General manager servant leadership and firm adaptive capacity: The heterogeneous effect of social capital in family versus non-family firms

• Published in: International journal of hospitality management 2024-04, Vol.118, p.103690, Article 103690
• Main Authors: Gutierrez-Broncano, Santiago, Linuesa-Langreo, Jorge, Ruiz-Palomino, Pablo, Yánez-Araque, Benito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptive capacity; Family firms; General manager servant leadership; Social capital; Socioemotional wealth
• ISSN: 0278-4319; 1873-4693
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103690

We examine the impact of general manager servant leadership on the adaptive capacity of firms through its anticipated positive effect on internal and external social capital. These relationships were studied in both family firms (FFs) and non-family firms (NFFs), where the relative emphasis on socioemotional wealth was expected to play a moderating role. Data from 176 hotels in Spain revealed that general manager servant leadership was a positive for firm-level AC, mediated especially by internal social capital. Positive ties between general manager servant leadership and both internal and external capital were stronger in FFs than in NFFs. Our findings add to the servant leadership literature, which is dominated by individual and group-level research and broaden the mounting evidence that general manager servant leadership is a positive for firm-level outcomes. •A direct positive effect exits between general manager servant leadership and firm adaptive capacity.•Social capital mediates the relationship between general manager servant leadership and adaptive capacity.•The relationship between general manager servant leadership and social capital is stronger in family firms.•The tie between internal social capital and firm adaptive capacity is weaker in family firms than in non-family firms.