The Relationship of Leadership Style to Education Attainment and Leadership Training of Retail Managers in Southwest Ohio

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THE RELATIONSHIP OF LEADERSHIP STYLE TO EDUCATION ATTAINMENT AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING OF RETAIL MANAGERS IN SOUTHWEST OHIO

David Jackson

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

Franklin University

ABSTRACT

This study employed a quantitative research design utilizing a survey instrument to gather data related to the leadership style of leaders in the retail industry. The research evaluated the general concepts of the transformational leadership style, which includes personality and motivational concepts (Williams, Raffo, & Clark, 2018). This study utilized the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Form 5X), or the MLQ 5X, developed and validated by Bruce Avolio and Bernard Bass and widely accepted as the standard instrument to measure the level of transformational leadership style applied (Northouse,

2019). From the questionnaire, the study evaluated the relationship between the education level and the level of transformational leadership style implemented. The study also evaluated the relationship between organizational provided leadership training and the use of these leadership styles as well as a combination of the two variables. The survey was accessible online and provided anonymity to the participants. The population and sampling were from US-based retail store managers from the malls in the

Southwestern Ohio area. This sample was random and based on the proximity to the primary location of the researcher. The data was statistically analyzed using regression analysis and multivariate regression analysis to determine the probability (p-value) compared to an alpha of 0.05. The coefficient of determination (r2) was used to determine the effect the independent variables (IV) have on the dependent variable (DV).

An evaluation of the relationship when the variables are combined will look at the p- value of the F statistic to determine if the relationship is significant. The results indicated that each IV, as well as the combination of both IVs, had a statistically significant relationship to the DV.

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DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my loving wife, Jodi Jackson, whose patience, support, encouragement, and love allowed me the time and resources to take this doctoral journey. I am blessed to have such a devoted spouse that worked with me to ensure we were both able to maintain our personal, professional, and academic priorities.

I hope to provide her with the same support as she continues her academic journey; we truly have a great partnership.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my extreme gratitude to my doctoral committee for all of the support, input, and feedback they provided as I worked through this doctoral journey.

I am incredibly appreciative for all of the support provided by Dr. Ken Knox, my chair, and mentor. His encouragement, guidance, patience, and support kept me going when I was not sure I would continue. He was a strong presence for me and 'talked me off the ledge' on more than one occasion.

To Dr. Charles Fenner, my committee member and driving force for this study, thank you for helping to refine this study and how it was presented in this dissertation.

Your feedback, suggestions, and recommendations were critical for this study's success, and I learned more about my topic and the dissertation process through my interaction with you. I would also like to thank Dr. Beverly Smith, my final committee member, for being supportive and insightful throughout this process to help create a better flow of information.

I would also like to thank Dr. Jennifer Harris for his selfless support and assistance with the various statistical applications required to complete this study's analysis and hypotheses testing. Dr. Harris helped to research and resolve issues and was available to me as an invaluable resource for this study even though she was not an official member of my committee. I would also like to thank the other Franklin students that stayed in contact with me through this process. Finally, I would like to thank my mother and apologize that I was not as focused when I began college after high school. It took a while, and I thank you for being there for me as much as you could.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents ...... Page

Abstract ...... …iii

Dedication...... …iv

Acknowledgment ...... …v

List of Appendices ...... x

List of Tables ...... xi

Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1

Background of the Problem ...... 2

Problem Statement ...... 4

Purpose of the Study ...... 5

Population and Sample ...... 7

Significance of the Study ...... 7

Nature of the Study ...... 8

Research Questions/Hypotheses ...... 10

Questions ...... 10

Hypotheses ...... 11

Theoretical Framework ...... 12

Definition of Terms ...... 16

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations ...... 17

Assumptions ...... 17

Limitations ...... 18

Delimitations ...... 19

Chapter Summary ...... 19

Chapter 2 Literature Review ....….…………………………………….…………….…21

Title Searches and Documentation ...... ……21

Leadership Research and Articles ...... 22

Early Theories ...... 22

Transformational Leadership ...... 27

Transactional Leadership...... 31

Laissez-Faire Leadership ...... 33

Theoretical Framework...... 36

Germinal Literature Studies ...... 37

Literature Gap ...... 42

Retail Leadership Studies ...... 42

Leadership Style and Education...... 47

Conclusions ...... 52

Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………53

Chapter 3 Research and Methodology………………………………….………….…...55

Research Method and Design Appropriateness ...... 56

Research Design Literature...... 59

Research Questions/Hypotheses ...... 64

Question ...... 64

Hypotheses ...... 65

Population and Sample ...... 66

Population ...... 66

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Sample Size ...... 67

Sample Type ...... 67

Informed Consent and Confidentiality ...... 68

Instrumentation ...... 69

Validity and Reliability ...... 70

Data Collection ...... 71

Data Analysis ...... 71

Summary ...... 72

Chapter 4: Analysis and Results………………………………………………...... 74

Population Sample ...... 74

Research Method and Design ...... 75

Methodology Approach ...... 75

Instrument ...... 76

Research Question and Hypotheses ...... 77

Data Collection ...... 79

Data Analysis ...... 79

Outcome of Analysis Findings ...... 80

Analysis Summation ...... 85

Chapter 5: Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations...... 87

Introduction ...... 87

Discussion of Results and Findings ...... 88

Summation of Key Findings ...... 94

Limitations of Results and Finding ...... 94

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Recommendations for Future Research ...... 96

Implications for Practice ...... 97

Summary ...... 98

References ...... 100

Appendices

Appendix A: Informed Consent Form ...... 131

Appendix B: MLQ 5X Questionnaire ...... 132

Appendix C: Cronbach Alpha for All MLQ Categories ...... 136

Appendix D: Histogram for Education Level ...... 137

Appendix E: Histogram for Amount of Leadership Training ...... 137

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Sample Size Formula ...... 7

Table 2: Levels of Education ...... 16

Table 3: Demographics ...... 76

Table 3.1: Age ...... 76

Table 3.2: Industry Experience ...... 77

Table 3.3: Industry Management Experience ...... 77

Table 3.4: Education Level ...... 77

Table 3.5: Average Annual Leadership Training ...... 77

Table 4: Cronbach Alpha (raw) ...... 80

Table 5: Skewness and Kurtosis of the Dependent Variable ...... 81

Table 6: Skewness and Kurtosis of the Independent Variable (education) ...... 81

Table 7: Skewness and Kurtosis of the Independent Variable (training) ...... 86

Table 8: P-value, Intercept , Slope (education)...... 82

Table 9: Coefficient of Determination (education) ...... 82

Table 10: P-value, Intercept , Slope (training) ...... 83

Table 11: Coefficient of Determination (training) ...... 83

Table 12: P-value, Intercept , Slope (education/training) ...... 84

Table 13: Coefficient of Determination (education/training) ...... 85

Chapter 1

Introduction

Blasingame (2015) discussed how organizations look for various methods of gaining an advantage in their industry and their market. This advantage can come in the form of cost savings, better quality products, improved lead time, enhanced customer service compared to competitors, and employee development. One area, as posited by Clark (2017), which can have a dramatic effect on an organization and enhance or hinder the advantages attained, is the leadership within the organization and the effectiveness with which the leaders oversee their teams. Leading teams can include developing, engaging, and interacting with subordinates in order to increase productivity and to improve efficiencies; all of which can provide the organization the desired advantages (Mittal & Dhar, 2015). The style with which a leader oversees their subordinates can take on many different representations based on the attitude and personality of the leader as well as the type of subordinates, work environment, and tasks involved (McGregor, 1960; Bass & Riggio, 2006; Mittal & Dhar, 2015).

This research evaluated retail store managers to determine if there is a statistically significant relationship to the leadership style utilized, specifically transformational leadership and the level of education they hold, or the amount of training provided by the organization.

Northouse (2019) describes transformational leadership as a “process that changes and transforms people” (p. 163), increasing, among other facets, the level of “morality” (p. 164) in both the leader and the subordinate. Although related to the charismatic leadership style, it is

“concerned with improving” (p. 169) the followers’ performance by including those charismatic traits in the overall transformational leadership style.

The research will begin with a review of the seminal work in the field of leadership theories and how it has evolved over time and then identify some generally associated concepts.

In addition to a review of leadership style and the evolution of various theories, this research will review any previous research that may focus on a similar topic.

The research question and central hypotheses established for this quantitative research will be presented while looking at the significance it will have in the area of leadership style within a sampling of the retail industry. Understanding the relationship between a leader’s style and the effectiveness of this style in their industry can allow organizations to select the most viable candidate for their needs (Asrar-ul-Haq & Kuchinke, 2016). With different leadership theories being effective based on the organization’s mission, vision, and goals, determining a candidate that is more inclined to institute the style considered to be the most effective can provide a significant advantage (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969; Hersey, 1985; Asrar-ul-Haq &

Kuchinke, 2016).

Background of the Problem

A survey presented in the Society for Human Resource Management (2016) stated that the average cost of a new hire for organizations was over $4,000 and took, on average, more than

40 days to complete. According to an article by Aruna and Anitha (2015), retaining qualified employees can be a challenge for organizations as they attempt to identify qualified leaders to help to manage the day to day functions and to eliminate the challenges that decrease their profitability. Lush (2019) discusses the different concepts of being a leader versus being a manager. A leader is proactive and looks to gain the trust of followers based on their actions and the feelings that the followers have for them both professionally and personally. A manager provides direction for completing tasks and duties and is more focused on the processes and

3 achieving metrics versus understanding the social and psychological needs of a follower.

Managers have employees that work for them while an effective leader has employees that follow them. “Leaders build relationships, managers build systems and processes” (p. 21) while overseeing a team within an organization.

Ro and Lee (2017) listed job satisfaction, or the lack of job satisfaction, as a prime factor for employees leaving an organization. A study by Çakmak, Bayır, and Karadağ (2015) states that “job satisfaction has a direct relationship” (p. 30) to employee turnover and an effective leader can improve productivity, efficiencies, help to lower costs, reduce errors, and minimize employee turnover due to job dissatisfaction. Ro and Lee (2017) surmise that the selection of an effective leader that can improve employee job satisfaction can vary based on the parameters or goals established by an organization. Çakmak, Bayır, and Karadağ (2015) also offered that the leadership style utilized can have a significant impact on creating sufficient satisfaction for the employees.

De Haan (2016) presented a study that reviewed hundreds of publications to determine a consensus on the definition of leadership to arrive at a common theme that depicted leadership as a leader and follower situation in which the leader has the power, in some form, to influence actions to achieve a specified result. Leadership can be through a formal leader designation or an informal situation, but it does not denote a level of competency, integrity, honesty, and effectiveness as a requirement for attaining the title of a leader (de Haan, 2016).

Studies and articles have often looked at different leadership styles and what was most effective in certain situations as well as expounding on previous theories (Lord, Gatti, & Chui,

2016; Mejia, 2017;). McGregor (1960) expounded on Maslow’s (1943) concepts by applying them to a more psychological perspective related to superior and subordinate relationships

(Lawter, Kopelman, & Prottas, 2015, McMahon, 2011). Studies, however, have not attempted to determine a statistically significant relationship between the education level that an individual may possess or the training they are provided and their inclination to utilizing a transformational leadership style. Again, variations in the work setting and the type of leadership considered to be the most effective could depend on the type of employees, the type of industry, or the type of executive leadership within an organization (Martin, 2016).

An organization that recognizes the advantages of specific leadership styles would benefit by having the ability to identify the characteristic or combination of characteristics in a candidate that would indicate a stronger inclination to utilize this desired style (Asrar-ul-Haq &

Kuchinke, 2016). As the concepts of leadership have changed from an autocratic (Chukwusa,

2018), task-driven mindset to the more modern approach of understanding the physiological and psychological needs of the employees, the expectations of a leader have changed dramatically over the years (Chukwusa, 2018; Rybnicek, Bergner, & Gutschelhofer, 2019; Oved, 2017; Proto,

2016; Pupavac, 2015). The issue has become how to ascertain if an individual is qualified to lead an organization’s team in the manner the organization expects and requires.

Problem Statement

The problem to be studied is whether increased formal education or the amount of leadership training provided can aid managers in leading employees appropriately to reduce employee turnover and increase job satisfaction. Empirical research and anecdotal data have identified employee turnover as a direct result of ineffective leadership. This is also true of the implementation of an inappropriate leadership style for the followers or situations in which they are placed (Ogunlana, 2011; Naseer, et al., 2017; Kysilka & Csaba, 2013). The amount of time and money that organizations spend in seeking out, hiring, and training leaders and followers

5 continue to be a significant concern (“SHRM Survey Finds Average Cost-per-Hire,” 2016).

Ineffective leadership also results in poor performance and reduced job satisfaction among followers (Fiaz, Qin, Ikram, & Saqib, 2017). Turnover and low job satisfaction among leaders is also a result as they are not best suited to implement or knowledgeable of the appropriate leadership style most effective for leading a team (Fiaz, Qin, Ikram, & Saqib, 2017).

Organizations cannot consistently identify qualified leader candidates to lead their respective teams effectively. This study will determine if organizations can utilize the education level of a candidate or the amount of training provided as an indicator that they will be effective when leading their team and subsequently decrease turnover and improve job satisfaction among followers. More specifically, this study will determine the relationship of education and training to the transformational leadership style assuming this to be considered by the organizations as the most effective style (Northouse, 2019; Li, 2019; Bass & Riggio, 2006). Northouse (2019) states that leadership is an essential component within organizations with a plethora of studies evaluating concepts and effectiveness. As discussed by Schein and Schein (2019), an organization can benefit and gain an advantage over competitors by hiring effective leaders. The problem is that the success rate for hiring and retaining a qualified leader is low across the entire business environment (Cloutier, Felusiak, Hill, & Pemberton-Jones, 2015). In addition to hiring and retention, the problem is compounded by the difficulty for organizations in determining if a candidate will make a good leader and embody the leadership style deemed the most effective for the work environment (Fiaz, Qin, Ikram, & Saqib, 2017).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to determine if the transformational leadership style is prevalent when leading a group of retail employees within a mall setting in the Southwest Ohio

6 region and if it could be predicted based on certain characteristics. The study focused on the education level of retail store managers from this population as well as the amount of organizational training provided and how these factors correlated to the level of transformational leadership utilized. The analysis determined whether a statistically significant relationship exists between a manager’s level of transformational leadership concepts applied and the manager’s level of education or amount of organizational provided training. Analysis also looked at the relationship when the two IVs are combined. This research utilized the MLQ 5X questionnaire in a quantitative research design method and a survey tool that measuring the level of transformational leadership concepts applied by an individual leader (Bass & Avolio, 1995).

The MLQ 5X or Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire is a psychological inventory of 36 different items related to leadership style and nine items related to leadership outcomes (Bass &

Avolio, 1995). The questionnaire was utilized to determine the level of transformational, leadership style being used by current retail store managers. (Northouse, 2019). The amount of organizational provided leadership training data was gathered additionally and evaluated to determine if there is a relationship to the level of transformational leadership style utilized as well.

This research was conducted in the Dayton, Ohio area at three local malls.

Supplementary demographic information was gathered related to age, industry experience, amount of time as a retail worker and manager, education level, and amount of organizational provided leadership training. The goal was to obtain sufficient data to conduct a thorough statistical analysis of the selected factors. Future research may adjust the specific focus or factors evaluated for this type of population or a different homogeneous population regarding the leadership style.

Population and Sample

The study was conducted on the population of retail store managers from the Fairfield

Commons, Dayton, and The Greene malls. The malls’ websites offer between 80 and 150 retail outlets from which individuals can choose to shop, and the sampling was randomized from this population. The expectation for the response rate, based on the ease of interaction between the researcher and the potential respondents, was to meet the typical response rate of 20 – 30% and avoid any non-response bias for the study (Creswell, 2014; Schoemann, Boulton, & Short, 2017).

Utilizing the formula represented in table 1, the preferred sample size for this study was between

40 – 50 participants but the criteria and number of willing participants obtained made that challenging.

Table 1 Formula to Determine Sample Size

Sample Size = [z2 * p(1-p)/e2] / 1 + [z2 * p(1-p)/e2N

N = population size e = Margin of error (% in decimal form) z = z-score is the number of standard deviations a given proportion is away from the mean

Ultimately, the study was able to secure 31 respondents and meet the conditions for normality based on the central limit theorem.

Significance of the Study

As studies continue to evaluate leadership methods used within organizations, the results of this study sought to provide support for an organization’s ability to identify potential leaders that would utilize the desired leadership style. In the case of this research, the evaluation focused on the education level possessed by a population of retail store managers and the amount of

8 training provided to the leaders by the organization as the variables to determine the relationship to the use of the transformational leadership style. This study established a method for organizations to determine the propensity of an individual to utilize the leadership style that may be considered more appropriate for a specific industry, workforce, or job duties.

The results of this study will contribute to other research involving leadership styles and the level of utilization of leadership styles involved in retail store management related to the education level of the leader and the amount of organization provided training in the retail store management arena. The overall results will contribute to the determination of the relationship of the education level and the amount of training provided to a leader to their use of a transformational leadership approach to managing people and processes in the retail industry as a store manager. The study will also expound on the understanding of the transformational leadership style and how this style can be utilized to develop subordinates that rely on sales to determine the success of their organization.

