knowledge,
experience, ability, attitudes and values, behaviors and relationships both inside and
outside the work unit or organization. Some of these (e.g. attitudes and values,
behaviors, knowledge and skills) are influenced by the human resource management
policies of the organization and the behaviors of supervisors and managers.
Servant leadership is important for success of organizations in the hospitality
industry. Servant leaders encourage, motivate, inspire and enable their employees to
achieve service excellence. They teach employees the right ways to provide better
service and guide them by their own behavior. Servant leaders lead their employees by
serving. Thus, employees receiving servant leadership from their manager/supervisor,
provide better service to customers. Kusluvan and Eren (2008) suggest that servant
leadership has an impact on employee performance and this contributes to
organizational performance.

Servant leadership
Greenleaf introduced the concept of servant leadership in his essay The Servant as
Leader published in 1970. According to Greenleaf, servant leadership is a philosophy
and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and
a more caring world.“[…] It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to
serve first. Then conscious brings one to lead […] ”. In Greenleaf’s opinion, servant
leaders put the needs of their employees before their own needs and help them to develop
and to reach their maximum potential and achieve optimal organizational and career
 success. Therefore, servant leadership is different from traditional leadership Service quality
(www.greenleaf.org, 9 April 2013). In other words, servant leaders:
by front-line
[…] want their employees to improve for their own good, and view the development of workers in hotels
followers as an end, in and of itself, not merely a means to reach the leader’s or organization’s
goals (Ehrhart, 2004, p. 69). in Turkey
Servant leaders find ways to encourage and motivate their employees for good 1085
performance (Fletcher, 1999). They serve the servers by inspiring and providing
opportunity for them to achieve. Servant leaders believe in the capability of their
employees to achieve. Therefore, they see their role as setting a direction and a standard
of excellence, and giving employees the tools and autonomy to perform (Berry et al.,
1994). In other words, servant leaders are responsible for the development of their
employees and guiding them for better performance (Akiş, 2004).
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Servant leaders establish service standards by their own behaviors and management
styles. They lead by example. They are a model of service to all employees by
encouraging, motivating, inspiring and enabling them to achieve service excellence
(Berry et al., 1994). Servant leaders that demonstrate strong servant leadership
behaviors allow their employees to have an opportunity to learn the appropriate
behaviors for service excellence first hand (Church, 1995). If employees receive high
levels of servant leadership from their managers, they are more likely to provide
excellent service to their customers (Church, 1995; Hallowell et al., 1996).

