Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise the concept of servant leadership from a business administration (management) point-of-view.

Design/methodology/approach – A review of scholarly works on servant-leadership is presented.

Findings – A generally accepted definition of servant-leadership is not available. There are no generally accepted instruments for measuring servant-leadership. It is unclear whether some leaders are servant-leaders while others are not, and whether leaders can be servant-leaders to different degrees. The positive effects of servant-leadership on organisational outcomes, a consideration highly relevant to management, have not been empirically established. Some studies have shown negative effects of servant-leadership on organisational effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications – This literature review contains no empirical data.

Practical implications – The argument that servant-leaders should be in charge of private companies and public organisations appears to be contrary to theoretical and empirical considerations. Servant-leaders, whose concerns are primarily focused on subordinates rather than customers (or citizens), are hardly able to attain organisational goals.

Originality/value – The paper offers critical comments on the conceptual and empirically usefulness of servant-leadership when applied to business enterprises and public agencies.