Nature of the Study

The nature of this study was to utilize a quantitative research design to gather data via a self-assessing survey from respondents in the retail industry that hold a store management position. The data was evaluated to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between education level or leadership training and the utilization of the transformational leadership techniques to address the need for organizations to understand better how they can select the appropriate individual to lead their organizations utilizing these techniques.

A quantitative research design is typically used to test a hypothesis or hypotheses through objective data that is collected from a specific sampling of a population (Creswell, 2014). The benefit of a quantitative design is that they are valid and reliable based on the data collected and

9 can be generalized to a larger population (Creswell, 2014; Rahman, 2017). A quantitative research design for this study was appropriate since the goal is to quantify the relationship between two variables. Rahman (2017) states that a quantitative design uses “deductive logic”

(p. 105) to gain knowledge of the “meaning of events.” (p. 106).

Compared to a qualitative design, this research benefited from the quantitative design as the researcher attempted to create, not only a valid and reliable study, but one that was repeatable either with similar parameters and variables as well as with alternative variables, demographics, or industries. A qualitative design would leave the data open to the interpretations of the researcher or additional reviewers based on opinion and personal understanding and require additional time and resources to do interviews or arrange focus groups while the quantitative design seeks to eliminate the bias of interpretation (Creswell, 2014; Rahman, 2017). A mixed- method design would offer the benefits of both the quantitative and qualitative designs but also the detractors of the qualitative design (Creswell, 2014). The survey instrument to gather the data, the MLQ 5X, utilized subjective material but created a path to quantify the responses through a Likert scale to establish a more objective review of the level of transformational leadership style present (Creswell, 2014; Rahman, 2017; Northouse, 2019).

The research goal was to create a quantifiable measurement of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The results of this research would eliminate the need for organizations to rely solely on the interpretation of responses from interviews with potential leadership candidates. If the correlation shows a positive relationship between the two variables based on the survey responses, then an organization could theoretically evaluate a pool of candidates using these parameters to determine which one would be the strongest (Rahman,

2017).

Although the study had the potential for response bias, the nature of the study was not to determine the respondents’ leadership style, but the relationship between education and leadership styled as measured by the MLQ 5X. It is the expectation that from the response data, the research would be able to determine what characteristic or variable indicates an inclination to use transformational leadership techniques. The premise for the research can be adjusted based on the leadership style evaluated.

Research Question and Hypothesis

Questions

The problem studied was whether increased formal education or training can aid managers in leading employees appropriately to reduce employee turnover and increase job satisfaction. Although there is no guarantee that the style utilized by a leader will be entirely effective in all situations, there are advocates that support the benefits attained from the transformational leadership style (Burns, 1978; Bass & Riggio, 2006; Anderson, 2017; Anderson

& Sun, 2017; Cote, 2017; Fotsch & Case, 2017; Northouse, 2019). This research sought to determine if the education level variable or organizational provided leadership training correlated to the level of transformational leadership style utilized. From this, the research answered three different questions. The first question was:

RQ1: What is the relationship between leadership style and the education level of a retail manager?

Additional information was gathered to evaluate the aspect of organizationally provided leadership training and if there was a statistically significant relationship to the level of transformational leadership style. This second question was:

RQ2: What is the relationship between leadership style and the amount of organizational provided leadership training of a retail manager?

This study also looked at the combination of the two IVs to evaluate how this combination correlated to the level of leadership style utilized. The third question was:

RQ3: What is the relationship between leadership style and the education level coupled with the amount of organizational provided leadership training of a retail manager?

Hypotheses

The first null and alternative hypothesis looked at the relationship between the independent variable (IV) or the leader’s education level and the dependent variable (DV) or the level of the transformational leadership style utilized by the designated sample population of retail store managers. The second hypothesis had the amount of leadership training provided by the organization to the leader as the IV. Each IV was evaluated to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship to the DV. The third hypothesis looked at the correlation to the combination of the education level and the amount of training to the level of transformational leadership applied The level of education and the measurement of the amount of leadership training is defined on page 18 as part of the definition of terms used for this study. Based on two research questions (RQ), the following hypotheses were evaluated in this study.

RQ1: What is the relationship between the level of transformational leadership style utilized and the education level of a retail manager? Hypothesis evaluated was:

H1o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H1a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

RQ2: What is the relationship between the level of transformational style utilized and the amount of organizational provided leadership training of a retail manager? Hypothesis to be evaluated was:

H2o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H2a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

RQ3: What is the relationship between leadership style and the education level coupled with the amount of organizational provided leadership training of a retail manager? The hypothesis to be evaluated was:

H3o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H3a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

Theoretical Framework

Leadership has taken many definitions over the years and has evolved in the business environment continually based on social and cultural changes (Luster, 2017). According to

Boerma, Coyle, Dietrich, Dintzner, Drayton, Early II, Edginton, Horlen, Kirkwood, Lin, Rager,

Shah-Manek, Welch, and Williams (2017) everyone has a different definition of leadership based on the findings presented in their article evaluating the concept of a leader being born or developed. The article presented by Boerma, et al. (2017) looked at various studies that attempted to determine if there was a genetic predisposition to an individual being a successful leader. Studies of twins suggested that there was support for the thought that successful leaders

13 may be a result of an innate ability that is coded in their genes. The article also provided an argument against this concept and that environmental factors may have a more significant impact on an individual’s leadership skills.

Luster (2017) posits that a leader must have the ability to inspire followers and the fortitude to continue after some type of failure as a result of their decisions. Bornman (2019) conducted a study of male and female students through a questionnaire to evaluate the link to gender and specific leadership traits. The studied included Generation Z students in South

Africa and identified transformational leadership traits preferred over transactional and, what would be considered, female traits over those that would typically be considered masculine. The study provided support for the benefits of both the transformational leadership style as well as those traits predominantly displayed by females.

Brooks and Chapman (2018) looked at leadership not as a trait with which an individual is born or can be identified based on their gender, physical size, or race but as something that can be developed by everyone. The article reviewed the concept that the experiences and circumstances a person endures helps to develop them personally and their leadership skills.

These experiences affect how an individual applies leadership in different scenarios and how they understand the leadership styles that they may apply. The article focused on the concept of the trait theory of leadership but illustrates that the environmental and learning aspect of their development can have a significant effect on their perception of what is considered a good leader theorizing that “leadership is learned” (p. 74).

From the past utilization of autocratic leadership styles to more social and relational types of leadership, leadership has evolved to a more psychological schema in which a leader must be aware of how their behaviors and perceptions affect their followers (Zhang & Yao, 2019). The

14 new construct to leadership is not merely looking at ways to increase productivity but ways to engage and develop employees so that they have a desire to do well and to perform at a high level. Aycan and Shelia (2019) discussed how becoming a leader is a choice an individual makes and that when they make the decision based on some inner motivation, they seek out training and other experiences that will enhance their skills.

Northouse (2019) reviewed the changes with the description of leadership throughout the years from the emphasis on “control and power” (p. 2) to the thought that personality can identify a leader. The leadership concept then moved to a person that influenced others in some fashion to achieve certain goals and on to the concept that they possessed the ability to get followers to do what is wanted. The current method now considers leadership the method of using various means to engage, inspire, and develop followers and allow them to contribute to the processes and improvements involved with the tasks they are assigned to complete

(Northouse, 2019). Northouse (2019) went on to describe leadership as a “combination of special traits and characteristics that some individuals possess,” (p. 5) which separates them from others. From this review of leadership concepts through the years, Northouse (2019) would define leadership as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 5) as he began a review of the current common leadership theories.

The evolution of leadership included the concepts of transformational, transactional, and laissez- faire styles, each with varying degrees of effectiveness and support.

This leadership evolution included Bass revisiting the work of Burns (1978) on transformational leadership. Northouse (2019) stated that Bass was able to develop a more advanced version of transformational leadership based on the previous works presented by giving more attention to followers’ needs versus those of the leader. The theory’s concept begins

15 with the leader’s behavior and the example they present to the followers to create an environment of autonomy and inspiration through a “shared vision” (Anderson, 2017; p. 6). Anthony (2017) discusses how a transformational leader takes on a coach-like role and establishes clear expectations by setting the example. The leader will also adjust to “provide individualized support” (p. 931) to gain support for the approach.

Transactional leadership is not concerned as much with the social and psychological aspect of the follower but is more focused on achieving desired results through reward and punishment for the followers (Saeed & Mughal, 2019). Shaaban and Shehata (2019) described transactional leaders’ interaction with followers as a method of “providing clarity about the required task and expectations for achievement” (p. 36) rather than a method of gaining an understanding of them from a personal or social perspective.

A laissez-faire approach to leadership involves more delegation of tasks and authority to the followers while the leader takes a more passive, hands-off approach. Donkor and Zhou

(2020) state that a laissez-faire leader “avoids making critical decisions and offers limited problem-solving guidance” (p. 31) to the followers. Yang (2015) posited that the success of any leadership style was contingent, to varying degrees, to the level of competency of the followers and how a leader’s behaviors are perceived. Yang (2015) also suggested that a laissez-faire leadership style, when coupled with competent followers, can lead to a “sense of autonomy and self-control” (p. 1256) that provides for a more productive working environment.

Based on these leadership styles and their benefits and drawbacks, the research attempted to determine the degree that transformational leadership is utilized among the sample population.

The research assumed that the retail clothing industry and the population selected would both prefer and benefit from the utilization of a specific style applied by the leaders. This would

16 make the identification of a candidate for a leadership position that possesses this inclination valuable to the organization and thus the research a benefit to organizations (Wong, Ngian, &

Chin, 2018; Roibu, Nica, & Hornoiu, 2019).

Definition of Terms

The terms used for this research study were relative to the application of the leader and follower business relationship with the demographics used in a typical manner for the US population. The methodology section will provide additional specifics and parameters for the terms defined as:

Leader – this will be designated as the store manager for one of the retail outlets that exist within the Fairfield Commons Mall in Beavercreek, Ohio in Greene County.

Follower – this will refer to the subordinates of the leaders.

Industry experience – this will refer to the amount of time in which the individual has worked in the retail industry.

Industry leadership experience – this will refer to the amount of time in which the individual has worked in retail in a management capacity (minimum of two years for this study)

Level of education – this will refer to the number of college credits and/or the level of degree achieved by the leader as well as any industry recognized certification earned; see table 2 for the education level categories

Table 2 Education Level Scale Utilized High School Diploma or Equivalent Industry Recognized Certification or Up to 60 College Credit Hours Between 61 and 120 College Credit hours Baccalaureate Degree Some Graduate Work Graduate Degree

Leadership training – this will refer to the amount of formal leadership training, such as affirmative action, micro-aggression training, etc., and informal training that will include ad hoc discussions with a superior related to performance or issues to be addressed, one-on-one meetings with the superior to review various expectations, and quarterly or annual performance evaluations

Leadership style – this will refer to the transformational concepts

Level of leadership application – this will refer to the level determined by the MLQ 5X scoring of the leader regarding transformational leadership style application.

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Assumptions

Methodological and theoretical assumptions, limitations, and delimitations were present in this research based on various factors and are presented for awareness purposes. For this research, the primary assumption was that a successful identification of the characteristic determined to correlate to a higher level of application of the transformational leadership concepts would be beneficial to the population involved. Also, the assumption was that organizations would prefer a leader that institutes a higher level of the transformational leadership style within the organization, and this style will benefit all stakeholders.

Another assumption was that the respondents were actually retail store managers in the

Southwestern Ohio area and will answer all questions on the survey honestly and not attempt to disguise any perceived inequities to have themselves appear to embrace this theory or concepts over any other. The anonymity provided by the survey, in addition to the fact that the research protocol does not consider one style more appropriate than another, should have helped to eliminate this response bias.

Limitations

Limitations to this study began with the self-assessment questionnaire as there was the potential for response bias if the respondents felt compelled to provide answers in a manner that they felt paints them in the best light versus how they actually were leading their respective teams. The geographical location of the population and sampling may have presented limitations when attempting to apply the research to other areas of the state, country, or region of the world depending on the social as well as current business culture. Additionally, the responses may have varied depending on the type of work environment present at the time of administering the survey. If a retail store was doing well financially, the need for leader intervention or the degree of this intervention could have varied. The executive leadership level may impact the type of leadership style utilized as well, depending on the executive’s leadership style and the expectation of the store managers. Limitations also included the fact that this research will predominantly include national chain stores and a limited number of local, smaller organizations.

Also, this study did not include gender as a moderator variable and was limited to retail store managers. There may also have been instances in which the store manager led their subordinates differently based on their experience and proficiencies to complete tasks at the time of the survey, and this aspect will change with time and task exposure.

Delimitations

The delimitations of the research began with the population of the retail store managers since this leader population and the style considered effective when utilized may vary significantly to other industries. Applying the research concepts to other industries or populations may require an adjustment in the relationship comparisons. Another delimitation was that the retail managers were from brick and mortar locations within a mall setting, and they

19 may have encountered different requirements and challenges based on the parameters and rules of the mall in which they resided. The tenure as a retail leader was part of the delimitations as the study included leaders with a minimum of two years’ experience in retail. Delimitations also included the number of employees directed by the leader in the current setting, as this study included leaders with a minimum of four followers or subordinates. These challenges also included local, state, and federal regulations regarding pay, hours of operations, and benefits.

With this study being conducted in the year 2020, the Corona virus pandemic had a significant impact on the parameters, techniques, available population, and the data gathering process. The delimitations resulting from the pandemic included the researcher’s ability to discuss the study and provide clarity on questions or concerns to the potential respondents of the survey in person.

Chapter Summary

Bass (1982) enhanced the concepts presented by Burns (1978) for the Transformational

Leadership Style Theory and research offered by Roibu, Nica, and Hornoiu (2019), Wong,

Ngian, and Chin (2018), and Northouse (2019) that focused on this leadership style, recognized its effectiveness for improving employee performance and productivity as well as enhancing commitment and dedication to the organization and leader while reducing troublesome employee turnover. Transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles were discussed but the focus of this research will be on the characteristics of a leader that applies transformational leadership concepts.

This research study titled, The Relationship of Leadership Style to Education Attainment and Leadership Training of Retail Managers in Southwest Ohio, was a quantitative research design to evaluate the relationship between the education level of a leader or leadership training

20 in the retail industry (IV) and their level of utilization of the transformational leadership style

(DV). The expected result was to determine a characteristic or variable that will allow an organization to identify the candidate that is most likely to embrace and support the preferred organizational leadership style, in this case, the transformational leadership style.

Although the focus of this research was confined to retail outlets located in the

Southwestern Ohio area, the methodology used can be repeated in different industries while comparing homogeneous populations and samples. The independent variables can also be adjusted depending on the goal of another researcher or the industry in which they apply the research model (Creswell, 2014). The decision to focus on the retail industry within a mall setting was due to the proximity of the population to the researcher. The evaluation of the transformational leadership style was selected based on the literature used as resources for evaluating different leadership methodologies and motivational theories that considered transformational leadership to currently be an effective style (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Faupel &

Süß, 2019). The next section will review the literature of various theories and studies that helped create the foundation for various leadership concepts, including the transformational leadership concepts. It will also review current transformational and other leadership concepts, gaps in the literature from the seminal work to the present application, and how future research may discover additional paths to pursue to determine how these concepts can be adjusted and applied effectively as leadership and industries continue to evolve (Anderson, 2017).

Chapter 2

Literature Review

The purpose of this quantitative research was to determine if an increased formal education or additional leadership training can aid managers in leading employees appropriately and reduce employee turnover. The research used a quantitative design to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between their level of education and the utilization of the transformational leadership style based on the results of a self-assessing questionnaire that measured the concepts of this leadership style. Through the same methods, the research attempted to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the leadership training provided by an organization and this same leadership style. The research also looked at the combination of education and training to evaluate the significance of the relationship to transformational leadership application. The survey utilized a sampling from the population of current retail store managers operating in Southwestern Ohio with a minimum of four subordinates or followers and two years of industry management experience.

This chapter will begin by identifying the search criteria utilized to obtain peer-reviewed and scholarly articles of literature and research related to the seminal works of the leadership theory evaluated as well as other recognized theories. This research reviewed historical and current content as well as literature that provided the theoretical framework of the foundations of the study. This chapter will also provide a review of various literature related to the field of leadership and the perception and application by individuals and organizations.

Title Searches and Documentation

The research for this study began with the early concepts of leadership within the business environment. Keywords included leadership and leadership theory as well as the

22 specific theories of interest such as the traits theory or great man theory, transformational leadership theory, transactional leadership theory, laissez-faire leadership theory, servant leadership theory, and any previous or current research related to these topics. With the research focused on the retail industry in Southwestern Ohio, search keywords included retail leadership, retail leadership studies, leadership studies in Ohio, retail studies in Ohio. From the search results, documentation identified included current leadership evaluators such as Peter Northouse,

Bernard Bass, Bruce Avolio, and seminal authors such as Robert Greenleaf, James Macgregor

Burns, Paul Hersey, Ken Blanchard, Robert House, and R. J. Mitchell.

