Exploring the synergy : the role of shared and servant leadership in the innovation process through bibliometric analysis

Markovska Klepec, Bojana (author), Škerlavaj, Miha (author)

This study explores the intersection of shared and servant leadership in fostering innovation by using bibliometric techniques to analyze 434 scholarly publications. Using co‐citation, co‐word and bibliographic coupling analyses, this study identifies research trends, thematic clusters and gaps in the literature. The results show that while shared and servant leadership have a significant impact on the innovation process, their role is still under‐researched and fragmented. This study contributes to leadership theory by highlighting the role of shared leadership in team‐based collaboration and decentralized decision making, while extending the theoretical foundations of servant leadership in terms of ethical leadership, psychological safety and sustainability of innovation. By integrating these models, we contribute to the development of hybrid leadership approaches that promote a trust‐based culture and context‐sensitive strategies for innovation‐driven organizations. Furthermore, we explore how the transition from hierarchical to shared and servant leadership fosters agility, knowledge sharing and innovation, especially in knowledge‐intensive industries that rely on cross‐functional collaboration. Future research should investigate shared and servant leadership in all phases of the innovation process, especially in the later innovation phases, to address role ambiguity and ensure alignment between people‐centered leadership and strategic innovation requirements.

• Language: English
• Keywords: shared leadership, servant leadership, innovation, bibliometric analysis
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 79-100
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 1, article no. 5
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180006
• UDC: 005:658
• ISSN on article: 2232-5867
• DOI: 10.17708/DRMJ.2025.v14n01a05
• COBISS.SI-ID: 238320387

Copyright

Na spletni strani založnika navedeno, da članki izhajajo pod licenco CC BY-NC 4.0.

• Publication date in RUL: 27.02.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Dynamic relationships management journal
• Publisher: Slovenian academy of management
• ISSN: 2232-5867
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262077952

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Ta študija preučuje stičišče deljenega in služabniškega vodenja pri spodbujanju inovativnosti z uporabo bibliometričnih tehnik z analizo 434 znanstvenih objav. Z uporabo analiz so‐citiranja, sopojavljanja besed in bibliografske povezanosti študija opredeljuje raziskovalne trende, tematske grozde in vrzeli v literaturi. Rezultati kažejo, da imata deljeno in služabniško vodenje pomemben vpliv na inovacijski proces, vendar sta njuni vlogi še vedno premalo raziskani in razdrobljeni. Študija prispeva k teoriji vodenja s poudarkom na vlogi deljenega vodenja pri timskem sodelovanju in decentraliziranem odločanju, obenem pa nadgrajuje teoretične temelje služabniškega vodenja v kontekstu etičnega vodenja, psihološke varnosti in trajnostne inovativnosti. Z integracijo obeh modelov prispevamo k razvoju hibridnih pristopov vodenja, ki spodbujajo kulturo, utemeljeno na zaupanju, ter kontekstualno prilagojene strategije za organizacije, us‐ merjene v inovacije. Poleg tega raziskujemo, kako prehod od hierarhičnega k deljenemu in služabniškemu vodenju spodbuja agilnost, izmenjavo znanja in inovativnost – zlasti v panogah, ki temeljijo na znanju in se opirajo na medfunkcijsko sodelovanje. Prihodnje raziskave bi se morale osredotočiti na deljeno in služabniško vodenje v vseh fazah inovacijskega procesa, zlasti v poznejših fazah, da bi naslovile nejasnost vlog in zagotovile usklajenost med na ljudeh temelječim vodenjem ter strateškimi zahtevami inovacij.

• Keywords: management, vodenje, inovacije, bibliometrija