4.10.1 Servant Leadership Scale by Ehrhart (2004)
Ehrhart’s (2004) Servant Leadership Scale is designed to investigate the relationship between leadership behavior, particularly servant-leadership, and unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Additionally, it examines how the procedural justice climate mediates this relationship. Unit-level OCB refers to voluntary, discretionary actions by employees that exceed formal job requirements and enhance the unit’s overall effectiveness and functioning. It includes behaviors such as helping coworkers, volunteering for additional tasks, offering suggestions for improvement, and exhibiting positive attitudes (Podsakoff et al., 2000).
The instrument was first developed and published by Mark G. Ehrhart from the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University in 2004 and then subsequently published again in 2007. Ehrhart collected data from employees of 249 grocery store departments to investigate the antecedents of unit-level OCB, using both employee ratings and manager ratings of unit-level OCB. The results generally supported his hypotheses, although there were some differences depending on the source of the OCB ratings (supervisor or subordinate), whether the type of department was controlled for, and whether a common method variance factor was included.
Access
Ehrhart’s (2004) Servant Leadership Scale may be accessible via academic journals and research databases, including in the relevant articles listed in the references section. Prior to usage, permission from the authors or copyright holders may be necessary. Contact the authors directly or consult the articles for more information on the availability and permissions.
References
Ehrhart, M. G. (2004). Leadership and procedural justice climate as antecedents of unit-level organizational citizenship behavior. Personnel Psychology, 57(1), 61–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2004.tb02484.x
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Paine, J. B., & Bachrach, D. G. (2000). Organizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513–563. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600307
