The Impact of Organizational Culture on the Servant Leadership Approach in SMEs

The DBA thesis explores the extent to which characteristics of organizational culture makes it possible to use a servant leadership style in the context of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The selected measures are the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Servant Leadership Behaviour Scale (SLBS-6). The research design comprises of an analytical, computerized self-administered web-based survey. The predominant mean to investigate the relationship between the OCAI and the SLBS-6 are multiple regression analyses. The results from a fully-valid sample of 250 employees working in SMEs revealed that the OCAI-dimensions Management of Employees, Organization Glue and Strategic Emphases as well as the OCAI-cultures Clan and Adhocracy have the greatest impact on the servant leadership approach. The combination of these results with servant leadership’s key characteristics allowed to set up a holistic framework. The contribution to knowledge is based on the insight to turn around the research stream i.e., switching the dependent and the independent variable. It opens the door for new perspectives and ways of thinking about the same topic. In the sense of the DBA thesis, it allows to investigate how certain characteristics of organizational culture are in alignment with the fundamentals of servant leadership. The aim is to evaluate how these characteristics of organizational culture facilitate an appropriate platform for the display of a servant leadership style. Following this procedure can foster a servant leadership style as something like a logic and natural outcome with a higher degree of acceptance among employees. The necessity of a top-down approach pushing for a direct implementation of servant leadership is limited. This is the contribution to management practice the DBA thesis reveals.