Follow the Leader: a Followership Perspective in Restaurants
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2020 Follow the Leader: A Followership Perspective in Restaurants Courtney Troxtel University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Food and Beverage Management Commons, and the Home Economics Commons Citation Troxtel, C. (2020). Follow the Leader: A Followership Perspective in Restaurants. Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3616 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Follow the Leader: A Followership Perspective in Restaurants A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human Environmental Sciences by Courtney Troxtel University of Arkansas Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences, 2018 May 2020 University of Arkansas This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. Kelly A. Way, Ph.D. Thesis Director Dede Hamm, MS Jill Rucker, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member 1 ABSTRACT While leadership has been a popular research topic in the hospitality industry, followership has a limited amount of research contributing to the body of knowledge. Followers are a key aspect of the leadership equation; therefore, it is important to understand their role in the industry. The purpose of this study is to explore the leadership theory of followership in restaurants to examine the connections between followership training, voice behavior and employee turnover rates. The study adds to the existing knowledge of followership in the hospitality industry and provides ideas for future research and practical implications. A descriptive survey was made online via Qualtrics utilizing snowball sampling. A total of 114 respondents participated in the study, and a total of 36 were deemed to be usable. The respondents completed the questionnaire that measured followership levels, followership training, employee turnover rate, voice behavior levels, and demographic information. The study revealed that restaurant employees felt that they had high levels of followership and voice behavior. Based on the findings it was determined that respondents believed that followership training was important, and that followership could aid in reducing employee turnover rates in the restaurant industry. Results from this study can be used to advance further research into followership and voice behavior within the hospitality industry, as well as be applied in the field to reach desired outcomes. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Way, who stepped up to help me through my graduate education as well as my thesis. She consistently pushed me to put my best effort into everything I did. I consider myself lucky to have found a mentor who allowed me to explore the research that I was interested in. Her dedication to always be better is truly inspiring. I am thankful for her patience, time, and commitment towards me and this study. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Rucker and Cora Hamm, MS. Through countless hours and valued input I was able to create a superior thesis compared to what it would have looked like without their feedback. I am thankful that I was able to have a well- versed team of advisors to consult. Without the support of my friends and family I would not have been able to endure this lengthy journey and study. I am extremely grateful to have wonderful people in my life who encourage me to pursue my educational dreams. DEDICATION My thesis is dedicated to my parents. My mom, Kimberly Troxtel, who has always supported my education and encouraged me to pursue my Master’s degree. She helped me revise my writing throughout and continued to support me when I needed encouragement. To Greg Schultz, who has been like a father to me throughout my entire college experience. Thank you for stepping up and being there for me during this experience the way a father should. I would not have been able to survive without you advocating for me and continuously making me laugh. Thank you both for your constant love that made this thesis possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement: ............................................................................................................. 3 Purpose of Study: ................................................................................................................ 3 Research Questions: ............................................................................................................ 3 Assumptions and Limitations: ............................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................... 5 Training ............................................................................................................................... 5 Turnover ............................................................................................................................ 14 Followership ..................................................................................................................... 25 Voice Behavior ................................................................................................................. 63 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 81 Research Design................................................................................................................ 81 Population and Sample Selection...................................................................................... 81 Instrumentation ................................................................................................................. 82 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 83 Response Rate ................................................................................................................... 83 Demographic Summary .................................................................................................... 83 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 90 CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................. 92 Research Question 1 ....................................................................................................... 103 Research Question 2 ....................................................................................................... 104 Research Question 3 ....................................................................................................... 105 Research Question 4 ....................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................... 109 Summary of Research ..................................................................................................... 109 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 110 Recommendations for Future Research: ......................................................................... 115 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 117 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ 127 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Past research in leadership has focused mainly on the leader. While leaders play a crucial role in the leadership research equation, followers are key components as well. Followership is a leadership concept that focuses on the followers contributions in a dynamic circle of input between leaders and followers. Followership has just started to emerge as a topic of conversation, but with an immense need for great followers it is not a leadership approach that should be ignored. Based on research it is known that a vast amount of the work force are considered followers (Brown & Thornborrow, 1996). In the workplace there is generally one leader for multiple employees; however, when there are so many followers it isn’t efficient to focus solely on the one leader. Each employee contributes to the success of the team but some of the previous literature only documents how to improve one person in the group. Research even suggests the followers input contributes to more of the success of the unit than the individual leader (Kelley, 1992). The weight of the influence that followers carry should not be taken lightly, for without followers there are no leaders. Many leaders start out as followers and they are often followers as well as leaders in their current roles. Leaders generally wear more than one hat