PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF AUTHENTIC, ETHICAL AND SERVANT LEADERSHIP STYLE ON ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT OF THE EMPLOYEES IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

Abstract

Pakistan has an emerging IT sector, which earns foreign exchange to the tune of $3.5 billion annually
and employs over 300,000 IT experts. It is an evolving sector, which is experiencing high turnover ratio
and lack of support from the top management, which reflects on low organisational commitment and
inept leadership style. The purpose of this article is to accentuate the critical linkage between the
perceived effectiveness of authentic, ethical and servant leadership styles towards the organisational
commitment of the employees in the IT sector. The paper uses a review of the literature to examine the
relationship of these relatively new leadership styles on organisational commitment. It highlights the
mechanism through which these leadership styles influence employee’s organisational commitment as
cited in the literature. This paper emphasizes that it is essential for executives to use an appropriate
leadership style to enhance the organisational commitment of employees. The article also features that
higher degree of organisational commitment decreases employee intention to leave. It also reveals a
positive direct relationship between authentic, ethical and servant leadership styles and organisational
commitment. The findings of the study elucidate the importance of organisational commitment and
highlight the significance of an appropriate leadership style to enhance engagement and thereby, the
performance of the organisation.