Towards fighting COVID-19: can servant leadership behaviour enhance commitment of medical knowledge-workers
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald Publishing Limited
Abstract
This article examines the potential of increasing commitment of medical knowledge-workers
(medical-KWs) in hospitals, particularly in handling deadly pandemics like COVID-19, through servant
leadership behaviour. The authors hold that medical-KWs like doctors and nurses form the core team of
knowledge-workers (KWs) at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 through seeking possible vaccines, treating
patients and promoting behaviours that curtail its spread. Thus research directed towards enhancing their
continued commitment is both timely and valuable.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses an explanatory cross-sectional survey design.
Findings – Results reveal that servant leadership behaviour significantly explains changes in commitment of
medical-KWs. Results further establish that perceived fairness – a key psychological factor – significantly
explains how servant leadership enhances the commitment of medical-KWs.
Research limitations/implications – Data used were sourced from medical-KWs in selected public
hospitals only. Thus results may differ among medical-KWs in private hospitals, yet they have also
championed the fight against COVID-19. Never the less these results provide a direction of thought to guide
practice and other related studies on a wider-scale.
Practical implications – In their quest to eradicate COVID-19 and its negative effects on social-economic
development, nations have to actively promote servant leadership behaviour in the hospitals (by establishing
quality relationships, credibility and efficient processes for delivering the shared goal) as mechanisms for
sustaining the continued commitment of medical-KWs towards fighting the pandemic.
Originality/value – Results portray events from an economy that has registered successes in combating
pandemics like Ebola and currently COVID-19 and thus offer a plausible benchmark for practice.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, Commitment of medical knowledge-workers, Servant leadership, Perceived fairness
Citation
Ngoma, M., Namono, R., Nangoli, S., Bashir, H., & Nakyeyune, S. (2020). Towards fighting COVID-19: Can servant leadership behaviour enhance commitment of medical knowledge-workers. Continuity & Resilience Review. DOI 10.1108/CRR-05-2020-0018