Quality of service
Providing high quality of service is important in contributing to the success of
organizations in the hospitality and tourism sector. But assessing service quality can be
complicated because service quality is primarily subjective, involving an interpersonal
experience of an individual providing a service and an individual receiving the service.
Because service is intangible, heterogeneous and its’ simultaneous production and
consumption, quantitative measures of perceived quality are needed. These perceptions
are also different from satisfaction with services provided. According to Zeithaml and
Bitner (2003) perceived service quality is a component of customer satisfaction.
Parasuraman et al. (1988) describe in great detail the development of a
multidimensional scale for measuring perceptions of service quality. They define
perceived service quality as a global judgment about the superiority of the service
provided. Satisfaction, on the other hand, relates to a particular transaction. Service
quality then includes several dimensions. Their measure was used in this investigation.
Service quality entails customer judgments regarding the superiority of a service
offered (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Parasuraman et al. (1988) also suggest that service
quality is a multidimensional concept comprising five dimensions, namely, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. Reliability refers to ability to
perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Responsiveness refers to
willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Assurance refers
to knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
Empathy refers to caring, individualized attention given to customers. Tangibles refer
to appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and written materials. Service
quality assessment focuses specifically on these dimensions of service (Zeithaml and
 IJCHM Bitner, 2003) and customers evaluate the quality of service offered in terms of these
dimensions.
26,7
Servant leadership and service quality
Books and journal articles addressing leadership draw associations between leadership
skills and competencies, and leadership style and work unit or organizational
1086 effectiveness (Antonakis et al., 2004; Bass, 1999; Locke, 1991; Tichy, 1997; Palus and
Horth, 2003; Zaccaro, 2001). Commonly examined types of leadership have included
transactional, transformational, charismatic, shared, results-based, leader-member
exchange, full-range leadership, authentic leadership and, more recently, servant
leadership (see Bass, 1998; Burke and Cooper, 2006; Conger and Kanungo, 1998; Pearce
and Conger, 2003; Ulrich et al., 1999).
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Several studies have considered the role that leadership plays in the delivery of
high-quality service, and a variety of other important work and organizational outcomes
in the hospitality and tourism industry. Connell (2001) showed that effective leadership
increased the skills of frontline employees. Simons and Robertson (2003) concluded that
managers that were perceived to be fairer with others were associated with more
favorable organizational outcomes. Finally, Tracey and Hinkin (1994) highlight the
association of higher levels of leader transformational leadership and valued
organizational outcomes.
Berry et al. (1994) suggested that delivering excellent service requires a special form
of leadership called “servant leadership”. Because servant leaders believe in their
employees, they coach, teach, inspire and listen to them (Berry et al., 1994). Thus, servant
leaders show employees suitable ways to provide excellent service. Berry et al. (1994)
interviewed staff of a medical center and reported the importance of servant leadership
in service quality. They observed that servant leadership that offered direction,
inspiration and support was associated with higher levels of service.
Service quality has been of great interest to hospitality researchers for the past two
decades. This research has focused on measuring service quality of hotels in the
hospitality industry (Oberoi and Hales, 1990; Mei et al., 1999; Ekinci et al., 2003; Nadiri
and Hussain, 2005; Öztürk and Seyhan, 2005; Akbaba, 2006; Eleren and Kılıç, 2007;
Murat and Çelik, 2007; Yılmaz, 2009; Buzcu, 2010; Boon-itt and Rompho, 2012) and the
relationship of service quality with other variables such as customer satisfaction (Oh,
1999; Kang et al., 2004; Salazar et al., 2004; Olorunniwo et al., 2006), customer loyalty (Lee
et al., 2003; McCain et al., 2005; Ladhari, 2009), behavioral intention (Alexandris et al.,
2002; Kang et al., 2004; Salazar et al., 2004; Olorunniwo et al., 2006; Gonzales et al., 2007;
Ladhari, 2009), brand loyalty (Malik et al., 2011), customer expectations (Gabbie and
O’Neil, 1996), employee behavior (Kattara et al., 2008), human resource management
(Worsfold, 1999; Haynes and Fryer, 2000), business performance (Harrington and
Akehurst, 1996; Worsfold, 1999; Haynes and Fryer, 2000), customer value (Oh, 1999),
commitment (Worsfold, 1999), and organizational climate (Davidson, 2003).
There has been increased attention to servant leadership. Studies on servant
leadership have focused on defining it (Sendjaya et al., 2008), measuring it (Dennis and
Bocarnea, 2005; Liden et al., 2008; Sendjaya et al., 2008) and studying it (Russell and
Stone, 2002). Servant leadership has also been investigated in different cultures, e.g.
mid-east Arab cultures (Sarayrah, 2004) and in the Chinese culture (Han et al., 2010).
Servant leadership has also been examined in different sectors, e.g. education (Bowman,
 2005; Hays, 2008), and in the public sector (Han et al., 2010). There are also several Service quality
studies comparing servant leadership with other types of leadership; transformational
leadership (Stone et al., 2003; Smith et al., 2004; Washington, 2007; Parolini et al., 2009;
by front-line
Schneider and George, 2011), transactional leadership (Washington, 2007), self- sacrifice workers in hotels
leadership (Matteson and Irving, 2006) and educational leadership (Crippen, 2004). In in Turkey
addition, studies have considered relationships between servant leadership and
variables such as procedural justice climate (Ehrhart, 2004; Walumbwa et al., 2010), 1087
service climate (Walumbwa et al., 2010), leader trust (Joseph and Winston, 2005;
Dannhauser and Boshoff, 2006), organizational trust (Joseph and Winston, 2005),
employee attitudes (Walumbwa et al., 2010), employee performance (Jaramillo et al.,
2009), team commitment (Dannhauser and Boshoff, 2006), organizational citizenship
behavior(Walumbwa et al., 2010), job satisfaction (Anderson, 2005; Cerit, 2009) and
emotional intelligence (Parolini, 2005).
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This research examines the relationship of servant leadership and the provision of
high-quality service by employees to clients in the tourism and hospitality sector, and is
the first such study to the best of our knowledge. Servant leadership emerged as a
potentially important leadership concept in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Greenleaf,
1977; George, 2003; Boyatzis and McKee, 2005). It emerged as a response to the
dysfunctional, greedy and self-serving and failing leadership exhibited during this time.
Servant leadership focuses on serving the needs of employees and larger communities
inside and outside an organization (Badaracco and Ellsworth, 1993; Badaracco, 2002;
Hunter, 2004). Servant leaders help employees reach their full potential, and builds trust
by helping others first (Greenleaf, 1977).
The general hypothesis underlying this research would be that hotel employees
perceiving higher levels of servant leadership being provided by their supervisors/
managers would rate the quality of service being provided to clients at a higher level.
Servant leaders rely on one-to-one relationships to understand the aspirations, needs,
abilities and potentials of each staff member. Servant leadership emphasizes integrity
and ethical behavior. Unlike more traditional leadership approaches, servant leadership
can extend outside the organization to wider communities and society at large.
Liden et al. (2008) developed and validated a multidimensional measure of servant
leadership and found that it predicted community citizenship behaviors, organizational
commitment and in-role performance in a sample of 164 employees and 28 supervisors
from a single production and distribution company. The Liden et al. (2008) measures
were used in this investigation.

