The intellectual structure and evolution of servant leadership research in educational organizations: a SciMAT-based bibliometric review, 1998–2025

Purpose This study analyses the thematic evolution of servant leadership research in educational organizations between 1998 and 2025. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in a bibliometric research design, the study provides a science-mapping analysis of the research field using SciMAT software, which enables period-based, comparative analyses within and across periods. The analysis included 175 articles retrieved from WoS and Scopus databases, across three periods: Period 1 (1998–2019), Period 2 (2020–2022), and Period 3 (2023–2025). Findings The findings indicate that servant leadership research has undergone an analytical shift over time, moving from approaches centered on individual leadership attributes toward organizational and, to a certain extent, systemic outcomes. In its early development, servant leadership focused on individual well-being, engagement, and the leader's psychological or motivational resources. More recently, servant leadership has included broader, multi-level themes, such as organizational justice, school culture, organizational trust, organizational performance and learning outcomes. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the literature by revealing the themes that have been significant in the growth of research about servant leadership across different periods. The analysis provides deeper insights into the conceptual development of servant leadership by identifying not only the prominent themes but also the relevant sub-themes underlying their development. In particular, the comparative, period-based analysis provides a more vivid delineation of how intellectual trends in the field evolved.