Publication Date
March 2025
Abstract
The uniqueness of a salesperson’s job makes leadership especially important in professional selling. This study examined antecedents and outcomes of servant leadership. A model analyzing the relationship among moral identity, servant leadership, organizational justice, turnover intentions, and turnover was tested with a sample of 233 business-to-business salespeople and 76 sales managers via a multilevel structural equation model using MPLUS software. Moral identity was a direct antecedent of servant leadership. Servant leadership was both an indirect predictor of turnover through organizational justice and a direct predictor of turnover. Two direct hypotheses were not supported. Both interpersonal justice and procedural justice were not related significantly to turnover intention. The study has important theoretical and practical implications. This study is the first one to examine the influence of moral identity on servant leaders within the salesforce and the influence indirectly and directly of servant leadership on turnover among salespeople. It expands our understanding of both leadership and turnover in a sales environment.