Mohammad Zarei investigates the role and effects of servant leadership (SL) in marketing organizations, particularly its potential to foster marketing creativity.

The thesis has three interconnected studies, which contribute to the understanding of SL in marketing by, firstly, mapping the existing research landscape through review and citation analyses, secondly, by identifying gaps in the literature regarding the impact of SL on marketing creativity and thirdly, by providing empirical evidence of the effects of servant leadership on marketing creativity.

The first study is a comprehensive citation analysis of more than 24,000 references in SL research. The study identifies eight distinct research streams that reveal the historical evolution and the current landscape of research on SL.

In his second study, Zarei does the first systematic literature review of SL in marketing. He analyzes publications across 228 marketing-indexed journals over 52 years. Zarei identifies several important knowledge-gaps and then concentrates on the potential impact of SL on marketing creativity.

Based on the two first studies, and psychological research on creativity, the candidate develops a conceptual model for the effects of servant leadership on marketing creativity, both originality and relevance.

This model is the starting point of the third study, an experimental study of the effects of SL on marketing creativity. Using a sample of 526 marketing professionals, the candidate tests the comparative effects of four leadership styles, including SL, on marketing creativity. The findings support the proposition that SL fosters higher levels of marketing creativity among followers than transactional-, transformational-, and laissez-faire leadership styles. Tests of the psychological mechanism show that the superior effect of SL is mediated by psychological safety. These findings pave the way for further research on the multifaceted relationship between SL and marketing performance, particularly its influence on marketing creativity.

Prescribed topic for the trial lecture:

The keys to managing creativity in organizations: Factors that facilitate and stifle employee creativity

Trial lecture:

Aud. O, NHH, 10:15

Title of the thesis:

Servant Leadership in a Marketing Context

Defense:

Aud. O, NHH, 12:15

Members of the evaluation committee:

Associate Professor Alexander Madsen Sandvik (leader of the committee), Department of Strategy and Management, NHH

Professor Marit Gundersen Engeset, University of South-Eastern Norway

Professor Per Kristensson, Karlstad University

Supervisors:

Professor Magne Supphellen (main supervisor), Department of Strategy and Management, NHH

Professor Richard P. Bagozzi, Ross School of Business, the University of Michigan

Associate Professor Nhat Quang Le, Department of Strategy and Management, NHH

The trial lecture and thesis defense will be open to the public.



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