Insights on practicing of servant leadership in the events sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the degree to which leaders in the events sector are perceived as servant leaders and the level of employee satisfaction, using evidence from three event types: sport events, cultural events, and personal events.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methods approach was used to gather the data. In total, 245 surveys were completed from three different event types. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.FindingsThe results revealed that servant leadership behaviors vary across event types, gender, and age groups. Similarly, extrinsic job satisfaction and intrinsic job satisfaction were different across event types, gender, and age groups. Additionally, further details have been reported in the results.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides an insight on practising of servant leadership in the three different events, using evidence from the Middle East by using quantitative methods approach. While this is an appropriate method, in-depth interviews are needed to understand the mentality of the top management in the events sector in the Middle East.Originality/valueIt advances leadership research in the events sector that links servant leadership and employee satisfaction.