The tourism and hospitality sector in Cappadocia, Turkey

Tourism and hospitality are major contributors to the Turkish economy and are
growing in importance (Duman and Tosun, 2010; Gokovali, 2010). According to the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism(2013), Turkey had about 33 million tourist visitors in
2011, ranking sixth in the world according to (World Tourism Organizations UNWTO
Tourism Highlights, 2012), and accounted for about US$28 billion in revenue, ranking
twelfth in the world. Figures for 2012 reported about 36 million tourist visitors and
accounted for over US$29 billion in revenue (Ministry of Culture and tourism, 2013).
Cappadocia is one of the major cultural tourist destinations in Turkey with its unique
geological, historic and cultural features. With these features, Cappadocia serves
cultural tourism in Turkey and attracts tens of thousands of tourists for culture and
 IJCHM nature each year. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Cappadocia had
about 800,000 tourist visitors in 2011(Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2013). Thus,
26,7 well-educated and dedicated men and women are needed to better serve tourists to meet
the human resource and management needs of an important and growing sector, a
number of school and university programs were created (Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2000;
Okumus and Yagci, 2006).
1088 The tourism sector in most countries is facing several challenges including a
low-educated workforce, high turnover among frontline employees, low job satisfaction
and low pay, poor working conditions such as very long hours, and autocratic and
untrained supervision (Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2000; Yesiltas et al., 2010). Improved
servant leadership is one possible avenue for addressing these challenges.

Method
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Procedure
Data were collected from men and women working in four- and five-star hotels in
Nevsehir, Turkey, using anonymously completed questionnaires between April and
July 2012. Hotel managers were contacted and asked for help in the distribution and
administration of the questionnaires. A total of 600 questionnaires were delivered to 14
hotel managers who agreed to take part. A total of 221 questionnaires were received, a
response rate of 37 per cent. All held frontline service jobs in these properties.

Respondents
Table I presents the demographic characteristics of the sample. Slightly over half were
male (60 per cent), most were 27 years of age or younger (56 per cent), most had five years
of less of organizational tenure (74 per cent), most had a high school education (53 per
cent), most worked in the food and beverage department (36 per cent) and respondents
were equally divided into four-and five-star hotels (53 per cent and 47 per cent,
respectively).There was a slightly higher percentage of males in front office and food
and beverage departments and a slightly lower percentage of males in accounting and
housekeeping, and a slightly lower percentage of males working in five-star hotels than
in the sample as a whole.

