Why and when servant leadership spurs followers to speak up: A conservation of resources perspective

Abstract

Servant leadership has been found to motivate followers to express constructive voice, but why is this the case? Studies so far have identified a ‘can do’ mechanism that enables followers to speak up and a ‘reason to’ mechanism that promote their willingness to do so. Nevertheless, these mechanisms have not considered the role of servant leadership in energizing both leaders and followers, which facilitates followers' constructive voice through an ‘energized to’ mechanism. This study aims to unpack the ‘energized to’ mechanism to understand how and when servant leadership can motivate followers' constructive voice. Drawing from conservation of resources theory, we propose that servant leadership can contribute to both leaders' and followers' energy, particularly among leaders with higher self-regulation ability. In turn, elevated energy levels in leaders and followers will promote followers' constructive voice. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged supervisor–subordinate matched survey. Results show that servant leadership increases both leaders and followers' energy and then followers' constructive voice, but this effect is observed only among leaders with high self-regulation ability. This research offers new insights into how and when servant leadership not only energizes followers but also benefits the leaders themselves.