International Journal of Business, Economics, and Social Development
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2026): International Journal of Business, Economics, and Social Development (IJBESD)

Employee Perspectives on the Implementation of Servant Leadership in a Local Automotive Company in Indonesia: A Qualitative Case Study

Bawengan, Amabel Odelia Criesyhans (Unknown)
Oktaviannur, M. (Unknown)
Sakti, Trenggono Pujo (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
20 Mar 2026

Abstract

The dynamic transformation of the business environment has encouraged organizations to adopt leadership models that are flexible and human-centered. This study examines the implementation of servant leadership from the perspective of employees in a local automotive company operating in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia. Rooted in Greenleaf’s (1970) framework, servant leadership emphasizes leaders’ commitment to serving employees through ten core characteristics, including listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to employee growth, and community building. This research employs a qualitative phenomenological approach with a case study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, non-participant observation, and document analysis, and were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2020). The findings reveal that servant leadership is only partially implemented within the organization, with four characteristics conceptualization, foresight, healing, and community building being consistently practiced. Key barriers to full implementation include the predominance of indirect communication patterns, a stronger emphasis on short-term business targets over human resource development, and the absence of systematic leadership training programs. The study concludes that the application of servant leadership in non-corporate local firms requires contextual adaptation, particularly in organizations characterized by family-oriented management structures and the socio-cultural dynamics of Indonesian business practices. These findings contribute to the servant leadership literature by highlighting the contextual limitations and practical challenges of implementing human-centered leadership models in small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging economies.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijbesd

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Economics, Econometrics & Finance Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

International Journal of Business, Economics and Social Development (IJBESD) is published 4 (four) times a year and is the flagship journal of the Research Collaboration Community (RCC). It is the aim of IJBESD to present papers which cover the theory, practice, history or methodology of Business, ...