Measures
Personal and work situation characteristics. Six personal and work situation
characteristics were assessed by single items. These were:
(1) gender;
(2) age;
(3) level of education;
(4) organizational tenure;
(5) department; and
(6) whether respondent worked in a four-or five-star hotel.

Servant leadership. Servant leadership was measured by a 28-item scale developed by

Liden et al. (2008). This scale had seven dimensions:
(1) Conceptual skills.
(2) Empowering.
 N %
Service quality
by front-line
Gender
Males 122 59.8 workers in hotels
Females 82 40.2 in Turkey
Education
Elementary 36 18.3 1089
High School 104 52.8
University 57 29.0
Department
Front office 40 20.3
Food & beverage 71 36.0
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Accounting 21 10.8
Housekeeping 38 19.3
Other 27 13.7
Age
18-22 41 21.8
23-27 64 34.0
28-32 49 26.1
33-37 23 12.2
38 or above 17 8.8
Organizational tenure
1-5 years 130 73.9
6-10 33 18.8
11 or more 13 7.4
Hotel rating Table I.
4 star 104 52.8 Demographic
5 star 93 47.2 characteristics of sample

(3) Helping subordinates grow and succeed.

(4) Putting subordinates first.
(5) Behaving ethically.
(6) Emotional healing.
(7) Creating value for the community.

Each scale had four items. In addition, a four-item measures of role model was created
specifically for this study; role modeling being an additional way of guiding employees.
Respondents indicated the degree to which each item described their supervisor/
manager on a five-point scale of agreement (1 ⫽ strongly disagree, 3 ⫽ neither agree nor
disagree and 5 ⫽ strongly agree). Each scale was found to have high levels of internal
consistency reliability (␣). Emotional healing (␣ ⫽ 0.82), creating value for the
community (␣ ⫽ 0.79), conceptual skills (␣ ⫽ 0.80), empowering (␣ ⫽ 0.78), helping
employees grow and succeed (␣ ⫽ 0.85), putting employees first (␣ ⫽ 0.85), behaving
ethically (␣ ⫽ 0.86) and role model (␣ ⫽ 0.81). A composite measure based on the eight
dimensions had a reliability of 0.91. Scores on the eight dimensions were all positively
 IJCHM and significantly inter-correlated ranging from a high of 0.69 (empowering and helping
employees grow and succeed) to a low of 33 (empowering and role model), with a mean
26,7 inter-correlation of 0.54.
Service quality. Perceptions of the quality of service provided by the hotel to clients
was measured by a 22 item instrument, SERVQUAL, developed by Parasuraman et al.
(1988). This measure had five dimensions:
1090 (1) Tangibles (4 items, ␣ ⫽ 0.86): physical facilities, equipment and appearance of
staff.
(2) Reliability (5 items, ␣ ⫽ 0.87): provide promised service, dependable and
accountable.
(3) Responsiveness (4 items, ␣ ⫽ 0.82): willingness to help clients and providing
prompt service.
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(4) Assurance (4 items, ␣ ⫽ 0.79): knowledgeable and courteous staff able to inspire
trust and confidence.
(5) Empathy (5 items, ␣ ⫽ 0.86): individual and caring attention to clients.

The total SERVQUAL scale, 22 items, had an internal consistency reliability of 0.94.
Respondents indicated their perceptions of the quality of service provided to clients
on a five-point scale (1 ⫽ strongly disagree, 3 ⫽ neither agree nor disagree and 5 ⫽
strongly agree). Scores on the five dimensions were all positively and significantly
correlated ranging from a high of 0.92 (tangibles and reliability) to a low of 0.60
(empathy and reliability), with a mean inter-correlation of 0.70.
Each dimension of servant leadership was significantly and positively correlated
with each dimension of SERVQUAL, and the total scores of the two composites were
correlated 0.61 (p ⬍ 0.001; n ⫽ 212). Correlations across these dimensions ranged from
a high of 0.53 (being a role model and reliability) to a low of 0.30 (conceptual skills and
tangibles), with a mean correlation across servant leadership dimensions and
SERVQUAL dimensions of 0.40.
Statistical analyses. Both correlational and hierarchical regression analyses were
used.