The research goal was to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the independent and dependent variables, so the search criteria included correlation analysis to review the process, the application, and previous studies that utilized this statistical method. A Boolean search method brought up articles and documentation of the specific processes, applications, and previous studies as well as suggestions for other resources. Some of the ancillary topics that added support to the research and the specific need would be turnover rates, employee turnover, hiring costs, and identifying effective leaders. The results provided a plethora of information beginning with the historical background of leadership theory and how it evolved over the years. The results described how leaders changed their approach to managing organizations and individuals and sought better, more effective methods to increase productivity and gain a competitive advantage in their industry.

Leadership Research and Articles

Early Theories

Leadership was initially considered to be more or less present in an individual based on biological make-up with the belief leaders applied practical leadership concepts as part of an

23 innate ability that could not be taught to those that were not provided with this ability at birth

(Gehring, 2007). Thomas Carlyle presented the great man theory in the mid-1800s, which was the foundation of the trait theory. Colbert, Judge, Choi, and Wang (2012) researched the concepts of the trait leadership theory from a personality perspective using both self and observer ratings for leaders. The overall results from this study, to some degree, provided “support for the trait theory of leadership” (p. 680) based on the five-factor model (FFM) to identify personality traits.

In the early 20th century, Frederick Taylor combined research with Frank and Lillian

Gilbreth and this research was reviewed by Blake and Mosley (2010), which described the concepts of the Principles of Scientific Management and how the standardization of tools and processes could improve the efficiencies and productivity of the worker. The principles at the time involved methods that enabled employees to work smarter instead of having to work harder to achieve the goals of the organization. Smith (1974) reviewed the works of Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Experiments, as they would come to be known, that looked at the effects of working conditions on the productivity of workers and how adjusting different variables within those conditions may improve productivity. The overall effect identified the central element in productivity improvements as the fact that employees worked harder when they were observed giving support to Mayo’s concept of the social aspect of the working conditions to be a significant part of the productivity equation (McCambridge, Witton, Elbourne (2014).

Early leadership in general management was dominated by the autocratic leadership style in which the leader maintains complete control and authority over followers and typically makes all decisions and establishes all protocols to be followed to achieve the desired goals (Van Vugt,

Jepson, Hart, & De Cremer, 2004, De Hoogh, Greer, Den Hartog, 2015). A study by Van Vugt,

24 et al. (2004) evaluated the impact an autocratic style had versus a democratic style. The study provided support that the autocratic style had a “destabilizing effect” on the group and led to more disruption to the team and a higher likelihood for individuals to leave the group managed by the autocratic leader. In a study on the effect of leadership styles on the performance of employees, Iqbal, Anwar, and Haider (2015) described an autocratic leader as a leader that

“gives orders and expects instant obedience without argument” (p. 3) with no explanation or reasoning.

The concepts of leadership are directly related to the level of results obtained and how a leader can improve the effectiveness of the followers’ ability to achieve the desired results (Bass

& Riggio, 2006; Blake & Mosley, 2010). In 1943, Maslow presented his Theory of Human

Motivation based on his research published in the Psychological Review, which became known as the Hierarchy of Needs theory. This initiated the evolution of leadership from a production, tasked based environment dominated by autocratic leaders to the concepts of leading employees by identifying and satisfying the various needs of the individuals (Fisher, 2009). Blasingame

(2015) presented an article supporting motivation as a critical component of leadership for organizations and that determining whether a leadership style is effective is based, to varying degrees, on the success of the organization. The leadership concept of supporting an environment of continuous learning was presented by Fillion, Koffi, and Ekionea (2015) based on Peter Senge’s concepts in the 1980s. The approach that leadership includes aspects that are social, relational, and psychological more so than strictly physiological and task-oriented began to evolve as leadership processes and research became more focused on the needs of the employees. `

Robert Greenleaf developed the Servant Leadership Theory in his 1970 essay, The

Servant as Leader. The concepts of this style include being an effective listener that possesses a strong inclination to empathize with the subordinates and welcomes feedback (Greenleaf, 1970).

A study published in the International Journal of Business and Social Research included

“healing” (Guillaume, Honeycutt, & Savage-Austin, 2013, p. 69) as one of the aspects of servant leadership. Interviews conducted during the study suggested that “servant leaders demonstrate their traits and character through interaction” (p. 72) and posited that organizations and leaders that are not able or willing to practice servant leadership “miss the opportunity to fully develop and teach their followers” (p. 73).

Being an effective leader is not exclusive to how a leader treats their followers, but it can also be contingent upon the fit between the leader, the tasks involved, the workforce provided, and the overall goals of the organization. Finding a proper fit for a leader can also be a facet of the type of leadership style utilized known as the path/goal leadership theory (Bickle, 2017).

Although essential to the success of the leader, effectively considering the personality and characteristics of followers can be a challenge depending on the personality and characteristics of the leader (House, 1996, Castillo, 2017).

De Haan (2016) looked at the multitude of descriptions, attributes, and definitions of leadership to provide a standard definition that encompasses a broad range of requirements and expectations. The challenges with this were that the content provided no single, specific result but was a dynamic definition that can be as simple as “whoever is the person who occupies the leadership role” (p. 507), which suggests that anyone can be a leader if placed into the role. The formal role of leadership can include a person that assumes responsibility for success and failure

26 and promotes themselves as the person in charge of an operation or group (de Haan, 2016;

Anderson & Sun, 2017).

Although not exclusive to any specific leadership style, the theory presented by Maslow

(1943) became seminal work for these and other concepts of leadership theory. Another seminal theory that became the impetus for expounding on leadership theories was the work of McGregor

(1960) as he elaborated on the concepts presented by Maslow to include a more social and relational aspect between leaders and followers and presenting the idea that how a leader’s assumption of employees’ attitudes can impact how they manage the followers.

The hierarchy of needs theory of motivation presented the psychological needs of an employee in the workplace (Maslow, 1943; Bridgman, Cummings, & Ballard, 2019). The leader’s goal, based on this theory, was to assist and facilitate the follower through the levels.

Theory X and Theory Y concepts of leadership were an extension of Maslow's work but from the perspective of the leaders' assumptions of the attitudes that employees held towards work and the need for a more socially satisfying environment. Again, the goal of leadership based on these concepts is to help the follower achieve satisfaction in the workplace, which leads to more engagement, dedication, and productivity (Allen, 2018).

The focus for this study was on the transformational leadership style as one the most popular leadership styles today. Additional insight will be presented in this section related to the transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles that are also common among modern business leaders. This chapter will present the concepts on which the foundations of these leadership styles have been created and the various research that has been conducted in various arenas to evaluate and better understand each one. Gaining trust and commitment from the follower by understanding and empathizing with their emotional and psychological needs and

27 how this behavior allows the leader to improve performance is basis for the transformational leadership style (Bono & Judge, 2004).

Transformational Leadership

As leaders began to move away from the authoritarian style to more of a focus on employee well-being as a way of increasing job satisfaction and productivity, a previous leadership style was revisited. In 1985, Bernard Bass began to focus and enhance the 1978 work of James MacGregor Burns (1978) on Transformation Leadership, which looked at utilizing more psychological and social type tools (Yammarino, Spangler, & Bass, 1993). The leader's behavior for transformational theory is to represent consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence on an individual basis. Kim and Kim (2017) describe a transformational leadership approach as one that “encourages followers to increase their intellectual confidence” (p.383), which will result in improvements to the overall working environment. Bass (2006) suggests that transformational leaders encourage followers to do more and exceed their expectations as a result of the support, guidance, and the example presented by the leader. The transformational leader must create trust and devotion from the individuals to be successful and then push everyone, including themselves, to continue to improve (Bass, 2006;

Kim & Kim, 2017; Brown, et al., 2019).

A study by Yammarino, et al. (1993) tested a model of transformational leadership in a longitudinal study of naval graduate officers to forecast their use of transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire leadership methods. The study suggested that “transformational leadership and leader/subordinate performance are positively related” (p. 86) versus transactional or laissez-faire leadership styles. Flaherty, Mowen, Brown, and Marshall (2009) conducted a study in the retail industry to determine the affect leadership style and inclination had on sales

28 performance. The study focused on specialty retail and posited that transformational leadership helped leaders and followers raise levels of performance in each other. They created an original measurement category of propensity to lead (PTL) and evaluated the relationship between the style and, subsequently, the sales performance of the store.

The PTL is based on the individual’s instinctive desire to be a leader and to assume that role regardless of any official title provided by the organization. The study did not include education as part of the PTL questionnaire, but it was provided as a descriptive category of the respondents. The variable of education was not included in any hypotheses created for the study and did not describe any relationship details with the leadership style utilized (Flaherty, et al.,

2009).

A study by Keevy and Perumal (2014) focused exclusively on the issue of not educating and developing transformational leadership skills in retail leaders. The findings showed increased leadership effectiveness based on a qualitative design utilizing a two-part focus session with a group of retail managers. The initial discussions gathered the understanding of leadership techniques by the managers prior to any structured exposure to the transformational leadership style. The concepts of transformational leadership were taught to and then implemented by the group of managers, and a follow-up focus group discussion was held that revealed a better understanding of the concepts and the benefits. The conclusion was that leaders that utilize the transformational style would “create valuable and positive change in the people they lead” (p.

930) and supported the assumption that this style can improve overall business performance

(Keevy & Perumal, 2014).

Another study conducted by Pradhan, Panda, and Jena (2017) utilized a quantitative design to evaluate the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological

29 empowerment in the retail industry of India. The results of the quantitative analysis showed a positive and significant statistical relationship between the variables of transformational leadership and psychological empowerment. The higher the level of transformational leadership utilized by the retail leader, the higher the noted level of psychological empowerment by the follower. The relationship showed less significance when the moderator variable of negative work culture was applied but increased when a positive work culture was applied. All of the quantitative data supported the hypotheses established for the study (Pradhan, et al., 2017).

Bass and Riggio (2006) suggest that transformational leaders “motivate others to do more than they originally intended” (p. 4) and exceed their expectations as a result of the support, guidance, and example the leader presents. Bass and Riggio (2006) continue by discussing how the leader’s objective is to benefit the group or organization and each individual so that, together, they will overcome any “challenges of the task or mission” (p. 14). The transformational leader must earn trust and devotion from the individuals to be successful and then push everyone, including themselves, to continue to improve (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Bass & Avolio, 1993).

Leadership styles may, at times, overlap, and include aspects or characteristics of multiple styles in order to more effectively manage followers, situations, or issues (Bass & Riggio, 2006). This process may require a leader that is focused on the social aspects of the followers to adopt a reward and punishment (transactional) style or a more passive (laissez-faire) style of leadership

(McCleskey, 2014).

“A current and popular” (Northouse, 2019, p. 163) approach to leadership is the transformation leadership style. The transformational style seeks to develop followers and work together to establish goals and how to best achieve those goals. Anderson (2017) provided information that included the “need for exceptional school leadership” (p. 1) to assist with the

30 continuous improvement of schools at the state, local, and national levels. The review included the use of transformational leadership as the style evaluated for this improvement or change.

Another method was to utilize an inspirational approach and establish high expectations of performance and work with everyone on the path best suited to reach these lofty expectations consistently (Mittal & Dhar, 2017; Anderson, 2017).

An empirical study by Faupel and Süß (2019) provided data that supported transformational leadership as appropriate and effective in a multitude of industries and scenarios. Although not directly referencing the retail industry, Faupel and Süß (2019) determined that the utilization of the transformational leadership style could enhance sales by allowing a creative approach on an individual level. The concepts of sales can be applied to the retail industry, and so it may be possible to infer that a transformational leadership style may be effective within the retail industry.

Ghasabeh, Reaiche, and Soosay (2015) presented research for the argument that transformational leadership is “appropriate” (p. 459) and can be effectively applied to markets around the world that provide “goods, services, values, and technologies” (p. 459) indicating effectiveness in the retail industry. The conclusion of the study reflected a strength within the organization from this style. This was based soundly on the creativity that is afforded the followers and the impact that this creativity has on the promotion of goods and services.

A study by Roibu, Nica, and Hornoiu (2019) looked at the impact transformational and transactional leadership had on the quality of work performed by employees in the Romanian hotel industry. The study demonstrated that transformational leadership offers benefits of increased follower enthusiasm but may also present issues from a lack of detailed direction. The individual that applies transformational leadership concepts is attempting to appeal to the more

31 social and psychological needs of the followers while other styles may be more task-oriented or goal-oriented; such as the transactional leadership style.

Transactional Leadership

Sithole and Sudha (2014) looked at the presentation of the transactional leadership style by Max Weber in 1947 and again by Bernard Bass in 1981 in their study to understand the role this style has with employee turnover in today’s business organizations. The study used the population of information technology organizations and gathered data via a questionnaire that substantiated the idea that there was a relationship between employee turnover and transactional leadership styles. A transactional leader uses a reward and punishment approach to the followers to accomplish goals.

A transactional leader tends to remove the social and relational aspect of the leader and follower relationship and focus on what is needed to be done to be considered successful (Li,

2019). Li (2019) stated that transactional leaders did not consider what the followers wanted or needed emotionally but instead used reward or punishment to “drive and sustain subordinates’ extrinsic work motivation” (p. 1153) using task-oriented applications. Transactional leadership was initially described by Weber in 1947 as a basic management process of controlling, organizing, and planning in the short term (Weber, 2009).

The retail industry has had tendencies to rely on autocratic and transactional leadership due to the nature of the industry with high turnover rates and minimal skill or experience requirements (Flaherty, et al., 2009). MacKenzie, Podsakoff, and Rich (2001) posited that a transactional leader in the retail industry might have a negative impact on the performance of the followers due to the perception that contingent punishment is more commonly administered than is the contingent reward. The “harmful effects” (p. 131) typically result in an inconsistent

32 understanding of job expectations and apprehension to make an independent decision. The ancillary result is that a transactional leader must do additional work to ensure that the followers complete tasks appropriately and is less able to coordinate long-term planning and initiatives.

Sithole and Sudha (2014) posit that “leaders in the IT organizations have to exhibit a leadership style that will increase the satisfaction” (p. 81) of the followers, including a long-term, work associated social relationship. The inference is that even individuals that may prefer a more structured environment also need this social and relational atmosphere in order to be satisfied within the organization and increase retention. This inference may also include followers that prefer a leader that is not as directly involved with the day to day management of tasks but provides minimal guidance and input.

Duemer (2017) presented another research study in the field of academia or higher education with regards to transactional leadership and how this leadership style can be utilized to enhance change in a more efficient manner. Duemer (2017) posited that a significant limitation to transactional leadership is “the disconnect” (p. 66) it may create between the leader and the followers concerning the amount of creativity allowed or the level that a follower may possess as well as how it can be applied to improve success.

Peesker, Ryals, Rich, and Boehnke (2019) conducted a qualitative research study related to the effectiveness of the transactional leadership style when applied to sales personnel.

Leadership in sales, according to the study presented by Peesker, et al. (2019) is “a crucial factor” (p. 319) for success within the industries that rely on sales personnel to promote and sell their product. Modern followers in all industries, as well as sales, have begun to be less inclined to accept the leadership styles that do not take into consideration their psychological needs for achieving satisfaction at the workplace (Northouse, 2019; Peesker, et al., 2019). Developing

33 trust and utilizing collaboration with followers was presented as the key takeaway in leading a sales team (Peesker, et al., 2019).

A study by Mohd-Adnan and Valliappan (2019) reviewed transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles and their effects on sales performance. The authors state that transactional leaders are more effective and successful when they “develop a mutually supportive environment” (p. 1050) with their followers. The results of the study suggested that the proper application of transactional leadership concepts coupled with useful communication to the followers led to success and a “positive relationship between vision and performance” (p. 1054).

The other leadership styles showed varying levels of success and effectiveness in this study and the authors acknowledge the limitations of the cultural difference since this study was conducted in Malaysia.

Again, referencing the study by Roibu, Nica, and Hornoiu (2019), which looked at the impact transformational and transactional leadership had on the quality of work performed by employees in the Romanian hotel industry. Transactional leadership had benefits that would largely depend on the rewards offered and how those rewards affected follower motivation and productivity. The drawbacks of transactional leadership are that it can limit creativity and “does not reward personal initiative” (p. 47). Although requiring different approaches, leadership styles typically require involvement, intervention, and input from the leader, but some choose to limit those aspects of leadership. Limiting intervention and interaction with employees and tasks is characterized in the laissez-faire leadership style.

Laissez-faire Leadership

A 1939 research study led by Kurt Lewin identified three major leadership styles as authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire (Cherry, 2006). Laissez-faire leadership is considered

34 the least effective leadership style and typically results in lower productivity among followers

(Bass & Avolio, 1994). An article by Desmond and Wilson (2019) reviewed the leadership concepts presented by Lewin and posited that it could be construed to indicate a more triangular leadership construct in which a leader must operate, to some degree, based on autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire styles commingled. The leader’s challenge is that they must possess the acumen to know when, how, and to whom to apply each style. Lewin provided a change model that remains successful today and is based on the interactions between an individual and the entire group, and it can still be applied by leaders in various scenarios (Desmond & Wilson, 2019).

