The effect of servant leadership on employee turnover in SMEs in Nigeria: the role of career growth potential and employee voice

Purpose Employee turnover has been established as a major cause of the abysmal performance of SMEs in Nigeria. Hence, the study explored the role of servant leadership and the work climate created by the leader in the reduction of employee turnover in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach The study involved 1,000 participants drawn from 200 SMEs in the city of Lagos. Cross-sectional data was acquired through questionnaire designed in such a way as to minimise common method variance. Findings Results indicate that servant leadership reduced employee turnover, and that employee voice and the career growth dimensions partially mediated this relationship. The study variables explained 59% of the variance in employee turnover. Practical implications The paper highlights that SMEs leaders who adopt servant leadership behaviour can reduce employee turnover directly and through the positive work environment they create. SMEs leaders must not only be servant leaders but must ensure that the entire organisation is managed by servant leaders. They achieve this through recruitment and promotion process. Originality/value Past studies in Nigeria were in the area of government intervention and the effects of turnover on the productivity of SMEs. This appears to be the only paper that studied the effects of leadership on employee turnover in SMEs in Nigeria. This study advances research by studying the effect of servant leadership and the work environment created by leaders on employee turnover. Thus, the study advances past studies by suggesting possible ways to reduce employee turnover and enhancing the needed productivity of SMEs in Nigeria.