Results
Descriptive statistics
Respondents assessed the levels of servant leadership provided to them by their
supervisors/managers as fairly high. The modal response on a five-point scale was 4
(agree) with the mean response being 3.5, SD ⫽ 0.70.These ranged from a high of 3.9,
SD ⫽ 0.92, on behaving ethically to a low of 3.1, SD ⫽ 1.02, on putting employees first.
Respondents also rated the quality of service provided to clients in their hotels as also
fairly high, mean ratings being 3.9, SD ⫽ 0.62 (4 ⫽ agree). Scores on the five dimensions
ranged from a high of 4.0 on both responsiveness and assurance, SD ⫽ 0.71 and 0.71,
respectively, to a low of 3.9, SD ⫽ 0.72, on empathy.
Only 2 of the 10 inter-correlations among the personal demographic items (excluding
department) were significantly different from 0 (p ⬍ 0.05). Older respondents also had
longer job tenures (r ⫽ 0.65), and older respondents had lower levels of education
(r ⫽ ⫺0.16).
 Individual characteristics as predictors of servant leadership and SERVQUAL Service quality
Table II presents the correlations between five personal characteristics and the eight
dimensions plus the total score o for servant leadership and the five dimensions and the
by front-line
total score on SERVQUAL. Relatively few statistically significant relationships were workers in hotels
observed (p ⬍ 0.05). The following comments are offered in summary. in Turkey
Considering first relationships with servant leadership dimensions and their
composite measure, gender, age and level of education had not relationship with these. 1091
Longer tenured respondents rated levels of servant leadership lower on conceptual
skills, empowering, helping employees grow and develop, putting employees first and
role model, as well as on the composite score (rs ⫽ ⫺0.17, ⫺0.16, ⫺0.20, ⫺0.20, ⫺0.20
and ⫺0.18, respectively). In addition respondents working in five star hotels rated
servant leadership lower on Emotional healing, Creating value for the community,
conceptual skills, empowering, helping employees grow and develop, putting
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employees first, behaving ethically, role modeling and on the composite measure
(rs ⫽ ⫺0.18, ⫺0.22, ⫺0.26, ⫺0.27, ⫺0.23, ⫺0.16, ⫺0.17, ⫺0.20 and ⫺0.27, respectively).
Now considering relationships with perceptions of SERVQUAL, level of education
and star rating had no relationship with these perceptions. Older respondents rated level
of empathy lower (r ⫽ ⫺0.16); longer tenured employees also rated level of empathy
lower, as well as having lower ratings on the composite measure of SERVQUAL
(rs ⫽ ⫺0.24 and ⫺0.16, respectively); and males rated both reliability and
responsiveness lower than females did (rs ⫽ ⫺0.16 and ⫺0.17, respectively).

Servant leadership and SERVQUAL

Hierarchical regression analyses were then undertaken in which predictors were entered
in two blocks. The first block of predictors (n ⫽ 5) included: gender, age, organizational