A study by Yang (2015) stated that there is minimal literature reviewing laissez-faire leadership and that it is associated with “negative outcomes, including stress” (p. 1246). This study argues that it is an incomplete definition based on an inability to measure the application accurately, and this inability has led to negative connotations. A study by Skogstad, Hetland,

Glasø, and Einarsen (2014) evaluated the effectiveness of laissez-faire leadership and provided an alternative definition as not achieving the followers' expectations of a leader. The study also suggested that the laissez-faire style may have its place when coupled with transformational or transactional leadership as leaders should, at times, know when "not to act" (p. 337) to display support for the abilities and decisions of the followers. An article by Lewin (1987) in response to criticisms of the concepts of laissez-faire leadership reiterated Lewin's suggestion of the idea that social concepts played a significant role in the leading of individuals and teams.

A review of the research conducted for the 1939 presentation described how productivity was only a part of the observations to be evaluated. Follower aggressiveness, submissive behavior, and friendly behavior were also noted when the leader was absent and present. This study and the results would become known as the laissez-faire leadership style in which a leader

35 would allow the followers to progress on their own to achieve certain goals. Cherry (2006) included in her review of the laissez-faire leadership style that it has the potential for success when utilized for followers that are "highly skilled, motivated, and capable of working on their own" (p. 4).

Gray and Williams (2012) conducted a study in the retail industry that looked at the effect of laissez-faire leadership styles. The primary cause of the issues related to a passive or non-leadership approach in the retail industry stemmed from unaddressed conflict. The avoidance of conflict resolution, as an aspect of laissez-faire leadership, allowed the overall work environment to deteriorate and reduce productivity, retention, and job satisfaction. This study concluded that laissez-faire leadership “appears to be a trend among retail managers” (p. 15) and that long-term consequences include a culture that is resistant to change but followers that are well developed to provide sufficient support. Previous studies and articles related to leadership theory and the evolution of changing concepts have provided examples, support, and arguments to various degrees for several leadership styles. This laid the foundation for more current research and articles to provide a better understanding of how leadership styles impact followers and organizations.

Buch, Martinsen, and Kuvaas (2015) conducted a study that looked at the results of coupling a leader-member exchange (LMX) with a laissez-faire leadership style with the expectation that the benefits provided by LMX would overcome the failings of the laissez-faire leadership approach. According to Northouse (2019), the laissez-faire style “represents the absence of leadership” (p. 174) by conceding typical responsibilities such as decision making, providing feedback, and attempting to provide the necessary satisfaction for the followers. In the study by Buch, et al. (2015) the LMX did, in fact, overcome the liabilities of the laissez-faire

36 leadership style while suggesting that laissez-faire was a “form of destructive-leadership behavior” (p. 120) but conceded it had not received as much research focus as transformational or transactional styles.

Breevaart and Zacher (2019) provided research that looked at the perceived leader effectiveness when laissez-faire and transformational leadership styles were combined. The results indicated that followers perceived a leader combining these styles as less effective and received less trust. Islam, et al. (2018) presented the results of a study that looked at the effect of various leadership styles, including laissez-faire on the followers in the Malaysian retail industry.

The results indicated that the laissez-faire style was the least effective and had a “negative impact on employees” (p. 29) regarding how they performed and the overall output or productivity. Although generally considered the least effective leadership style, Northouse

(2019) also suggests that this style can be beneficial when applied in an appropriate setting with skilled and motivated followers.

There remain many opportunities to review and evaluate the leadership styles in various industries and circumstances while adjusting and altering the variables involved as well as any moderator variable involvement (Northouse, 2019; Clark, 2017. The benefits and results can be debated, and revisions can be applied based on changes to the global work environment, but leadership and its effectiveness will continue to play an integral role in the success of an organization, the success of the followers, and the satisfaction of the followers in both the short- term and the long-term (Clautier, Felusiak, Hill, & Pemberton-Jones, 2015).

Theoretical Framework

Leadership has been evaluated in various forms to try to understand the most effective approach and how it can provide a competitive advantage in different markets. The multitude of

37 theories and concepts available include the situational leadership style presented by Hersey and

Blanchard in the late 1960s and revisited in the mid-1980s (Hersey, 1985; Hersey & Blanchard,

1969). The contingency theory presented by Fiedler (1951), the equity theory by Adams (1963), the two-factor theory from Herzberg (1959), and Vrooms (1964) expectancy theory. The servant leadership from Greenleaf (1970), McClelland’s needs theory (Rybnicek, Berger, &

Gutschelhofer, 2019), path-goal leadership from House and Mitchell, (1974) and other theories that can be beneficial when applied correctly and adjusted based on the circumstance and the needs of the organization. The focus for this study was on the transformational leadership style and to what level they are applied in the retail industry in Southwestern Ohio, and if there was a statistically significant relationship to a leader’s level of education or organizational provided training.

Germinal Literature and Studies

Shim, Lusch, and Goldsberry (2002) conducted a study to determine the leadership style prevalent in the retail industry by having retail managers and executives complete a survey to self-assess their leadership approaches. From the data collected, Shim, et al. (2002) sought to identify the personality traits that had a significant relationship to the leadership style applied.

The styles identified leaders that took a more individual or loner approach, those that took a more team-oriented approach, and, finally, those that attempted to provide more conceptual goals for the followers to achieve through varying means. The study sought to determine which style showed the most effectiveness.

Minelgaite, Letukas, and Littrell (2019) utilized another questionnaire, the Leader

Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), that allowed followers to describe the behavior of their leader within the organization. The questionnaire utilized a Likert scale to determine index

38 figure that equates to the behaviors predominantly perceived in the various categories (Leader

Behavior Descriptive Questionnaire, nd.). The study posited that “transformational leadership practices can forma an important element” (p. 500) when combatting the issue of high turnover rates.

An analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined how the education level of a leader would alter employees’ expectations and indicated that “higher education is associated with increased expectations” (p. 502). The study concluded that participants showed no preference for gender but that the expectation was that a preferred leader’s style would focus more on “team, conflict resolution, and team representation” to actively engage and involve the followers. The study presented support for the transformational leadership style as well as a combination of transformational and transactional styles for retail leaders.

Do (2019) utilized the MLQ 5X to gather observer feedback on how the institution of transformational leadership concepts can reduce the intention of employees to leave the organization. This study was conducted in Vietnam in the retail industry and utilized Mobley’s scale to measure the level of turnover intention by employees. There are seven stages of

Mobley’s model in which an employee would go before it culminates in actual separation from the company.

The study looked at transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles and how they correlate to the employee turnover intention. The results showed that only laissez-faire leadership application was positively correlated to employee turnover intention. This indicates that leaders that apply laissez-faire leadership styles among this population will have a higher rate of employee turnover intention than those that utilize transformational or transactional styles.

A study by Lacerenza, Reyes, Marlow, Joseph, and Salas (2017) utilized meta-analysis to determine how effective leadership training programs in organizations were based on the data published on the results. The conclusions were that organizational provided leadership training programs were more effective than originally thought. The study identified the need to create the training programs based on the company’s needs and to include feedback from the subordinates to ensure buy-in when the techniques are implemented. The need to offer multiple delivery platforms and well constant reinforcement of the expectations were also identified.

Olexová (2018) conducted a study seeking to quantify the benefits of training in the retail industry based on a financial return on investment (ROI). The study focused on the follower development with training focusing on how the leaders can utilize available tools and resources to improve the ability of the followers to increase sales and revenue. The study compared financial results before and after training to measure the results in the increase in sales revenue, sales compared to patrons, and the number of items purchased by the patrons when the visited.

Bornman (2019) conducted a study in South Africa to determine the perceptions of

Generation Z individuals currently studying business to identify those leadership traits that were most common to each gender. This study, however, did not identify retail leadership as a variable to be evaluated either. A Pew Research Center study (2015) looked at gender regarding leadership and determined that a significant number of women were bypassed for leadership positions although qualified or more qualified as the male individual awarded the position. The gender bias attitude reviewed by Lindsey (2016) discusses the deficiency of female leaders in the retail industry, even though females make up the majority of the consumers. The article suggests that a lack of development and continued education may be a factor in the decreasing amount of female retail leaders that progress upwards within the organization (Lindsey, 2016).

Diversity and globalization will be a significant factor as organizations seek out future leaders, and the leadership style applied will continue to be a consideration for those forward- thinking organizations that understand the impact of an ineffective leader (Sulistiyani, Udin, &

Rahardja, 2018). An article by Lord, Gatti, and Chui (2016) discusses how these factors will require leaders to be developed socially to enhance leader/follower relationships and have the intellectual capacity to understand how they perceive themselves and how others perceive them.

An article by Luster (2017) revisits the concepts of trait theory by re-emphasizing the fact that effective and successful leaders are not a result of innate ability but by development and experience coupled with the genetic factors with which they are born. All these factors can be enhanced to some degree through individual self-improvement and development programs, including education (Luster, 2017).

Owusu (2020) looked at small retail leaders in Ghana as part of a study to determine how the improvement of leaders to assist with reducing employee turnover. This was a qualitative design and utilized interviews with leaders that were determined to be effective with developing employee retention programs. Training, trust, mentoring, motivation, and incentive and were identified during the interviews as the areas in which leaders should focus when attempting to improve the retention rate of employees.

Martin (2016) studied the perceptions of transformational leadership among academic libraries finding that there is a need for a strong, effective leader and that the use of the transformational leadership style was the most effective for leaders and preferred by the followers. An ineffective leader can have detrimental effects on the followers and create a culture in the workplace that lacks worker satisfaction and is considered toxic (Northouse, 2019;

Luster, 2017, Vitton, Nam, Helleloid, 2015). The concept of creating a work environment that

41 provides worker satisfaction is reviewed in the article by Pupavac (2015) that looks at the two- factor theory and how workers interviewed felt more job satisfaction when “social-relatedness”

(p. 20) was strong, and the leader supported those concepts.

Understanding and applying leadership concepts to different followers in different organizations and different circumstances is a challenge for leaders (Bass & Avolio, 1993; Bass

& Riggio, 2006; Northouse, 2019). Organizations that understand the benefit of effective leadership also understand that identifying those individuals with stronger inclinations to implement the most effective style for the organization would be beneficial (Wong, Ngian, &

Chin, 2018; Williams, Raffo, & Clark, 2018). An effective leader can provide an engaged workforce that is productive and efficient and can also develop future leaders within the organization as they experience the benefits of this successful leadership style firsthand (Shaaban

& Shehata, 2019). The retail industry has a long history of minimal work experience and high turnover based on the industry and fluctuations from seasonal demand (Gaskell, 2015; Hayward,

2015; Morse & Dixon, 2011), so it can benefit greatly from strong leadership.

Saeed and Mughal (2019) provided results from a study in the banking industry that evaluated the relationship between transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership when coupled with a positive culture in the workplace. The results showed that a positive or preferred workplace culture showed a positive correlation to all three leadership styles based on statistical analysis using correlation and regression analysis of data gathered from participants’ responses to the MLQ 5X. This study utilized culture as the independent variable to determine if there was a significant statistical relationship with the three leadership styles; the methods used for Saeed and Mughal's (2019) study support a similar method to be used for this study.

Minelgaite, Letukas, and Littrell (2019) offered a recent study that evaluated the leadership techniques considered to be advantageous or beneficial in the retail management arena. Also utilizing a questionnaire, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), the study obtain feedback from the followers in regard to their leader’s style and their perception of the leader’s efficacy. This was a quantitative design was based in Lithuania and obtained to determine the relationship variables related to a leader’s behavior and how the followers felt about their leadership. Education was evaluated as an independent variable which resulted in determining that the higher the level of education held by a leader the higher the expectations of the followers of the leader to be stronger in the areas they felt were relevant to retail management.

Research has identified various studies and articles related to leadership including retail leadership but there remain aspects that have not been evaluated or evaluated in a manner that mirrors the variables and relationships to be assessed in this study. This gap in research and literature provides support for a study that looks at the relationship between education or training and the use of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership in the retail industry.

Literature Gap

Retail Leadership Studies

Multiple studies have been conducted over the years to evaluate various aspects of the retail industry. The studies included the leadership style as a variable for evaluating effects or impacts on performance, job satisfaction, and employee retention. Some data gathered would support the effectiveness of a leadership style, but most, if not all, offered benefits and detractors. The utilization of a specific leadership style may be considered significant, or it may be considered unimportant by the organization.

The concept that a leader possessed innate traits that more predominantly resulted in them being an effective leader. It states that followers consider an effective leader as “endowed with certain physical traits and personality characteristics” (Aycan & Shelia, 2019 p. 2) that would allow them to be better suited to be a leader than other individuals not in possession of similar traits and characteristics. According to Aycan and Sheila (2019), organizations and individuals began to recognize that leadership skills were more a result of “certain traits developing at certain times” (p. 2) that would significantly impact their ability to lead effectively.

Trait theory studies in the retail industry are minimal as they are typically a part of other studies that may make a person more appealing to an organization by having distinguishing personality traits considered to be valuable for retail sales; e.g., extroverted, social, and friendly.

Grosul, Mkrtchan, Zubkov, and Karapetyan (2019) studied the scientific management concepts in the retail industry in risk management. The research evaluated how established standard practices for developing a product to sell can help to minimize risk. Scientific management, as well as a “methodical approach” (p. 103), are proposed ways of mitigating risk from an accounting and finance perspective as well as from an operational perspective. The goal of the retail study was to confirm one of the hypotheses that a scientific approach can help with the “ability to develop effective business solutions” (p. 98) to help reduce operational and financial risk. A scientific leadership approach can be practical, to varying degrees, in many different industries and scenarios given that the applications are correctly applied and maintained

(Vijai, et al., 2017; Grosul, et al., 2019). It should not be implied that a scientific approach removes any input from followers or represents an autocratic leadership style.

An autocratic or authoritarian leadership style includes the benefit of making decisions quickly and avoiding the delays associated with discussion or executive hierarchy (Northouse,

2019). The drawbacks, however, can be more detrimental as it discourages feedback or suggestions from the followers, produces lower morale, and limits any engagement of the followers outside of what is assigned to them (Northouse, 2019; Chukwusa, 2018). An article by

Nicolaou (2013) wrote an article discussed the autocratic approach in the retail industry and how this approach places all decision-making situations on the leader and restricts any input or independent action by the followers. De Hough, Greer, and Den Hartog (2015) conducted a study of 60 retail outlets to evaluate the benefit of autocratic leadership among the followers.

The study theorized that a strong decision-maker gained support from the followers and allowed them to work without the burden or challenge of making decisions. The conclusion provided mixed results when based solely on the leadership style as it was decided that the followers and their personalities played a significant role in the success of applying this leadership style. The relationship effect was aimed at comparing the style to performance and job satisfaction but did not attempt to evaluate the education or training of the leader.

Servant leadership is a concept that can seem appealing to the retail industry as a method of empowering and developing followers to complete tasks and achieve goals. Additionally, a more task-based approach tends to alleviate the issues that may arise from high turnover and inexperience. Rüzgar (2018) evaluated the effectiveness of relationship-oriented or social leadership and task-based leadership in the service industry, which included the retail industry.

The review looked at how the relationship between the leader and follower affected the success when the leader applied either a relationship-based or task-based leadership style. The task- oriented leadership style was determined to be the least effective in the retail industry based on the fact that followers "must be able to immediately react to external threats and opportunities"

(p. 51) to be successful.

The relationship-oriented or social leadership style was most effective and tended to

"create teams that everyone wants to be a part of" (p. 52) as it builds a positive environment.

The social and task-based styles in the past as compared to those of the present differ only with the situations of cultural and social change as the leader must still set up specific parameters and processes to be successful with a task-based style and understand the social and relational needs of the followers for the relationship-based style (Rüzgar, 2018; Northouse, 2019; Schein &

Schein, 2019).

The leaders’ assumption regarding the dedication and competency of the followers can having a substantial influence on how the followers are managed. A study by Domingues,

Vieira, and Agnihotri (2017) looked at the role that leadership assumptions or behaviors had on retail sales in Brazil. The study tested the theory that a “manager’s leadership behaviors play a moderating role on the relationship” (p. 638) between established goals and actual performance.

The study concluded that promoting a positive attitude in the workplace can be an effective tool when paired with the proper leadership style based on the work environment and followers. The concepts reviewed reiterate McGregor’s (1960) Theory X and Theory Y approaches to leadership and how a positive assumption and engagement can create positive results.

Quickly adapting to situations is important as a leader and even more important in the fast-paced retail market. A situational leadership approach can be effective when used properly, and the leader possesses a strong understanding of the types and effects of leadership styles on followers and circumstances. Hottinger (2018) used a mixed-methods research model to analyze the effectiveness of situational leadership in the retail industry based on the fact that the industry traditionally involves followers with “little experience or training” (p. 5), so adjusting leadership styles can be a necessity to ensure productivity. Adjusting the style of leadership is not

46 exclusively based on the diversity of the followers as it can pertain to changing business conditions or technologies as well as changes at the executive level of an organization (Cote,

2017). The retail industry is constantly in flux and attempting to identify opportunities and threats from competitors and changes to consumer demand. The ability of the leader and the style utilized can “significantly impact the culture for both employees and customers”

(Kokemuller, 2020, par. 1).

