Keyword

Retail Management, Store Performance, Leadership Styles, Discount Retail Chain.

Abstract

This research attempts to understand the leadership styles of store managers in a discount retail chain and how leadership style impacts store performance. Store managers of a Fortune 1000 retailer based in the Midwest of the United States of America took part in the study. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was sent to a sample of 135 store managers, and 103 of them completed the survey. Retail store performance is measured on four indicators namely, employee turnover, customer service scores, inventory shrinkage percentage and net profit margin. The retailer provided data related to the store performance indicators of the stores. Analysis of the survey data with performance data showed a moderate negative correlation between transformational leadership style and employee turnover rate, but a weak negative correlation between transactional leadership and employee turnover rate.


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