Gender Age Tenure Education Star rating

Servant leadership
Emotional support ⫺0.12 0.05 ⫺0.04 ⫺0.04 ⫺0.18*
Creative value ⫺0.04 0.05 ⫺0.02 ⫺0.01 ⫺0.22*
Conceptual skills ⫺0.12 ⫺0.06 ⫺0.17* 0.09 ⫺0.26*
Empowering ⫺0.07 0.07 ⫺0.16* ⫺0.04 ⫺0.27*
Helping others ⫺0.06 0.05 ⫺0.20* 0.02 ⫺0.23*
Putting other first ⫺0.01 ⫺0.02 ⫺0.20* 0.02 ⫺0.16*
Behaving ethically ⫺0.09 ⫺0.03 ⫺0.20* ⫺0.08 ⫺0.20*
Role model ⫺0.09 0.01 ⫺0.11 ⫺0.04 ⫺0.17
Total servant leadership score ⫺0.09 0.03 ⫺0.18* ⫺0.02 ⫺0.27
SERVQUAL
Tangibles ⫺0.14 ⫺0.07 ⫺0.14 0.08 0.02
Reliability ⫺0.16* ⫺0.06 ⫺0.13 0.01 ⫺0.09
Responsiveness ⫺0.17* ⫺0.04 ⫺0.09 0.07 ⫺0.03
Assurance ⫺0.08 ⫺0.06 ⫺0.05 0.01 ⫺0.10
Empathy ⫺0.08 ⫺0.16* ⫺0.24* 0.05 ⫺0.08
Total SERVQUAL Score ⫺0.13 ⫺0.10 ⫺0.16* 0.07 ⫺0.04 Table II.
Personal demographics,
Notes: * Correlation is significantly different from zero at the 0.05 level of confidence or greater; Ns servant leadership and
range from 212 to 221 service quality
 IJCHM tenure, level of education and whether hotel was rated four or five star. The second block
of predictors was the eight dimensions of servant leadership described above. When a
26,7 block of predictors accounted for a significant amount or increment in explained
variance (p ⬍ 0.05) individual items or measures within these blocks having significant
and independent relationships with SERVQUAL dimensions were identified (again p ⬍
0.05). This approach to analysis controls for the effects of personal and work situation
1092 characteristics before examining the relationships of servant leadership dimensions
with SERVQUAL.
Table III presents the results of these analyses. The following comments are offered
in summary. First, both blocks of predicts accounted for a significant amount or
increment in explained variance on tangibles. Respondents working in five-star hotels
rated level of tangibles higher (B ⫽ 0.15), and respondents with higher rating levels of
emotional support and role modeling also rated Tangibles higher (Bs ⫽ 0.32 and 0.22,
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respectively). Second, both blocks of predicts again accounted for a significant amount

Service quality R R2 ⌬R2 p

Tangibles (n ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.28 0.08 0.08 0.05
Star level (0.1)
Servant leadership 0.69 0.47 0.39 0.001
Emotional support (0.32)
Role model (0.22)
Reliability (n ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.28 0.08 0.08 0.05
Servant leadership 0.63 0.40 0.32 0.001
Emotional support (0.22)
Role model (0.21)
Empowerment (⫺0.22)
Responsiveness (n ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.28 0.08 0.08 0.05
Gender (⫺0.16)
Servant leadership 0.56 0.31 0.23 0.001
Assurance (n ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.18 0.03 0.03 NS
Servant leadership 0.51 0.26 0.23 0.001
Creating value (0.26)
Role model (0.23)
Empathy (n ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.29 0.09 0.09 0.05
Servant leadership 0.57 0.32 0.23 0.001
Servant quality total score (N ⫽ 154)
Personal demographics 0.29 0.08 0.08 0.05
Table III. Servant leadership 0.66 0.44 0.36 0.001
Servant leadership and Emotional support (0.21)
service quality Creating value (0.22)
 or increment in explained variance on reliability. Respondents rating levels of emotional Service quality
support and role modeling, and empowering higher also rated reliability higher as well
(Bs ⫽ 0.27 and 0.21, respectively), while those rating empowering higher rated levels of
by front-line
reliability lower (B ⫽ ⫺0.22). Third, although both blocks of predictors accounted for a workers in hotels
significant amount or increment in explained variance on responsiveness, no in Turkey
independent and significant relationships were preset. Fourth, servant leadership
dimensions accounted for a significant increment in explained variance on assurance; 1093
both creating value for the community and role modeling had significant and
independent relationships here (Bs ⫽ 0.26 and 0.23, respectively). Fifth, although both
blocks of predictors accounted for a significant amount or increment in explained
variance on empathy, no item or measure was found to have an independent and
significant relationship with this service outcome. Finally, both blocks of predictors
accounted for a significant amount or increment in explained variance on the total
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SERVQUAL score with both emotional support and creating value for the community
having significant and independent relationships with this composite measure of
service quality (Bs ⫽ 0.28 and 0.22, respectively).

