Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this review is to create a conceptual basis for promoting value-based leadership in public universities; the aim of the review is also to identify the research gap with regard to implications for value-based leadership practice and future research. This review addresses the following questions: Why is value-based leadership now in the university context; what is value-based leadership; what is the rebirth of value integration in leadership; and what is the genesis of value-based leadership as an emerging theory.
Methodology/approach – This is a systematic review of academic publications, articles, empirical studies and current books on value-based leadership using four databases, namely, Research Gate, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Scopus. In addition, the previous three databases, Academia, were used in rare cases. The review process involves three processes: searching for relevant literature on the phenomenon of interest, reviewing and consulting the literature, and continuing to create a report pool. A two-step screening approach was utilized. The approach was descriptive in nature, and the events were presented methodologically in a narrative manner and followed a qualitative approach. We ensure that the selected articles fit the selected context and contain empirical research (i.e., primary or secondary). Additionally, the study's organization and/or structure are sought.
Findings – The core values of organizations aid in adapting to and responding to the complexity of the modern environment. In addition, organizations instill core values in leadership to achieve overall organizational excellence, and more organizations that prioritize values are more resilient. However, more research is needed on the role of values in institutionalization processes since values are central to the value-based leadership model. Surprisingly, the source of values, their universality, and the possibility of value conflicts are not fully explored.
Originality/value – This paper provides a brief overview of the limited literature on the conceptualization/perception of value-based leadership and its implications for higher education.