Another servant leadership study in the retail industry looked at how some styles come naturally to individuals. Creel (2018) talks about the aspects of servant leadership and how these aspects can promote a secure working environment in the retail industry as the leader attempts to cover all the requirements of running a successful retail store. Referencing an earlier textbook by Northouse, Creel (2018) lists the ten major characteristics as listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of his or her followers, and building community. Creel (2018) looked back at his experience in retail and how he unknowingly utilized a lot of the concepts when dealing with followers and other workers within the organization. The idea is more of creating a strong social and relational culture that results in a strong workforce that effectively manages all tasks and responsibilities.

Another type of leadership style is the path-goal style. Northouse (2019) states that the path-goal theory of leadership “emphasizes the relationship between the leader’s style and the characteristics of the followers and the organizational setting” (p. 117) and can be applied practically to most industries to achieve most expectations. There is limited research that specifies the path-goal leadership style to managing a retail store, although Mat (2008) presented a study that looked at retail marketing through the concepts of the path-goal theory. Mat’s

(2008) was similar to the research by Yang and Lim (2016), describing how the behaviors would

47 need to be adjusted based on the followers and situation. Finding a leader that will apply the appropriate leadership style or possesses the skills to implement the appropriate style for the situations remains vital to the concepts of the path-goal theory.

Leadership Style and Education

Northouse (2019) suggests that leadership is a vital product and that there is a multitude of theories and studies searching for the concepts that determine a good, effective leader or the best and most effective leadership style. Initially, a good leader was considered someone that possessed certain traits (Brooks & Chapman, 2018) that were innate to them. This example typically involved a male overseeing subordinates via authoritarian methods and pushing them to achieve the goals of the organization in whatever manner they deemed necessary (Luria, Kahana,

Goldenberg, & Noam, 2019; Northouse, 2019). Luria, et al. (2019) discuss an extension of trait theory in their study, trait activation theory, in which an individual must have stimuli to activate their intrinsic abilities.

Sheldon (1986) researched the effectiveness of combining education and internships to enhance the ability of an individual to be successful in the retail industry. A survey of retailers and educators revealed that there was significant interest by retailers to include continued formal education as part of the development of retail leaders. There was also support from the retailers to create a college curriculum specific to skills to be utilized in the retail management field. The educators were somewhat supportive of on-the-job training in the form of internships and posited that “a good curriculum may be a strong factor” (p. 15) in motivating retailers to create an internship program to partner with the educational portion. The research did evaluate the relationship between education and leadership style but supported continued education to improve the effectiveness of a retail leader.

Nicholson and Cushman (2000) performed research on how a college degree and what disciplines or subjects can assist an individual with acquiring success in the retail industry. The study discussed the changing business climate of a low-level employee working their way to the top through effort and experience and how education has become required for certain positions regardless of the industry. The study focused on retail executives but also posited that continued education and store manager experience provides support for a candidate to be a viable candidate for the executive level. The mixed-method study utilized face-to-face interviews and a Likert scale to evaluate responses from retail employers and university members to determine what areas of study they considered valuable to retail leaders. The study also compared the responses from the two groups to identify differing opinions and understanding of the development of a leader in the retail industry (Nicholson & Cushman, 2000). They did not identify the leadership style considered to be effective in the industry, and that would improve employee retention.

Brown and Posner (2001) researched the relationship between learning and leadership and offers speculation that those with a naturally higher cognitive level may place more effort in being an effective leader, albeit with varying degrees of achievement or success. The study identified learning characteristics that correlated to individual leadership styles from a population of mid-level managers, working professionals, and managers enrolled in graduate courses or executive training. This study hypothesized and confirmed that different learning styles would be an indicator of the utilization of different leadership styles. Research has also focused on ethical leadership concepts (Çelik, Dedeoğlu, & İnanir, 2015), leadership style and job satisfaction in different industries (Eliophotou-Menon, & Ioannou, 2016), and the characteristics or concepts that are associated with different leadership styles (Northouse, 2019; Bass & Riggio,

2006).

Referring to a previously discussed study regarding the retail industry, Shim, Lusch, and

Goldsberry (2002) used a survey tool to conduct a self-assessment of leadership styles utilized by the managers of national retail chain stores. This study did not include education level or training as a variable. Recently, Mekraz and Gundala (2016), studied the performance effect of different leadership styles implemented by retail store managers by combining the publicly available financial and market performance of the stores with a self-assessing survey completed by the sampling of the store managers. Again, this study did not include the education level or the training of the managers as a variable evaluated in relationship to the type of leadership style involved. Gender was the independent variable included in a study by Kim and Shim (2003) evaluating the relationship between gender and different aspects of leadership. This study suggested that research utilizing “education, years of experience, age, and nature of the job” (p.

322) may provide a stronger correlation to the type of leadership style utilized. The results of the study displayed statistically significant differences between genders and the style of leadership applied in the retail management industry, at all levels of management. Recommendations for future research suggested applying the methods to different industries to determine if the results are similar.

The study conducted by Flaherty, et al. (2009) looked at the relationship between an individual’s personality traits and their desire to be a leader based on an original measurement scale for PTL. Education was listed as a demographic for the participants but was not evaluated as a variable. Also, from a retail perspective, Rathle (2018) published an article reviewing interviews with over 50 leaders in the retail industry to discuss their leadership style. The article states, as with most industries, “transformation is on the agenda” (par. 2), and the challenges of the retail leaders include developing the talent to help on the front lines and identifying the

50 leaders that will make that possible. Another article by Lindsey (2016) looks at the disparity between genders in high ranking leadership roles in the retail industry even though the numbers continue to indicate that females are responsible for the majority of household spending. The

Pew Research (2015) referenced by Lindsey (2016) reviews the similarities and qualifications between genders but points out that the mindset or attitudes within organizations related to the concept of female versus male leaders are challenging to overcome.

Leadership studies such as the Ohio State University and University of Michigan studies in the 1940s and 1950s looked at leadership styles and the effectiveness provided by each.

However, neither study included the education level of the leader as a variable that would indicate either a propensity to utilize one specific type of style or the effectiveness overall of their approach to leadership (Hussain & Hassan, 2016). There does not appear to be any published literature that evaluates the education level or organizational training of leaders explicitly, and the relationship these variables have on the type of leadership style implemented.

More specifically, no published literature that evaluates the relationship between a leader’s education levels attained or training provided and their use of transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire leadership styles specific to the Southwestern Ohio area that this research will evaluate.

Study.com (2020) provides the course an individual can take to become a retail store manager. “A high school diploma is standard for retail managers, but some employers require a bachelor’s degree” (par. 2), so the relationship between the manager’s education level and the leadership style invoked may be a result of other factors. Again, a study that exclusively considers the relationship between the level of education attained or the amount of leadership

51 training provided by a retail store manager and to what degree they utilize a transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire leadership has not yet been conducted.

Transformational leadership is a popular leadership style (Northouse, 2019), but there is strong support for a more transactional or autocratic style of leadership in the retail industry

(Love, 2019). High turnover, a lack of overall working experience by entry-level employees, and high-volume stores offer support for the benefits of the autocratic leader. However, consideration found in many research studies suggest that aspects of the transformational leadership style can enhance the success of the leader by developing and engaging followers to the degree that they display improved capabilities at varying points throughout their retail career

(Bass & Riggio, 2006; Northouse, 2019; Love, 2019; Mekraz & Gundala, 2016).

The literature and research gap identified in this section displays the absence of both a correlation examination of the level of education or the amount of organizational provided training and the relationship to the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership provides support for future study. The benefit of allowing an organization to identify the candidate that would apply the most appropriate and effective leadership style will help to improve the retention rate of employees. Being able to identify the most qualified candidate will result in benefits that will also include the time and money savings associated with less turnover and improved performance. The literature and research gap include a lack of retail leadership studies that focused on the Southwestern Ohio area and an indoor mall setting. The focus on previous research and literature was the effect a leadership style had on performance, retention, and job satisfaction but was limited with studies on determining if there was a relationship to a specific characteristic to identify the leadership style that would be used.

Conclusions

The review of different leadership theories and the previous quantitative research studies attempting to determine the correlation or relationship between the dependent and independent variables offers a solid foundation for this research. The goal was to provide defensible results from the data's statistical analysis, which is reviewed in the next chapter (Creswell, 2014;

Williams, 2007).

The guidelines presented by the Ponto (2015) and McCusker and Gunaydin (2015) regarding questionnaires supported the use of the MLQ 5X developed by Bass and Avolio (1995) and made available through the Mind Garden (2019) organization. This questionnaire provided a valid and reliable tool already accepted as appropriate for identifying the level of the transformational leadership style applied by respondents (retail store managers) in Southwestern

Ohio. The population was considered sufficient for gathering an acceptable sample size

(Creswell, 2014; Rahman, 2017; Ponto, 2015).

The participants remain anonymous, which adheres to the recommendations of the

American Association of Public Opinion Research organization (2020) when conducting surveys for quantitative research. The statistical analysis utilized regression analysis with the coefficient of determination, which is an acceptable and standard process for determining a significant statistical relationship between the variables as suggested by Creswell (2014), Williams (2007), and Salo, Laaksonen, and Santtila (2016). This study utilized an accepted and approved design to effectively evaluate the relationship between a leader’s level of education or amount of training provided and the relationship it has to the level of transformational leadership concepts applied in the retail store sampling in Southwestern Ohio.

Chapter Summary

This chapter began with a review of the process for obtaining literature through searches based on topics and criteria germane to the subject matter of the research. The research looked for material related to the retail industry and leadership style evaluation in general. Although not exclusively, the search criteria resulted in information related to the application of transformational leadership concepts as well as other past and present concepts of leadership.

Northouse (2019) presents a common theme to leadership as an “influence process that assists groups of individuals toward goal attainment” (p. 15) and acknowledges the various styles and concepts that can be applied. The historical context of leadership styles was presented and captured the evolution of leadership styles as various factors changed, such as the cultural and social needs of followers and the globalization of most industries and how this globalization affects local regions and markets. This historical content showed leadership moving from task- oriented to more psychological and physiological concepts presented by Maslow (1943) and

McGregor (1960) to a more inspirational or servant approach presented by Greenleaf (1973) to the concept of job satisfaction that includes the social and relational aspects of transformational leadership developed by Bass and Riggio (2006).

The current content reviewed studies and literature related to these same concepts of leadership and how studies presented more recent insight into how the applications have been adopted to new work environments and the needs of followers and organizations. The research methodology and design will be presented in chapter three with examples of research using the same instrument, the MLQ 5X, and statistical analysis to support the chosen path of the study

(Zareen, Razzaq, & Mujtaba, 2015; Mekraz & Gundala, 2016). The MLQ 5X is a tool designed by Bass and Avolio (1985) and provided relevant and accurate data to compare the relationship

54 between the dependent and independent variables and the regression analyses provided results that will be appropriate for testing the hypotheses and making the final conclusions for the study.

Chapter three will be an expansion of the selected sampling process, the methodology, the statistical analysis, and the research design for this study.

Chapter 3

Research Methodology

This study evaluated data gathered from the sample population to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the education level of a leader and the utilization of the transformational leadership style. Additional data regarding the amount of organizational provided leadership training was evaluated to identify any statistically significant relationship to the utilization of this leadership style as well. Both leadership and training were used as an IV variable for this study.

The study focused on retail store managers in Southwestern Ohio from the Dayton area with businesses located at three malls, Fairfield Commons, The Greene, and the Dayton Mall.

Leadership within an organization has a significant effect on employee performance, productivity, retention, and job satisfaction and is vital to providing sustained and systemic success (Northouse, 2019; Aruna & Anitha, 2015). As the need for effective leadership becomes more apparent to organizations attempting to improve performance and gain a competitive advantage in the industry, it will become increasingly more important to be able to identify the candidate for a leadership spot to lead a team appropriately and with the style most preferred by the organization and the followers.

The study attempted to determine, first, if the level of education indicated a propensity to use the transformational leadership style, second, if the amount of organizationally provided leadership training provided a similar indication. The benefit was to provide retail organizations with the ability to identify the most qualified candidate to be an effective leader. This would result in the reduction of the cost of turnover by improving the retention of leaders and followers and improve job satisfaction. This chapter will expand on the methodology and research design

56 used for this study. It will review the population, sample, and instrument used to gather the data and reiterate the research question and hypotheses that were tested. It will discuss ethical and consent concerns, as well as reliability and validity information for the instrument used. The data collection process will be reviewed as well as analysis techniques and statistical options utilized in order to make supported conclusions based on the study’s results.

Research Method and Design Appropriateness

The study utilized a quantitative correlational research design to determine the extent of the relationship between the IV and DV. The role of correlational research is to evaluate data and interpret the relationship and strength of this relationship by recognizing trends and patterns

(Curtis, Comiskey, & Dempsey, 2015). A survey was utilized as a self-assessing instrument to gather data from the participants to examine the relationship between the variables. Creswell

(2014) states that the utilization of a survey in a quantitative study will provide “numeric descriptions of trends, attitudes, or opinions of a population” (p. 155) by studying a sample of the specific population.

A quantitative design was selected because it allows for the information to be formatted as objective numerical data to be evaluated through specific statistical applications (McCusker &

Gunaydin, 2015). The effectiveness and accuracy of the quantitative design is a result of gathering data and responses correctly as well as operationalizing the variables to allow for quantifying the data appropriately (Creswell, 2014; McCusker & Gunaydin, 2015). A qualitative design, in contrast, allows for subjective interpretation of the information to formulate the conclusion. This interpretation can vary by researcher depending on the parameters established for the study, and leaves open the possibility that personal emotions may play a role in the final evaluation (Rahman, 2017).

This study evaluated the statistical significance of the relationship between variables, so subjective interpretation was minimized. The goal of the researcher was to utilize an instrument that provided a survey with relevant questions resulting in obtaining pertinent information when gathering the data. The data was then processed via statistical processes specifically designed to test the hypotheses and measure the relationship and strength of the relationship between IV and

DV (Rahman, 2017).

The benefit of a quantitative design for this research was that the data was evaluated objectively with the conclusions drawn directly from the statistical analysis results (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). The proposed design offered participants anonymity and thus reduced response bias as their identity was not disclosed to either the researcher or their organization. A qualitative approach may be biased by pre-conceived notions of leadership styles or a lack of familiarity with the concepts and applications of these styles. The qualitative design does offer the personal approach and the ability of the researcher to incorporate non-verbal responses in their interpretation of the feedback. The interview process for a qualitative study may also cause issues related to anonymity as participants may be less forthcoming or truthful with responses if they feel that an honest answer is not the most acceptable. A mixed-method approach offers the benefits of both designs but also the limitations. The limitations include the subjectivity involved with the qualitative approach as well as the lack of anonymity. A qualitative or mixed- method approach may offer a viable follow-up study with the participants to compare the results, but the issues will remain (Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2017; McCusker & Gunaydin,

2015).

Other types of quantitative research design include descriptive, quasi-experimental, and experimental (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). A descriptive quantitative analysis looks to describe

58 the characteristics of the population or occurrence that is being studied from the sample data gathered. A descriptive design does not seek to determine why the occurrence happened but rather to describe it. In the case of this current study, it would describe the leadership style being used and the characteristics of the concepts but not look for a relationship as to why the leadership style is being used (Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2017). A quasi-experiment involves the manipulation of the IV and does not include random sampling but is managed with specific details in order to evaluate the results. This type of study typically involves field testing of a treatment and the effectiveness based on specific adjustments (Creswell & Creswell, 2017;

Bensnes & Str, 2019). A study by Bensnes and Str utilized a quasi-experimental design within the retail industry to evaluate the effect of adjusting the closing time of retail stores. The design allowed the researchers to adjust the closing times and evaluate the effect and determine what would be most beneficial. The quasi-experimental design is not appropriate to determine the relationship between leadership style and education levels as the IV will not be manipulated.

An experimental quantitative design is related to a more scientific approach and utilizes a control or constant group and another group for comparison to determine the effect that a change to a variable has on the outcome (Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Simester, Hu,

Brynjolfsson, and Anderson (2009) conducted research in the retail industry applying an experimental design in a controlled field experiment related to the manipulation of advertising and how this affected short and long-term sales. The study manipulated the IV and analyzed the effect it had on the DV but did not look at the relationship between the two. The experimental design is not appropriate for this study as the researcher will not be manipulating the IV to evaluating the relationship to the DV. This quantitative correlational design is appropriate to this study based on the research question and hypotheses established.

Research Design Literature

A quantitative research design utilizes objective measurements of statistical data compiled from information gathered via the design instrument to make generalized statements regarding a group of people to help clarify or explain trends (Creswell, 2014; Williams, 2007).

According to Creswell (2014), a quantitative design, or more specifically, a correlational quantitative research design, seeks to identify the extent of the relationship between two or more variables using statistical analysis of the data. This study sought to determine the relationship between the education level of a retail store manager in Southwestern Ohio as well as the amount of training provided and the level of usage of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles. The independent variable will be the education level of the leader, and the dependent variable will be the level of usage of each of the leadership styles for one set of hypotheses. The amount of organizational provided leadership training will also be evaluated as the independent variable as well as the combination of the two variables. The advantages of quantitative research analysis include the ability to utilize a larger sample size, quickly gather information, the ability to duplicate processes and results. Quantitative design is also beneficial as it allows a focus on facts, maintains participant anonymity, and does not require direct observation of the action or process being researched (Creswell, 2014; Williams, 2007;

McCusker, & Gunaydin, 2015).

