Title: Exploring the relationship between leadership style and employee engagement: evidence from the banking industry

Authors: Anjum Ajaz; Shabir Ahmad Bhat; Summaira Farooq

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, 190006, India ' Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, 190006, India ' Department of Management Studies, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, 190006, India

Abstract: This paper aims to explore the relationship between leadership style, i.e., servant leadership and employee engagement in the banking sector. The study attempts to predict dimensions of servant leadership style through employee engagement. This study was quantitative and used a cross-sectional survey design. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed to select the respondents for the study. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires of employees from select banking organisations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India. Out of 380 questionnaires administered, 351 valid responses were received resulting in a response rate of 92% from the survey. Our study utilised SPSS 21.0 for analysing the frequencies, summary statistics, correlations of observed variables and coefficient alpha. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The paper finds that the servant leadership style facilitates subordinates to engage in their work and encourages subordinates to speak up. The results indicated that servant leadership is a significant predictor of employee engagement and a positive relationship was found between dimensions of servant leadership and employee engagement.

Keywords: servant leadership; employee engagement; banking sector; leadership style.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2025.148923

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2025 Vol.36 No.2, pp.187 - 205

Received: 29 Aug 2023
Accepted: 01 Sep 2023
Published online: 03 Oct 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article