Relationship between Perceived Servant Leadership and Turnover Intentions among Academic Staff at Mekelle University: A Mediating Role of Affective Commitment

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the possible relationship between perceived
servant leadership, and turnover intention and investigate the mediating role of
affective commitment, among academic staff of Mekelle University. The current study
is a relational survey design. Data were collected from 102 faculty members, selected
through a stratified simple random sampling technique. Three standardized scales
were adapted from Laub’s (1999) Organizational Leadership assessment scale, Allen
& Meyer’s (1990) Affective Commitment scale, and Harrington, Bean, Pintello, &
Mathews’ (2001) Turnover intention scales, to collect relevant data. The collected data
were analyzed using a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. A
simple correlation was conducted to examine the possible relationship between servant
leadership and turnover intention, and mediation analysis was used, to examine the
role of affective commitment in the relationship between them. It was found that
servant leadership is inversely related to turnover intention, and it indirectly influences
turnover intention through the mediating role of affective commitment. This indicates
that the greater the tendency for staff to report that their university leadership is
primarily servants, and they feel emotionally attached to it, the less likely they intended
to leave the university. Implications of the findings in terms of enhancing the affective
commitment and reducing the turnover intention of Mekelle University’s academic staff
are discussed.