Utilizing a valid, reliable, previously established, and accepted questionnaire to use as the instrument will help to support the overall findings of the study. A test to determine Cronbach’s alpha will be conducted to ensure reliability with the questionnaire for this study. Cronbach’s alpha is a measure of the consistency internally, meaning, how closely related a set of items are.

It is considered to be a measure of scale reliability (Taber, 2018). Ponto (2015) defines survey

60 research as the gathering of information from a sampling of a population from their responses to established questions. Ponto (2015) also lists out potential errors with a survey that includes coverage, sampling, measurement, and nonresponse errors, and how to reduce these instances and minimize the effects of these issues. McCusker and Gunaydin (2015) provide support for the use of a questionnaire as the tool to gather the data as it can be applicable to many different areas and provide “more inclusive findings” (p. 540) as it will be focused on a portion of a specific population. Chudleigh and Smith (2015) provide a review of quantitative correlational research using the correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient is represented by a numerical range from -1.0 to 1.0 with a value of 1.0, identifying a perfect positive relationship between the variables being analyzed and a value of -1.0 indicating a perfect negative relationship (Creswell, 2014; Chudleigh & Smith, 2015).

With this study utilizing hypotheses to test the relationship between the dependent and independent variable of a sample, regression analysis was used to obtain the level of the relationship or r2 value (Lewinson, 2019). Huang and Gamble (2015) conducted a study that looked at gender and job satisfaction in China using the population from locally owned retail stores. The quantitative study evaluated data gathered from a questionnaire completed by the employees of over 20 retail stores. Education was included as a demographic for the sample population but not included as part of the hypotheses. It was, however, noted by the authors that individual expectations of job satisfaction have a positive correlation with the level of education acquired and that more education tends to result in less job satisfaction (Huang & Gamble,

2015).

A quantitative study by Imna and Hassan (2015) looked at employee retention in the

Maldives retail industry, and the impact human resource management practices had on it. The

61 study utilized a descriptive design and a questionnaire sent to employees to gather data to evaluate the leadership style utilized and their perception of the effectiveness within their organization. A regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect the human resources management style had on employee retention regarding seven categories of human resources activities that made up the hypotheses to be tested. The overall testing provided statistically significant results that determined that five of the seven of the null hypotheses were accepted based on the significance level of p < 0.05.

An article, Best Practices for Survey Research (2020), from the American Association for

Public Opinion Research website, offers suggestions for the effective use of a survey for a quantitative research design. As part of ensuring quality data, the article states that the participants should not be identified or identifiable from the survey to maintain an ethical approach and avoid response bias. Taherdoost (2016) describes the need for a valid and reliable questionnaire as an instrument for gathering data. The MLQ 5X provides a standard questionnaire that has been validated and proven reliable previously. Zareen, et al., (2015) utilized regression analysis with scatter plots to support the use of the coefficient of determination for their study. The overall indication is that the research design is suitable for determining if there is a significant statistical relationship between the dependent and independent variables for this population and sample.

Zareen, Razzaq, and Mujtaba (2015) utilized a quantitative research design to evaluate the impact of the transactional, transformational, and laissez-faire leadership on the performance of employees within the Pakistani banking industry. The study established three hypotheses, one for each style, and utilized a questionnaire given to a sample of non-managerial employees within five different commercial banks. From the questionnaires, they evaluated the leadership

62 style of the leaders and the level of motivation for each employee. The statistical analysis included frequency distribution and histograms as well as scatterplots to confirm the normality of distribution. Pearson’s correlation test was used to evaluate the strength of the relationship and regression analysis to determine the effect on the dependent variable from changes in the independent variable resulting in a value of 0.258 for coefficient to determination (r2). The results showed a positive correlation between employee motivation and each of the three styles with a slightly stronger correlation with the transactional style. The transformational style resulted in the weakest correlation with employee motivation in this study (Zareen, Razzaq, and

Mujtaba, 2015).

Mekraz and Gundala (2016) conducted quantitative research in the retail industry to evaluate the effect of leadership style on retail store performance. The study utilized the

Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X) to receive self-assessed feedback from over

100 randomly selected retail store managers that were all part of the same discount chain in the

Midwestern section of the US. The study looked at transformational and transactional leadership styles and four categories to determine store performance, i.e., profit margin, inventory shrinkage, customer service scores, and employee turnover. The retail study by Imna and

Hassan (2015) utilized the regression analysis to determine the “degree of correlation” (p. 77) or the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) statistic between independent variables. The analysis was evaluating the relationship between various human resource categories and the retention rate of employees from the Maldives retail industry. This type of analysis shows any multicollinearity between the variables present in this study.

The determination of either transformational or transactional leadership style usage was based on the MLQ 5X scoring. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the

63 relationship between the dependent and independent variables and the strength of this relationship. The results of the study indicated a negative correlation between both styles and employee turnover, a minimal to a very weak correlation between either style and customer service scores or inventory shrinkage, and no correlation between either of the styles and the profit margin of the associated store (Mekraz and Gundala, 2016).

These two studies identified the leadership style utilized, one from the perspective of the follower, and one from a self-assessment questionnaire. Both utilized similar statistical analyses to evaluate the data and draw conclusions that would support or refute the hypotheses. Both studies and the hypotheses looked at the impact or relationship the leadership style would have on various aspects of the organizations with one evaluating the banking industry and one evaluating the retail industry. With no research conducted on the relationship between a leader’s education level or amount of training and the leadership style applied, these two studies provide support for the proposed research design; a quantitative research design utilizing the MLQ 5X questionnaire, developed by Bass and Avolio (1985) and provided by the Mind Garden organization, as the research instrument. The study by Zareen, et al., (2015) provides support for analyzing the data gathered from retail store managers to be statistically evaluated using regression analysis and coefficient of determination (r2) to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables and the significance or strength of this relationship

(Creswell, 2014).

Regarding the validity and reliability of the MLQ 5X as a research tool to measure the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles, Antonakis (2001) conducted research from 138 sample cases. The study determined that the MLQ 5X provided validity when applied among homogeneous populations, while the results were mixed for heterogeneous

64 populations. A study by Muenjohn and Armstrong (2008) supported the reliability of the MLQ

5X by obtaining a 0.87 score for Cronbach alpha to indicate a strong or good reliability score with 0.90 indicating an excellent rating. The validity and reliability affirmation provides additional support that the MLQ 5X is an appropriate tool for this study to gather the data related to the transformational leadership style of a population of retail store managers in the

Southwestern Ohio area. The example studies also support the design for this research in order to sufficiently evaluate the variables identified and determine if the hypotheses are supported.

Research Question and Hypotheses

Question

The questions evaluated in this study were based on the relationship of each IV to each

DV. Was there a statistically significant relationship between the level of education attained or the amount of organizational provided leadership training and the level of transformational leadership applied? A combination of both IVs was also evaluated to determine the relationship to the DV. The question was based on the concept that an organization may find that this leadership style, at a certain level, was preferred or was proven to be most successful in effectively managing the operations and personnel associated with the retail store. The transformational leadership style has advocates and opponents within the retail industry.

Constant changes to the social and cultural standards and generational differences have forced organizations to be more aware of leadership's effects. Determining if a style best suits the overall goals of each location has become vital to the short and long-term success of organizations (Schein & Schein, 2019).

Hypotheses

The first null and alternative hypothesis evaluated the relationship between the independent variable, the leader’s education level, and the level of the transformational leadership style utilized by the designated sample population of retail store managers. The data from the study was analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the IV and the DV. The first hypothesis was:

H1o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H1a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

This study also tested a second hypothesis using the amount of leadership training provided by the organization for the leader as the IV.

H2o - No significant statistical relationship exists between the amount of training received and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H2a - A significant statistical relationship exists between the amount of leadership training received and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

The final hypothesis evaluated in this study was a combination of the previously evaluated IVs and the relationship to the DV

H3o – No significant statistical relationship exists between the level of education coupled with the amount of leadership training received and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

H3a – A significant statistical relationship exists between the level of education coupled with the amount of leadership training received and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

A regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the DV to the IV.

The regression analysis identified the p-value to analyze each hypothesis. For the combination of the IVs, a multivariate regression analysis was utilized and compared the p-value of the F statistic to evaluate the third hypothesis. The regression analysis provided a coefficient of determination (r2) to determine the amount of effect the IV or IVs had on the DV. The results represented the population based on the responses from the sample participants. The study tested for multicollinearity between each IV using the Variance Inflation Factor (VIF). If multicollinearity had been present, the analysis would have been repeated with one of the IV removed based on personal judgment such as the lowest r2 value to allow for easier interpretation as multicollinearity is reduced (Multicollinearity and Regression Analysis, n.d.).

Population and Sample

Chapter one referenced the population and sample used for this quantitative research design and provided details regarding sample size determination and analysis. This chapter provides some more details for this aspect of the study.

Population

The population for this study were retail store managers located in Southwestern Ohio.

There are three large malls, including two indoor malls in this area. The malls include the

Fairfield Commons Mall, The Greene, and the Dayton Mall, which are within a 20-minute drive of each other. The population of a study is typically a large assortment of items or people that make up the primary focus of the research study. The size normally makes it difficult to include

67 every member of the population in the data gathering process, so a sample is needed (Creswell,

2014).

Sample Size

The sample was from the three malls located in the Dayton, Ohio metro area with an average of about 100 retail locations (The Mall at Fairfield Commons, 2020). The malls’ proximity to the researcher provided an ease of access for follow-up. Due to the restrictions that resulted from Corona virus pandemic, the researcher utilized telephone and email communication to identify potential participants for the sampling. 50 potential participants were secured from the communication with the retail outlets. Based on the formula for determining an optimal sample size of - z2 x p(1-p)/e2 / 1+(z2 x p(1-p)/e2N), which offered a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error, an estimated 45 participants would have been preferred. The formula designated N = population size, e = margin of error in decimal form, and z = z-score of

1.96 given the 95% confidence interval. However, a sample size of at least 30 participants indicates that the sampling will more generally approach normal distribution as denoted by concepts of the central limit theorem, so the goal of the research was to obtain a minimum of 30 respondents to the survey to be evaluated with the final number of 31 respondents meeting the necessary criteria (Kwak & Kim, 2017).

Sample Type

The sample of retail store managers was based on a random selection. Randomized sampling is meant to represent the entire population of the study in order to appropriately apply the results. A randomized sampling technique provides an equal opportunity for each member of the population to be selected as a participant and is used when it is unreasonable to attempt to gather feedback from the entire population (Creswell, 2014).

This study compared education and training levels with the level of transformational leadership. The final response total provided an amount adequate to assume both a relatively normal distribution and the ability to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the IV and DV. The questionnaire that was utilized for this study, the MLQ 5X, required consent prior to completion as well as anonymity to the participants (Creswell, 2014;

Creswell & Creswell, 2017).

Informed Consent and Confidentiality

The researcher obtained permission from the mall management teams to reach out to the retail outlets to utilize the retail store managers for this study. This same permission was obtained from each retail location's management team, including corporate offices, when necessary, to ensure approval for allowing the store managers to participate in the study. This study required a review of the scope and purpose with all participants to ensure their understanding. The researcher then sent out a copy of the informed consent form via email to all potential participants prior to electronically distributing the survey. The scope was reviewed via telephone and email and required confirmation of acceptance again before accessing the questionnaire's electronic version.

The online questionnaire was available through a link to the Mind Garden website, but access was not available until each respondent acknowledged their understanding of the research, including that each participant will remain anonymous. Once the respondent acknowledged and agreed to move forward, the questionnaire link was made available. The respondents did not provide a name or an organization and only provided a limited amount of demographic information for participation in the survey. The researcher nor Mind Garden was able to determine the identity of any of the respondents.

The data provided by the participant is being kept in a confidential electronic location accessible only by the researcher for six months after finalizing the research study and submitting the final dissertation. The data will be deleted from the file and the server following the six-month retention period. If requested, each participant, retail organization, and the mall management team will receive the completed research results and conclusions provided by the researcher.

Instrumentation

The instrument for this research was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ

5X), modified with demographic information, developed by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio, and distributed by the Mind Garden Company. Each participant completed the self-assessing questionnaire to determine their level of utilization of the transformational leadership style along with the demographic data for potential additional evaluation. The demographic information included was the age of the leader, the tenure in the retail industry as a leader or follower, education level, and the amount of leadership training provided by the organization.

Quantitative research allows the researcher to gather large amounts of data quickly and is useful when describing samples and populations (Watson, 2015). The survey conducted for this study was cross-sectional as it was only completed once. Commonly used in retail studies regarding market research, the quantitative survey has been widely used to evaluate leadership concepts, styles, and the impact on organizations that focus on a wide array of areas (Maie, Pate,

Gibson, Hilgert, Hull, & Campbell, 2016). With a focus on transformational leadership style, the

MLQ 5X survey gathered data specific to the common concepts of this leadership style. The concepts of this style include faultless influence, intellectual inspiration, customized consideration, and inspiring motivation (Jackson, 2020).

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire™ (MLQ 5X) was used to assess a wide range of leadership characteristics from passive leaders, to leaders who give contingent rewards to followers, to leaders who transform their followers into becoming leaders themselves. Provided by an outside entity, the Mind Garden organization, all participant data were acquired anonymously and confidentially and categorized and analyzed by the researcher with no information related to the participant's identity or the participant’s organization.

Validity and Reliability

The validity and reliability of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X) have been evaluated repeatedly since the inception of the instrument in the late 1990s and has study evaluation resulted in a Cronbach alpha score (0.87) to indicate a high level of reliability based on study results (Muenjohn & Armstrong, 2008). A study by Antonakis (2001) proved the test to be valid when applied to homogeneous sample populations but with mixed results for heterogeneous populations. The previous validity provides confirmation that the questionnaire used, the MLQ 5X, when used correctly to gather the data, will accurately measure the level of transformational leadership style level of each respondent.

Pahi, Umrani, Ab Hamid, and Ahmed (2016) conducted a study to evaluate the validity and reliability of the MLQ 5X within the population of Pakistani healthcare leaders and confirmed that this questionnaire was valid and reliable within this single industry. The MLQ

5X was also considered to be valid and reliable to identify the level of transformational leadership style applied based on a research study conducted by Dimitrov and Darova (2016).

The study concludes that the MLQ 5X “demonstrates efficient psychometric qualities” (p. 55) which support the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Although the MLQ 5X has been proven to be reliable and valid in other studies, a Cronbach’s alpha test was conducted for this

71 study to confirm that it remains acceptable to be presented in chapter four (Creswell & Creswell,

2017).

Data Collection

To reiterate, the data for this study was obtained through a self-assessing MLQ 5X questionnaire completed with total anonymity from a secure website provided by the distributor.

All data is being stored on a secure server accessible only by the researcher used exclusively for statistical analysis and evaluation for this study. The data collection included demographics that assisted with the statistical analysis but could not be used to determine the identity of the participant or the participant’s organization. The primary demographic data was education level and annual hours of leadership training provided to be used as the IVs for the study’s evaluation.

The MLQ 5X identifies the characteristics of leaders that convert their followers into future leaders within the organization or just in general, transformational leaders. The level of transformational leadership applied evaluates passive and transactional characteristics as well

(Bass & Avolio, 1995; Muenjohn & Armstrong, 2008).

Data Analysis

The hypothesis testing utilized regression analysis to determine the strength of the relationship between the IV and DV. The regression analysis and multivariate regression analysis provided the p-value and the coefficient of determination (r2) that reflects the IV’s effect on the DV or the goodness of fit measurement. It also provided the linear regression formula (y

= a + bx) to determine the slope on a graph that represents the relationship (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). The Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) identified from the regression analysis was utilized to test for multicollinearity between the two IVs. If the results had indicated multicollinearity, the analysis would have been repeated with one of the IV removed based on

72 personal judgment such as the lowest r2 value to improve the interpretation of the relationship found in the regression analysis (Creswell & Creswell, 2017, Multicollinearity and Regression

Analysis, n.d.).

A p-value or probability value that is less than the 0.05 mark established, would have resulted in the researcher rejecting the null hypothesis and supporting the alternative hypothesis.

This would reflect that the results showed a statistically significant relationship between the IV and DV. If the p-value is greater than the 0.05 mark, the researcher would have failed to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there was no statistically significant relationship between the IV and the DV. The regression analysis provided additional support for the findings by determining the strength of the relationship between the IV and the DV. A coefficient of determination (r2) value of 0.50 or 50% will indicate a positive relationship, while an r2 value of over 0.70 or 70% will indicate a statistically significant relationship (Creswell, 2014; Creswell &

Creswell, 2017). A VIF score that exceeds ten is typically considered an indicator of multicollinearity between variables and can be determined using the formula VIF = 1/(1-r2)

(Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Additional statistical information will be presented in chapter four related to the results of the analysis.

Summary

Chapter three reviewed the methodology and design for this study and provided support for utilizing a quantitative design. The chapter also supported the MLQ 5X as the survey instrument to gather empirical data regarding the level of transformational leadership style utilized by the population sample from retail store managers in malls Southwestern Ohio. The research question and hypotheses evaluated in this study were reiterated. Additionally, the process for obtaining informed consent and ensuring confidentiality was reviewed.

Multiple sources were listed to confirm the validity and reliability of the MLQ 5X questionnaire as the appropriate instrument, and the process of data collection and analysis listed the accepted methods to be involved with this study. There is significant support that the MLQ

5X is a viable resource to be used as a self-assessing instrument when conducting a cross- sectional quantitative correlational study. The anonymity of the participants was confirmed based on the process, and flow chart and statistical analysis have been confirmed as appropriate and effective for evaluating the data based on the research studies previously conducted. The analysis results allowed researcher to provide an informed conclusion to support or reject the hypotheses and determine the strength of any identified relationship between the IV and the DV.

Chapter four will describe the analysis process and the study results.

Chapter 4

Analysis and Results

This chapter contains the analysis of the data collected for this research. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the education level of business leaders, the amount of leadership training provided by the organization, and the combination of these two independent variables to the level of use of the transformational leadership style among managers to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship.

Population Sample

The study’s population was made up of retail store managers working in the

Southwestern part of Ohio with a minimum of two years of leadership experience and a minimum of four subordinates or followers. The data collection process was altered slightly due to the 2020 Novel Coronavirus pandemic. No face-to-face contact was permitted between researcher and participants, so the researcher reached out via telephone to the retail store managers of the Fairfield Commons Mall, The Greene, and the Dayton Mall to solicit participants.

A contact list of willing participants was gathered, and an email request was sent to the potential participants via blind copy to maintain anonymity. A total of 50 retail store managers agreed to participate, and 31 met the required participant criteria or completed the survey entirely. The goal was to obtain a minimum of 30 responses to attain a sufficient sample size to achieve an approximately normal distribution based on the Central Limit Theorem (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017).

Research Method and Design

The study utilized a quantitative design to capture data to analyze the hypotheses established. Linear regression analysis was conducted through the Statistical Analysis System

(SAS) to determine if there was a significant statistical relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Multivariate regression analysis was also used to evaluate the relationship of the combination of the two IVs mentioned above with the DV. The dependent variable was the level of transformational leadership style utilized and based on the responses from the store managers to the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X). A Cronbach

Alpha test was conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the MLQ 5X regarding this study's parameters, and multicollinearity was evaluated to ensure the variables did not undermine the statistical significance of the other (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Additional statistical analysis was conducted in SAS to evaluate skewness and Kurtosis. The results, as well as the summary of the analysis, are presented in this chapter.

Methodology Approach

With the study's scope looking at the leadership style for retail store managers, previous research indicated success with self-assessing and subordinate (observer) provided evaluations.

A self-assessing survey was selected with the understanding that future research related to this population could utilize an employee provided or observer leadership assessment (Chesley,

Egan, Jones, 2020). The self-assessing survey required responses from the retail store managers that made up the sampling. The assumption was that the anonymity provided would compel the managers to answer honestly and eliminate any response bias.

The study by Gray and Williams (2012) looked at laissez-faire leadership within the retail industry and concluded that this style was becoming a trend and provided examples of the

76 benefits. The benefits included a more independent workforce but also indicated that the followers were not open to change that would force them out of their comfort zone. Primarily, research studies that looked into the retail industry did not focus on transformational leadership but looked to identify the specific leadership style utilized or how effective the leadership style was either to the organization or in the opinion of the followers (Aycan & Shelia, 2019).

Instrument

This study utilized a survey as the instrument to gather the data to be evaluated. With the study evaluating the level of transformational leadership concepts applied, the Multifactor

Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X) was selected. The MLQ 5X is specifically designed to evaluate the transformational leadership style and has been recognized as effective in several previous studies for accurately assessing the level. Additional demographic questions were answered to capture additional variables for the study.

The demographics collected allowed for analysis of the independent variables of education level and organizational provided leadership training. An age range was collected, as well as the amount of experience in the industry, in general, and as a manager. Gender was not included as a demographic to maintain continuous variables for this study. The demographics did not compromise the anonymity of the participants and offered other evaluation scenarios for future research. Table 3.1 through 3.5 will list out the demographics, the frequency, and percentage of the sampling.

Table 3.1 - Age Category Frequency Percentage Age 18-24 4 12.90% 25-34 6 19.35% 35-44 6 19.35% 45-54 9 29.03% 55+ 5 16.13% Prefer not to answer 1 3.23%

Table 3.2 – Industry Experience Industry Experience 1-5 years 6 19.35% 6-10 years 5 16.13% 11-15 years 7 22.58% 16-20 years 4 12.90% 21-25 years 5 16.13% 26-30 years 1 3.23% 31-35 years 3 9.68%

Table 3.3 – Industry Management Experience

Industry Management Experience 2-5 years* 11 35.48% 6-10 years 4 12.90% 11-15 years 5 16.13% 16-20 years 6 19.35% 21-25 years 1 3.23% 26-30 years 3 9.68% 30+ years 1 3.23% *Minimum of two years management experience required to participate in this study

Table 3.4 – Education Level Education level HS Diploma/Equivalent 9 29.03% Certification/Up to 60 college credits 4 12.90% 61-120 college credits 8 25.81% Baccalaureate degree 7 22.58% Some graduate work 0 0.00% Graduate degree 3 9.68%

Table 3.5 – Average Annual Leadership Training Average annual leadership training 0-20 hours 15 48.39% 21-40 hours 5 16.13% 41-60 hour 6 19.35% 61-80 hours 3 9.68% 81-100 hours 2 6.45%

Research Question and Hypotheses

The question evaluated for this study looked at education and leadership training. Does an increase in formal education or organizational provided leadership training indicate an increase in the usage of transformational leadership concepts among retail store managers?

Organizations may prefer to institute specific leadership styles based on top-level executives’ opinions regarding what style is most effective at achieving short and long-term goals. This study focuses on one of the most popular leadership styles in the business environment today (Northouse, 2019). Although, with the diversity of today’s workforce and business environment, leadership styles can be combined and adjusted depending on the circumstances. The MLQ 5X survey evaluated the transformational leadership style and application level, and the results were analyzed to test the three established hypotheses. The strength of the relationship of each IV to the DV was evaluated as well as a combination of the two IVs.

H1o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H1a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H2o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H2a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

H3o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H3a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

Data Collection

The participants completed 45 questions on the electronic survey to evaluate their application of transformational leadership techniques to their followers and how they viewed their contributions to different scenarios. The survey took participants about 20 minutes to complete, and the results were automatically added to the data collection program associated with the Mind Garden and MLQ 5X website. Refer to Appendix B for the questions from the survey. This data was immediately accessible to the researcher and allowed manipulation via

Excel to create the necessary formatting for statistical analysis in the SAS program.

Data Analysis

Using the SAS program, a Cronbach Alpha analysis was conducted on the MLQ 5X questionnaire to confirm that the survey was reliable. The Cronbach Alpha is a measure of

“internal consistency” (Introduction to SAS, 2016) to determine the strength of the relationship of a group of questions designed to measure a specific variable or category (Introduction to SAS,

2016). A score over .70 is considered good, a score over .80 is better, and a score over .90 is considered optimal and identifies the survey as valid and reliable for evaluating the study's research topic (Statistics Solution, nd.).

Tests for skewness and Kurtosis were then conducted to verify that the data had a normal distribution or a relatively normal distribution. A skew value of zero would indicate symmetric or normal distribution (UCLA Institute for Digital Research & Education, nd.). Kurtosis is the measure of the “heaviness of the tails” (Creswell & Creswell, 2019, p. 79) of distribution, with zero indicating a normal distribution, a negative value reflecting a left-skewed result, and a positive value indicating a right-skewed result (UCLA Institute for Digital Research &

Education, nd.).

Linear regression analysis using the two IVs separately and then combined was conducted to evaluate the relationship's statistical significance to the DV. This analysis provided the p-value or probability that the IV had any significant effect on the DV. The SAS program lists the p-value compared to the test statistic when determining whether to reject the null hypothesis. For the combination of the IVs and the effect they had on the DV, a multivariate regression analysis was utilized. Since two IVs were being used, a VIF test was conducted to determine if one IV was affecting the other IV and distorting the results. To determine if multicollinearity was a factor in analyzing the IVs, separate and combined, we utilized the formula VIF = 1 / (1-r2). A VIF result greater than ten would indicate a high level of multicollinearity, while a result closer to 1 is an indication of no multicollinearity (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017).

Outcome of Analysis Findings

The questionnaire's overall Cronbach Alpha score was 0.9405, indicating that the questionnaire was valid and reliable for evaluating the variables in this study. Table 4 shows the

Cronbach Alpha results for the MLQ 5X from the SAS program.

Table 4 Cronbach Coefficient Alpha RAW 0.940516

Following the Cronbach Alpha test to confirm validity and reliability, a skewness and kurtosis analysis was conducted to evaluate the DV or level of transformational leadership applied. The test revealed a very slight left skew with a value of -0.209. A test of kurtosis for the data set confirmed this with a value of -0.653. Table 5 will display the results for the skewness and kurtosis test.

Table 5 Skewness and Kurtosis of the Dependent Variable SKEWNESS -0.2094399 KURTOSIS -0.6534133

Skewness and Kurtosis test for the IVs indicated that each was slightly right-skewed, but a relatively normal distribution based on the kurtosis result. The kurtosis test may indicate a slightly flat curve. The level of education had a skewness of 0.5135, and the amount of leadership training was at 0.7216. The kurtosis result for the level of education was -0.3976, and the amount of leadership was at -0.6534. Tables 6 and 7 will display the results from the SAS program.

Table 6 Skewness and Kurtosis of the Education Level (IV) SKEWNESS 0.5134788

KURTOSIS -0.975641

Table 7 Skewness and Kurtosis of the Amount of Training (IV) SKEWNESS 0.7215839 KURTOSIS -0.6438557

A linear regression analysis was conducted to analyze the results and test the hypotheses that compared the correlation or relationship between the independent variables (education level, hours of leadership training) and the dependent variable (level of transformational leadership style). Beginning with the level of education:

H1o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H1a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of education and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

The relationship between a leader's education level and the level of transformational leadership applied showed a p-value of 0.07. This p-value exceeded the alpha of 0.05, causing the researcher to fail to reject the null hypothesis indicating the relationship had no significant statistical relationship (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Table 8 reflects the results of the linear regression analysis of the education level variable.

Table 8 P-value (probability) vs. alpha 0.05, Intercept and Slope P-VALUE 0.0700

INTERCEPT 2.40624

SLOPE 0.16674

The linear regression analysis presented a slope formula for education level as y =

2.40624 + (0.16674 x Ed. Level) and an r2 value of 0.1088, indicating that the independent variable explained less than 11% of the variation in the dependent variable. This result also indicated a very minimal effect on the level of transformational leadership applied. Table 9 will display the r2 results.

Table 9 R-SQUARED (coefficient of determination) R-SQUARED 0.1088

A histogram chart did indicate a slight increase in transformational leadership application as the level of education increased but not to the degree that we would reject the null and determine that there was no statistically significant relationship based on the linear regression analysis. See appendix D for the histogram for the education level variable.

Evaluating the amount of annual leadership training hypothesis:

H2o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H2a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

The results for analyzing the amount of leadership training’s effect on the DV reflected a larger p-value (0.5709) and lower r2 value (0.0112) than the education level variable. This outcome also resulted in a failure to reject the null hypothesis and represented no significant statistical relationship to the DV. Table 10 will display the SAS data related to the p-value.

Table 10 P-value (probability) vs. alpha 0.05, Intercept and Slope P-VALUE 0.5709 INTERCEPT 2.78324 SLOPE 0.00272

The slope formula for leadership training was determined to be y = 2.78324 + (0.00272 x hrs of training) also reflected in Table 10. The r2 results are presented in Table 11.

Table 11 R-SQUARED (coefficient of determination) R-SQUARED R-SQUARED

The histogram also reflected a slight increase in the level of transformational leadership applied as the amount of leadership training increased but did not outweigh the results of the linear regression analysis. See Appendix D for the histogram for the training hours variable.

The final hypothesis looked at the relationship of both IVs to the DV:

H3o - No significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training and more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts.

H3a - A significant statistical relationship exists between level of training combined with leadership training more predominant use of transformational leadership concepts

For the multivariate regression analysis of the combination of IVs, the results were evaluated based on the p-value of the F statistic. The p-value of the F statistic was higher than the alpha of 0.05 and resulted in a failure to reject the null hypothesis and confirmed that there was no significant statistical relationship between the IVs and the DV. The combination of the two variables resulted in an r2 value of 0.1610, explaining about 16% of the variation in the DV.

Table 12 will provide the p-value results.

Table 12 P-value of the F statistic compared to Alpha 0.05

P-VALUE 0.0856 Intercept and Slope

INTERCEPT 2.08350

SLOPE (training hours) 0.00623

When combining the IVs, the slope formula would be y = 2.08350 + (0.20752 x Ed.

Level) + (0.00623 x Hrs. of Training). This formula is also reflected in Table 12. Table 13 will show the r2 value from the SAS analysis

Table 13 R-SQUARED (coefficient of determination)

R-SQUARED 0.1610

For the VIF analysis of both IVs, the result is 1.19 (VIF = 1 / (1-.1610) and reflects, basically, no multicollinearity between the education level and the amount of leadership training received by the store managers.

Analysis Summation

The result of the analysis was that the researcher failed to reject the null hypothesis for each of the three hypotheses. Failing to reject the null hypothesis indicates that there was no significant statistical relationship between the education level, the amount of annual leadership training, and the level of transformational leadership concepts applied. The study did not identify the specifics of the education held by the leader which may impact the results based the area in which the degree was earned. An example would be that a degree in business would expose an individual more robustly to leadership theories and concepts such as transformational leadership versus a degree or the study of biology.

This study utilized the MLQ5X to evaluate transformational leadership among retail store managers. Other studies were not identified that attempted to find a significant statistical relationship between educational level and leadership training and the level of transformational leadership concepts applied. Previously detailed studies, however, had aspects that were similar

86 to this study either with methodology, design, or variables. Chapter five will evaluate the results of this study compared to some of the other studies to identify similarities and differences.

Chapter 5

Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Introduction

Bass and Avolio (1985) enhanced the concepts of transformational leadership developed by James MacGregor Burns (1978). The concepts looked to provide motivation and development through inspirational actions by a leader that would increase followers' desire to do their job well and attempt to learn and exceed productivity norms. This study analyzed how education and leadership training related to the level of transformational leadership applied by Southwestern

Ohio retail store managers.

The study's purpose was to determine the relationship between managers' education and training levels at retail establishments and the propensity for using transformation leadership concepts. Companies that preferred the transformational leadership style in their organizations could identify a candidate based on this variable. In this study, the variables would be the level of education, the amount of organizational provided leadership training, or some combination of the two variables.

This chapter will compare this study's results with the results of studies presented in chapter two that offered an understanding of various leadership styles, including transformational leadership and leadership theories and applications. A review of what was determined in this study as well as how the determination was made, will be presented and how these answered the research questions and hypotheses. The results of the data analysis will be used to promote future research with this population and others to evaluate variable relationships with the utilization of transformational leadership concepts. The quantitative data will be clarified for a better understanding of the results and the implications.

Studies similar to this one were presented to support the design and tool selected for gathering relevant data to properly evaluate the hypotheses in chapter two. Literature was also presented that looked at the retail industry, specifically concerning leadership, but none were focused on identifying a specific characteristic that would indicate an inclination towards leading via the transformational concepts. The process used in this study were acceptable regarding the standards established for conducting research using a human population. The participants were made aware of the study's purpose, the procedures to be implemented, and that their participation was voluntary, and that they could remove themselves from the study at any point if they desired.

They were also advised that the results would be made available to them if they chose.

This chapter will review the analysis of the three hypotheses tested for this study using data from participants' responses to the MLQ 5X questionnaire. Regression analysis was the primary statistical analysis to determine the probability or p-value of the independent variable affected any variation in the dependent variable. Prior to the regression analysis, a Cronbach

Alpha test was conducted to ensure that the questionnaire was valid and reliable and that the questions were pertinent to gathering the data necessary to evaluate the hypotheses.

Also, before the regression analysis was conducted, the researcher evaluated the level of skewness and kurtosis to ensure that the data set had a relatively normal distribution. It was also necessary to obtain a minimum of 30 participants to satisfy the criteria for the central limit theorem. The study included 31 participants from a population of retail store managers with a minimum of two years of retail management experience and four subordinates to lead.

Discussion of Results and Findings

This study’s findings determined that the education level of a retail store manager in

Southwestern Ohio did not have significant a statistical relationship to the level of

89 transformational leadership concepts applied. The findings indicate that a retail store leader’s education level would not be a consistent indicator of their inclination to utilize the concepts associated with transformational leadership. These concepts include promoting a positive change in individuals and social systems within the workplace to allow subordinates the ability to work independently and be involved with problem-solving and goal-setting (Bass & Avolio,

1993).

The average amount of annual leadership training also did not show a statistically significant relationship with the level of transformational leadership concepts applied based on the analysis. This result indicates that leadership training for retail store managers in the

Southwestern Ohio region does not tend to develop a strong inclination to utilize transformational leadership styles. The same was true for the results when education level and amount of training were combined and evaluated for a statistically significant relationship. This result may indicate that retail store managers in this region do not ascribe to the concepts in general, or there is another variable that may demonstrate a stronger relationship to transformational leadership application.

