Driving innovation through servant leadership in higher education: Unveiling the serial mediating mechanisms of subjective well-being and knowledge sharing

Academic research consistently emphasizes the significance of leadership style in driving performance outcomes within organizations. However, there remains a notable dearth of studies examining the association between servant leadership (SL) and employees' objective innovative performance. To bridge this research gap, this study adopts a dual theoretical lens, integrating the Conservation of Resource Theory and Social Exchange Theory, to explore the impact of SL on innovative performance specifically in the context of higher education institutions. In addition, this research endeavors to elucidate the mediating roles of subjective well-being and knowledge sharing in the relationship between SL style and innovative performance. To this end, data were collected from employees and their peers in higher education institutions, and a partial least square (PLS)-based structural equation modeling technique was used for analysis. The findings reveal a positive association between SL and employees' innovative performance. Furthermore, subjective well-being significantly mediates the relationship between SL and innovative performance, while knowledge sharing has a trivial mediating effect. This study contributes to the literature by addressing the research gap in understanding the role of SL in enhancing innovative performance in higher education. The insights gained from this research can provide managers with valuable guidance on leveraging SL to foster employees' innovative performance.