¿Es posible dar un trato más humanizado en banca hoy en día? El rol del liderazgo compasivo

Alma Rodríguez Sánchez; Andrés Salas Vallina

doi:10.51302/rtss.2025.22197

Authors

Alma Rodríguez Sánchez Associate Professor of Business Organization. University Jaume I (Castelló, Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3131-7612
Andrés Salas Vallina Associate Professor of Business Organization. University of València (Spain) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0129-7013

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51302/rtss.2025.22197

Keywords:

middle management, banking sector, vulnerable customer, compassionate leadership, people management, wellbeing at workplace, human resources management practices

Abstract

This study delves into a relevant topic: compassionate leadership, a concept gaining momentum in the field of personnel management. Although much progress has been made in understanding its origins and effects, there is still exploration needed on how compassion affects leaders' behavior when they face extreme pressures. To shed light on this aspect, we examine the reality of three cases, three banks operating under different logics (commercial banks, saving banks and credit cooperatives). We focus on bank branch managers, as middle managers, and observe how they deal with the paradoxical phenomenon of integrating their human nature with the simultaneous need to achieve aggressive goals. The results from interviews (N=11) with branch managers, employees, and customers suggest that the logic of savings banks and credit cooperatives, along with specific human elements, is associated with a healthier environment for developing compassionate behaviors compared to commercial banks. We find coherence in linking the institutional message of focusing on personalized customer treatment and the compassionate actions of middle management towards customers and subordinates. This study proposes both theoretical and practical suggestions at the personnel management level to humanize the darker side of banking for both employees and customers. The study findings are original as they provide additional evidence of the link between business logics and compassionate leadership of middle managers and their impact on employees and customers.

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Author Biographies

Alma Rodríguez Sánchez, Associate Professor of Business Organization. University Jaume I (Castelló, Spain)

Doctora en Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones por la Universitat Jaume I
y Máster en Dirección de Recursos Humanos con estancias de investigación y docencia en universidades europeas, como Utrecht, Helsinki y Roma. Sus publicaciones incluyen revistas como Work & Stress y Human Relations. Su investigación se centra en el bienestar laboral, resiliencia, compasión y engagement. Colabora con expertos nacionales e internacionales en investigaciones y en intervenciones organizacionales. Combina su labor investigadora con la impartición de cursos, charlas y talleres en organizaciones públicas y privadas para mejorar el bienestar organizacional. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3131-7612

Andrés Salas Vallina, Associate Professor of Business Organization. University of València (Spain)

Licenciado en Economía, Máster en Business Strategy, Máster en Dirección de Recursos Humanos y Doctor en Dirección de Empresas, es profesor titular en la Universidad de Valencia con 10 años de experiencia en docencia, investigación y consultoría de Recursos Humanos. Ha liderado proyectos de coaching ejecutivo, valoración de puestos y planes de desarrollo. Dirige el Máster en Dirección de Recursos Humanos de la Universidad de Valencia y la investigación en la Asociación Científica de Economía y Dirección de la Empresa. Ha publicado artículos científicos sobre liderazgo y prácticas de recursos humanos y colabora con asociaciones científicas internacionales. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0129-7013

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