Servant leadership and employee's job performance: the role of public service motivation in Ethiopian public sector organizations

PurposeThis study aims mainly to examine the mediating role of public service motivation (PSM) in the relationship between servant leadership and employee performance in the context of Ethiopian public sector organization employees.Design/methodology/approachA survey design has been used, where all the 154 employees from seven public sector organizations participated. A confirmatory factor analysis employed on the 149 valid responses further validated the hypothesized model.FindingsThe study supported the significant relationship between servant leadership, public service motivation and job performance. Moreover, it exhibited a complete mediating effect of public service motivation, on the relationship between servant leadership and an employee's job performance.Practical implicationsThe successful mediation of PSM into servant leadership and job performance indicates that the new government must focus on empowering colleagues to have a say in the department-level policy formulation process.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study stems from the fact that it is a rare study that investigates the relationship between PSM and servant leadership and job performance in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, where a regime change in 2018 triggered a flurry of reforms to the public sector work culture.