A 5C model of responsible service leadership: learning from living systems to play the infinite game
ISSN: 1757-5818
Article publication date: 27 June 2024
Issue publication date: 17 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers a new vision of responsible service leadership for service organizations nested in economic, societal and environmental contexts across time to foster collective flourishing.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the call for novel perspectives that recognize service as a game among (vs between) people in service ecosystems, we build on service leadership theory to integrate insights from infinite (vs finite) games and biomimicry practices to propose a holistic model for responsible service leadership.
Findings
We extend the 3C (competence, character and care) model of service leadership (Shek et al., 2021) adding context and chronos as essential pillars of responsible service leadership in nested ecosystems. We offer new interpretations and applications of the 3Cs through the lens of context and chronos.
Research limitations/implications
This paper furthers the emerging conversation about unique leadership approaches for service, linking existing service leadership theories with holistic views of service ecosystems and enabling a shift from decontextualized models of leadership to a more inclusive approach.
Practical implications
We propose that responsible service leadership can inspire new approaches to leadership development within organizations and in business education (e.g. competencies, settings) and a reconsideration of organizational structures (e.g. culture, selection and incentive design).
Social implications
The proposed 5C model revisits foundational assumptions of responsibility in service leadership, integrating actors across and within service ecosystems, society at large and the environment in the present and future.
Originality/value
This paper offers a conceptual framework – the 5Cs model of responsible service leadership – aimed at reimagining service leadership.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge Fordham University’s Responsible Business Thought Leadership conference, where the ideas central to this paper were conceptualized, and thank its organizers, Yulia Komarova and Sertan Kabadayi, for their unwavering support of this effort. We also thank Greer Jason for her contributions to earlier versions of this project. We appreciate the artistic skill of Martin Dominguez, Instructor of Art and Design, SUNY Orange, for his design of the figures in the manuscript. We are grateful to Shahak Livne-Tarandach for his expert formatting of the manuscript. Reut Livne-Tarandach and Joan Ball contributed equally to this manuscript.
Citation
Livne-Tarandach, R., Ball, J., Arora, P., Yemiscigil, A. and Kandampully, J. (2024), "A 5C model of responsible service leadership: learning from living systems to play the infinite game", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 525-546. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2023-0506
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited