Hotel Manager Strategies to Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover Christl Arwen Kroeten Walden University
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Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2018 Hotel Manager Strategies to Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover Christl Arwen Kroeten Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, and the Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Christl A. Kroeten has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Mary Weber, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Jamiel Vadell, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Peter Anthony, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2018 Abstract Hotel Manager Strategies to Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover by Christl A. Kroeten MS, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2011 BA, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2005 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University July 2018 Abstract The voluntary turnover rate in the United States hotel industry is among the highest of all industries, resulting in lost revenue. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies hotel managers use to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The targeted population consisted of 6 managers from hotel businesses operating in the MidAtlantic region of the United States who successfully used strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover. Job embeddedness theory, this study’s theoretical framework, was used to describe reasons employees remained in organizations. Data were gathered via semistructured interviews, observational notes, and public business records regarding turnover or retention programs. Yinʼs 5-step analysis model was used to compile, deconstruct, reassemble, interpret, and draw conclusions from the data. Four themes emerged from data analysis: organizational support with property-level flexibility, feeling valued for individual contributions to the team, opportunities for training or advancement, and relationships with managers and peers. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by providing strategies to reduce employee turnover in a historically low-wage industry, which may result in raising the quality of life for hotel employees, their families, and communities. Hotel Manager Strategies to Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover by Christl A. Kroeten MS, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2011 BA, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 2005 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University July 2018 Dedication I would like to dedicate this study to my family. To my parents for paving the way and setting the doctoral standard. To my husband, Robert Carey for his untiring support and creative motivation. Further, to my children Hunter and Morgan for keeping me grounded in real-life when I could have gotten lost in literature and business analysis. I cannot thank you enough. You continue to allow me to be the professional I truly want to be. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my Chair, Dr. Mary Weber, for keeping me focused on the clear, concise, precise goal of a completed scholarly work, for slowing me down when I wanted to run, and for encouraging me to run when all I wanted was a nap. I also want to thank Dr. Jamiel Vadell and Dr. Peter Anthony for their timely reviews and staying on my committee through this arduous process. Special thanks also go to Rod Faulk and Arthur Leak for affording me the opportunity to apply my learning in their organizations, mostly for the better. Thanks to Todd Heuser and Kristopher King for cheering me through to the end. And thanks to Stephanie Kazmierczak for her unwavering support and flexibility over many months and many miles. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iv Section 1: Foundation of the Study ......................................................................................1 Background of the Problem ...........................................................................................2 Problem Statement .........................................................................................................3 Purpose Statement ..........................................................................................................3 Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................3 Research Question .........................................................................................................5 Interview Questions .......................................................................................................5 Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................6 Operational Definitions ..................................................................................................7 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations ................................................................8 Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 8 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 8 Delimitations ........................................................................................................... 9 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................10 Contribution to Business Practice ......................................................................... 10 Implications for Social Change ............................................................................. 10 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature ..............................................11 Job Embeddedness ................................................................................................ 13 Turnover ................................................................................................................ 26 Management Applications .................................................................................... 33 i Transition .....................................................................................................................39 Section 2: The Project ........................................................................................................40 Purpose Statement ........................................................................................................40 Role of the Researcher .................................................................................................40 Participants ...................................................................................................................42 Research Method .........................................................................................................44 Research Design...........................................................................................................45 Population and Sampling .............................................................................................48 Ethical Research...........................................................................................................50 Data Collection Instruments ........................................................................................51 Data Collection Technique ..........................................................................................53 Data Organization Technique ......................................................................................55 Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................57 Reliability and Validity ................................................................................................59 Dependability ........................................................................................................ 59 Creditability .......................................................................................................... 60 Transferability ....................................................................................................... 60 Confirmability ....................................................................................................... 61 Data Saturation...................................................................................................... 61 Transition and Summary ..............................................................................................62