Investigating the effect of Spiritual Leadership on Participation in Religious Tourism Events with the mediation of Servant Behavior and the moderation of Demographic Characteristics of Servants

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Elham Kasraee ¹

Azar Kaffashpoor ²

Mohammad Sadegh Akbari Nooghabi ¹

Ali Moeenfard ³

¹ Master of Business Management, Marketing major, Department of Management, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Professor, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³ Master of Financial Management majoring in Financial Engineering and Risk Management, Department of Financial Management, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/tmj.2025.93059.1710

Abstract

The presence of over 20 million annual pilgrims at the Razavi Holy Shrine underscores the necessity of understanding the behavioral mechanisms of its servants. This research, which focuses on the "Naeem Rezvan" unit, seeks to elucidate how the "Spiritual Leadership" of managers, through "Servant Behavior," enhances the "Participation in Religious Tourism Events" among the servants. The study is applied in nature concerning its objectives and descriptive-analytical in methodology. The statistical population comprised 190 active female servants, from which 123 were selected through simple random sampling. Data were gathered utilizing three standardized questionnaires. The reliability of the instruments was verified using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, while construct validity was established through confirmatory factor analysis. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that Spiritual Leadership directly fortifies Servant Behavior and Participation in Religious Events. Furthermore, Servant Behavior significantly contributes to increased Participation. Notably, the indirect effect of Spiritual Leadership on Participation, mediated by Servant Behavior, was found to be significant. However, demographic characteristics did not exhibit a significant moderating effect. The findings suggest that enhancing the dimensions of inspirational vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love within the leadership style may bolster the servant spirit and the level of active participation among the servants. Consequently, it is recommended that psychological empowerment programs and training in empathy skills be prioritized for shrine managers. Additionally, criteria regarding Servant Behavior should be integrated into the performance evaluation of the servants.

Keywords

Spiritual Leadership

Participation in Religious Tourism Events

Servant Behavior

Demographic Characteristics

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