The sampling for this study was somewhat hindered due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic as stores were beginning to reopen with less staffing and available store hours. Lower staffing levels may have eliminated some of the leaders from this study because they did not oversee the minimum amount of four subordinates. The staffing levels may change in the future and qualify other leaders based on the parameters of this study. There may also have been response bias due to the fact that each leader would have to access the survey online and complete the twenty to twenty-five-minute process in one sitting with no ability to stop and restart or to gain additional access.

Measuring the amount of transformational leadership levels may have created issues as participants may utilize transformational leadership concepts in some circumstances or varying degrees but chose to answer based on a specific situation such as the current environment developed due to the pandemic. A leader may be forced to take a more autocratic or transactional approach due to the requirements for cleanliness and hygiene. Since the regulations imposed were atypical for the retail industry, autonomy and independent work may have been limited.

The pandemic of 2020 was the most predominant confounding variable for this study.

The issues with some retail locations not being open, not be open to the same degree The increase in online sales was also a confounding variable in this study as some stores limited or delayed their reopening, choosing to focus on more robust virtual shopping. The online retail market had already been acquiring market share from brick and mortar location due to convenience and consumer preference, but the pandemic restrictions made the internet necessary in some instances to purchase desired items.

The data collection remained consistent with the original proposal and utilized an online questionnaire that was a proven tool for evaluating transformational leadership application and provided by a third-party organization. The original plan was to communicate face-to-face with potential respondents to discuss the parameters, obtain initial consent, and encourage retail store managers to participate. The restrictions imposed by the internal review board (IRB) as a direct result of recommendations by health officials forced the researcher to communicate via phone.

Some leaders would not come to the phone, some would dismiss the request due to volume of work and staffing issues, and some attempted to placate the researcher by agreeing but with no intention of completing the survey.

The data analysis followed the established process by utilizing regression analysis to evaluate the hypotheses. Each IV was evaluated independently as well as in a combination to the

DV through the SAS program and compared the resulting p-value to an alpha of 0.05. A multivariate regression analysis was conducted when the two variables were combined to analyze the statistical relationship. The multivariate analysis also compared the resulting p-value to an alpha of 0.05.

The findings indicated no positive correlation between education and the use of transformational leadership, which is similar to the study conducted by Nicholson and Cushman

(2000) as they compared the opinions of academics to retail industry leaders regarding what was important for an individual to achieve success in a retail leadership role. Since “the educational backgrounds of retail executives” (p. 366) had a wide variation and did not coincide with any specifics related to secondary education, it was determined to be an insignificant variable in the success of retail leaders. Academics felt that educating individuals to utilize interpersonal skills that mirror the transformational leadership style was more vital to success. Industry leaders felt that a combination of leadership and decision-making was essential and did not require formal education to develop.

The results indicated that the two groups held different beliefs regarding what would be considered a more critical skill or characteristic for a potential retail leader to possess. The group of academics felt that development of more cognitive development such as an awareness of the business environment and the products being sold. The retail industry respondents, however, felt that the development of more “affective characteristics” (p. 370) such as conflict resolution and decision making were a more valuable skill set to hold to become a successful retail leader (Nicholson & Cushman, 2000).

This current study also looked at leadership training as a potential variable affecting the leadership style utilized. A study conducted by Lacerenza, Reyes, Marlow, Joseph, and Salas

(2017) posited that, although organizations will typically allocate budgeted funds for leadership training, very few consider the training effective. The study took the feedback data from employees regarding their leaders' style in four categories: reactions, learning, transfer, and results.

The outcomes indicated that leadership training resulted in significant improvement in each category based on a total of 335 sampling respondents. The results also indicated that the improvements showed increased results when more leadership training was applied to the subordinates rather than the leaders. The overall effect indicated that as subordinates or followers received training and gained a better understanding of leadership techniques, the leader becomes more effective when applying appropriate leadership concepts (Lacerenza, et al., 2017).

The research question was to determine how effective leadership training programs were, based on the results made available in publications, and how organizations could maximize their effectiveness based on that analysis of these results.

The study considered the benefits of transformational versus transactional leadership styles, but only as they could affect the four categories. The regression analysis did not look at specific characteristics associated with the styles. The results indicated that leadership training that provided more business competencies rather than inter or intrapersonal competencies was more effective in the categories analyzed.

The conclusions by Lacerenza, et al. (2019) were that leadership training should be developed based on the needs of followers as well as the leaders and incorporate multiple delivery platforms for reinforcement and retention. The study presented evidence that leadership

93 training was effective and can be utilized to develop an advantage for the leaders of the organization. One of the advantages would include increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover rates.

This current study showed no correlation between leadership training and the use of transformational concepts but evaluated data provided by the retail leaders and not the retail followers or any published training results. The efficacy of leadership training on the management team was evaluated in both studies, with both indicating transformational leadership concepts were not enhanced.

Bornman (2019) conducted research and concluded that training should be conducted for leaders, in general, and that the leadership training they receive should focus on how to "develop a transformational leadership style" (p. 9) based on the benefits and recorded success.

Bornman’s (2019) study employed a population of Generation Z students, which will quickly become the most dominant generation working today, concluding that transformational leadership concepts are the preferred style for this generation. Recommendations were that a combination of continued education and training focusing on transformational concepts would be beneficial to organizations.

This current study failed to conclude that combining a higher level of education with a higher amount of annual leadership training resulted in an increase in the level of transformational leadership concepts applied. Bornman (2019), however, based the study’s determination on the fact that the continued education and training would focus specifically on transformational leadership. Owusu (2020) also considered leadership training with a focus on transformational leadership vital to a retail organization as the concepts utilized with this style

94 were considered most effective for employee retention. This determination was based on the input provided in focus groups of retail leaders experienced in developing retention strategies.

The contradictions among the studies begin with the slight differences in evaluation, variables, and focus. This current study did not consider the discipline or type of education and considered leadership training any interaction with superiors regarding development or direction in an informal setting as well as a formal setting. The effectiveness of the leadership training was not evaluated, with the survey only capturing the total amount of interaction and training provided by the organization. Overall, the consensus was that transformational leadership was beneficial, and there was merit in utilizing the concepts.

Summation of Key Findings

This study's key findings will contribute to the current research and literature regarding leadership styles and how this is impacted by continued education and leadership training in the retail sector. The implication that a retail leader's education level did not indicate a propensity to utilize the transformational leadership concepts would eliminate this characteristic as an indicator for organizations to identify a transformational leader.

Leadership training was also identified as not being an indicator of transformational leadership concepts application. The results indicated no significant statistical relationship when analyzing the hypothesis combining the independent variables as well, and no independent variable or combination of variables showed any significant effect on the dependent variable.

Limitations of Results and Findings

This study's limitations are that other demographics or combinations of demographics may have provided results that were better able to identify an IV with a more significant statistical effect on the DV. Using a population of leaders from the retail industry would limit

95 the conclusions to this business environment based on a few scenarios 1) the retail industry has a significantly higher turnover rate than other industries. The high turnover rate may force leaders to incorporate different leadership styles such as autocratic or transactional, to mitigate the loss of experience and productivity associated with tenured employees. 2) the retail industry has large variations in staffing needs as seasonal situations increase the need for additional and temporary staffing. These scenarios could potentially result in the utilization of different leadership styles to help manage the inexperienced and, potentially, less motivated temporary employees. 3) retail leaders in small, locally-owned locations may utilize varying styles because they may work and own the store and have more family and friends working for them. Having friendly relationships with subordinates may reduce the amount of leadership style utilized as the familiarity from outside of work would be present at work with no formal development programs instituted (Gaskell, 2015).

The population of this study was from regional and national retail chains that have corporate offices and less centralized executive-level leadership. The leadership styles and expectations may be predicated on leaders who do not necessarily interact directly with the store managers. A national chain may be reviewing financial goals and performance and not considering how leadership style, training, and development can create an immediate return on the investment of including or improving these concepts in their goals (Flaherty, et al., 2009).

The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 added to the limitations, and mandatory business shutdowns had significant effects on the retail industry. When this study began gathering data, the challenges for the retail locations included not having full staff, not having the same sales volume as before, and not having the usual updated, seasonal items based on the fact that little merchandise was leaving the store during the shutdown and would need to be sold to

96 accommodate additional appropriate merchandise. Most locations reported having to sell the merchandise at a much lower margin or a loss. Restrictions on hours of operations forced stores to reduce staffing or limit employee hours resulting in employees finding other jobs to provide financial support. Stricter health and safety regulations and limits on the total number of customers in the store at one time added to the struggles. The loss of retail store employees due to the pandemic was not limited to the floor level employees but also had a dramatic effect on the leadership as they were forced to endure not being able to work for long periods of time, causing turnover with leaders (Yohn, 2020).

Recommendations for Further Research

Future research can be conducted using this methodology and adjusted to provide different data to support or refute the findings. Gathering data using an observer-based survey instead of the self-assessing style used in this study may provide different perceptions of how the leaders behaved. This change may result in finding different levels of transformational leadership applied by the same leaders. Combining self-assessing and observer-based surveys to evaluate the level of transformational leadership concepts applied may provide different results with the correlation of the independent and dependent variables.

Changing the independent variables is also recommended for future research and may identify another variable or combination that has a statistically significant relationship to the level of transformational leadership utilized and a higher level of effect on variation.

Subordinate experience might also be a valuable variable for analyzing the style utilized and the level at which it is applied since experienced subordinates may require less transactional or autocratic intervention and be able to work with more autonomy and freedom to make improvements as necessary. Gender was excluded from this study but could provide additional

97 data on the relationship to transformational leadership. The retail industry is supported by a majority of female consumers but has a disproportionate number of formal female leaders throughout all levels of retail management (Lindsey, 2016).

Applying this study's methodology and design to a different industry would be an interesting idea for future research. Juxtaposing the retail industry results to the medical industry, the construction industry, or the manufacturing industry would be an interesting exercise to understand the predominant leadership styles and if the level of education or training has any significant relationship with those styles. This same concept can be applied to non-profit and for-profit organizations to evaluate the styles and relationships with leadership characteristics.

Implications for Practice

The implications of this study are that retail organizations will not have a specific characteristic or variable that will identify a candidate that is more inclined to utilized transformational leadership concepts. Additionally, specific leadership training, as well as general leadership coaching, will also not result in a retail leader implementing a transformational approach with the subordinates. Challenges and costs for retail industry organizations will remain as they endeavor to try to identify, hire, and retain transformational leaders.

Implications for organizations that cannot identify transformational leaders include poor employee job satisfaction, high turnover, and low productivity associated with subordinates that are led ineffectively. As Bornman’s (2019) research indicated, individuals prefer a leader who utilizes transformational concepts, thus making it even more important for all organizations, not

98 just retail. Transformational leadership has shown to be an effective leader with the ability to have consistent success (Northouse, 2019; Bass & Riggio, 2006).

Summary

This study's results were not the expected results of the researcher as no significant statistical relationship was identified individually for the two independent variables, or when they were combined. The researcher expected the independent variables individually and combined would show a more significant statistical relations and have more of an effect on the dependent variable. This result would have provided support for using the characteristics or variables to identify leadership candidates that would be more inclined to utilize the transformational leadership concepts. The questionnaire as the data collection tool was confirmed by the Cronbach Alpha score to be valid and reliable for this study, and the skewness and kurtosis test proved it had a relatively normal distribution. The total participants were adequate to meet the criteria for normal distribution based on the central limit theorem, so the data appears to be appropriately analyzed and the results accurate based on the data (Creswell &

Creswell, 2017).

A larger sample size might have been accomplished if the pandemic had not created the limitations with the interaction between researcher and participants and the challenges to retail leaders returning to work following a significant shutdown period. The lower rate of participation may also have been a result of the questionnaire certification as it required that participants access and complete the survey on the initial attempt, and they could not access the survey more than once whether they had completed it or not. The time to complete the questionnaire was about twenty minutes, and poor planning or interruptions may have resulted in non-responses.

A challenge to the retail industry, specifically the brick and mortar aspect, is that the increase in virtual shopping and purchases created out of convenience and necessity may limit the number of managers or employees in the future at retail locations. The retail locations that can effectively accommodate online sales will be poised to benefit from the continued transition to online purchasing (Gaskell, 2015). Changes in the retail business environment will continue to require changes in leadership styles and business practices, so this same study may provide different results if conducted on a similar population in three to five years.

In conclusion, the results did not provide the support that an educated person who received adequate leadership training is typically better prepared and more effective through the transformational leadership style. As organizations better understand how to provide the most effective training techniques and individuals realize the benefits of utilizing transformational leadership concepts, it may become commonplace for leaders to apply these concepts. When considering that the next generation of workers, Generation Z, are more amenable to the transformational leadership style, focusing on becoming proficient with this style become apparent (Bornman, 2019). Going forward, the goal will remain for organizations to be able to identify the most appropriate candidate for their organization.

100

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Appendix A

You are invited to take part in a research study conducted by David Jackson from the Doctor of Business Administration program at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. This project is being supervised by Dr. Kenneth Knox, Dissertation Committee Chair. Before you decide whether or not to participate in the study, you should read this page and ask questions if there is anything that you do not understand. The purpose of the study is to better understand the different types and methods of leadership styles applied in retail management and explores factors that may demonstrate a relationship. If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. Some of the questions and topics include how much direction you feel it necessary to provide to a typical employee, your opinion on the work ethic of your employees, how you praise and punish employees during the course of managing them, and how much you input you allow employees to have with daily tasks or personal goals. Although there will be no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study, the researcher may learn more about the different leadership approaches and how they are applied. Your volunteer participation could help identify a path or technique for future leaders to follow and assist employers in determining a more viable candidate for a leadership role. If you choose to complete this questionnaire, know that you do not have to answer any questions or provide details you do not want to share. Participating in this study is completely voluntary. You can skip questions or stop participating in this study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits you would normally have. This questionnaire is anonymous. The researcher will not collect names, email addresses, or other identifiable information as part of the questionnaire. These data will be used for research purposes only. If you have questions about this research study, please contact David Jackson (Principal Investigator) at [email protected]. You may also contact Dr. Kenneth Knox at [email protected]. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, please contact the Franklin University IRB Office at 614-947-6037 or [email protected]. The questionnaire should take about 15 minutes to complete. Thank you for your participation! Please click the button below to proceed and participate in this study. If you do not wish to participate, please close out your browser window.

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Appendix B

MLQ 5X – Consent and demographic plus 45 survey questions

Consent to participate: (1=I agree to participate in this study., 2=I do not agree to participate.) Age: (1=18-24, 2=25-34, 3=35-44, 4=45-54, 5=55+, 6=I PREFER NOT TO STATE) Industry Experience: (in years) Industry Management Experience: (in years) Education level: (1=High School Diploma or Equivalent, 2=Industry Recognized Certification or Up to 60 College Credit Hours, 3=Between 61 and 120 College Credit hours, 4=Baccalaureate Degree, 5=Some Graduate Work, 6=Graduate Degree, 7=I PREFER NOT TO STATE) The average amount of leadership training provided by the organization annually: (in hours) I provide others with assistance in exchange for their efforts. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I re-examine critical assumptions to question whether they are appropriate. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I fail to interfere until problems become serious. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I focus attention on irregularities, mistakes, exceptions, and deviations from standards. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I avoid getting involved when important issues arise. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I talk about my most important values and beliefs. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I am absent when needed. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I seek differing perspectives when solving problems. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I talk optimistically about the future. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I instill pride in others for being associated with me. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always)

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I discuss in specific terms who is responsible for achieving performance targets. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I wait for things to go wrong before taking action. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I talk enthusiastically about what needs to be accomplished. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I specify the importance of having a strong sense of purpose. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I spend time teaching and coaching. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I make clear what one can expect to receive when performance goals are achieved. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I show that I am a firm believer in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I go beyond self-interest for the good of the group. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I treat others as individuals rather than just as members of the group. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I demonstrate that problems must become chronic before I take action. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I act in ways that build others' respect for me. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I concentrate my full attention on dealing with mistakes, complaints, and failures. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I consider the moral and ethical consequences of decisions. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I keep track of all mistakes. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I display a sense of power and confidence. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always)

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I articulate a compelling vision of the future. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I direct my attention toward failures to meet standards. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I avoid making decisions. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I consider each individual as having different needs, abilities, and aspirations from others. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I get others to look at problems from many different angles. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I help others to develop their strengths. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I suggest new ways of looking at how to complete assignments. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I delay responding to urgent questions. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I emphasize the importance of having a collective sense of mission. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I express satisfaction when others meet expectations. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I express confidence that goals will be achieved. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I am effective in meeting others' job-related needs. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I use methods of leadership that are satisfying. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I get others to do more than they expected to do. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I am effective in representing my group to higher authority. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always)

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I work with others in a satisfactory way. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I heighten others' desire to succeed. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I am effective in meeting organizational requirements. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I increase others' willingness to try harder. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always) I lead a group that is effective. (blank=Unsure, 0=Not at all, 1=Once in a while, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly often, 4=Frequently, if not always)

136

Appendix C

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Appendix D

Appendix E