Discussion and conclusions

This study investigated the relationship between service employee’s perceptions of
servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and employee reports of
service quality provided to customers by four- and five-star hotels in Cappadocia,
Turkey. The findings obtained in this study make several important and useful
contributions. First, previously developed scales were used to measure servant
leadership and service quality. A new measure called role model was developed and
added to the servant leadership scales. The measures of both servant leadership and
service quality were found to have high levels of reliability and relate to each other in
hypothesized ways.
Second, our respondents, who worked in four- and five-star hotels, generally rated the
levels of servant leadership they received from their supervisors/managers, and the
levels of service they provided to clients at a generally high level. Supervisors supported
employees emotionally, empowered them, helped them grow and succeed, put them
first, served as role models for them, behaved ethically and created value within the
hotel and wider community. Hotel employees responded by providing customers with
the service promised, helped customers, offered prompt service, behaved courteously
and performed in a confident manner.
Third, personal characteristics such as gender, age and level of education were
relatively independent of respondent perceptions of both levels of servant leadership
experienced and levels of service provided (see Table II). But both organizational tenure
and star rating of hotel had some relationships with both levels of servant leadership
received and levels of service quality provided. Longer tenured employees and
employees working in five-star hotels perceived lower levels of both servant leadership
experienced and levels of service quality provided to clients (see Table II).
Finally, levels of servant leadership were found to be associated with some
dimensions of service quality (e.g. tangibles, reliability and assurance) and with the
composite SERVQUAL measure (see Table III), providing support for the general
hypothesis underlying the research. Respondents reporting receiving higher levels of
servant leadership form their supervisors/managers indicated they provided higher
 IJCHM levels of service quality to their customers. Thus supervisors/managers interested in
improving the quality of service provided to customers should consider the merits of
26,7 servant leadership in motivating and engaging employees in the provision of higher
quality service.

Practical implications
1094 Several practical implications follow from our findings. First, organizations could select
individuals exhibiting higher levels of servant leadership potential using indications
that these individuals are interested in developing long-term relationships with
potential subordinates and co-workers and in helping others become more skilled in
doing their jobs. In addition selection can be augmented by servant leadership training
(Fulmer and Conger, 2004). Supervisors/managers could also be coached in servant
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leadership values and skills to help them develop their staff and support goals of staff to
help them fill and satisfy their unique needs (Raelin, 2003). Finally, workplace cultural
values supportive of both servant leadership and service quality can be identified,
modeled by senior level executives, supported and rewarded. Because the majority of
our respondents were relatively young, hospitality organizations that provide higher
levels of servant leadership are more likely to have positive effects on absenteeism and
turnover by providing a fulfilling work experience.

Limitations and future research directions

Some limitations should be noted to put the results into a larger context. First, all data
were collected using respondent self-reports raising the limited possibility of response
set tendencies. Second, the sample, while reasonably large, may not be representative of
all hotel employees in Turkey. Third, all properties were located in one and the same
region of Turkey and again may not be representative of hotel employees working in
other regions of the country.
These preliminary results suggest that undertaking further research on the
antecedents and consequences of servant leadership the hospitality sector has merit.
First, additional important work and well-being outcomes need to be included. The
former would include levels of work engagement, intent to quit, engaging in employee
voice and organizational citizenship behaviors; the latter would include work and family
conflict, burnout and psychosomatic symptoms. Second, conducting this research in
other regions in Turkey would add to our understanding of potential boundary
conditions of our results. Third, using a longitudinal design would allow researchers
indicators of absenteeism and turnover data as well as performance evaluation ratings
of supervisors/managers. Fourth, it would also be possible to include client perceptions
of service quality and their satisfaction with service provided, as well as other more
“objective” measures of hotel effectiveness. Fifth, an evaluation of efforts to enhance
levels of servant leadership provided by supervisors/ managers via training would also
have potentially useful implications.

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Further reading
Greenleaf, R.K. (2003), “What is servant leadership?”, available at: www.greenleaf.org/
what-is-servant-leadership/

Corresponding author
Ronald J. Burke can be contacted at: rburke@schulich.yorku.ca

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