Perceived TMT transformational leadership and a service recovery culture: the moderating role of gender diversity

Abstract

PurposeThis is an exploratory study with the purpose of empirically testing and advancing knowledge on the relationship between top management team (TMT) leadership styles and a service recovery culture. A further test explores a contingency perspective, examining if gender diversity on the TMT shapes this relationship.Design/methodology/approachWe examine the perceived TMT transformational leadership style, as well as the moderating effect of TMT gender diversity. Relying on both survey and archival data, our hypotheses are tested with a sample of 234 public firms based in the United States. Moderated hierarchical regression analysis is used as the statistical approach.FindingsResults suggest that perceived TMT transformational leadership is positively associated with a service recovery culture. When accounting for TMT gender diversity, the relationship between perceived TMT transformational leadership and a service recovery culture is positively moderated.Research limitations/implicationsThe study represents a sample of for-profit public firms operating in the United States and should not be taken as a general population sample. The findings could vary relative to other countries, private companies and non-profit organizations.Originality/valueThis is the first known study to explore the relationship between TMT leadership styles, TMT gender diversity and a service recovery culture. The study extends findings with the respect to the impact of TMT leadership and gender diversity on organizational development, as well as offers new insights into the antecedents of a service recovery culture.

Creating Value Through Leveraging Gender Norms

“…The stereotypically feminine traits of inclusion, communal participation, and open communication, which lead to transformational leadership, create value by increasing employees' sense of worth and encouraging greater respect for others' thoughts and ideas (Galbreath et al, 2020).…”

Do Employee Trust and Job Satisfaction Mediate the Relationship of Leadership Styles and Emotional Intelligence with Project Success?

“…The research on leadership behaviors and styles along with their relationship with diversified aspects of management has been in many forms (Chen et al, 2018;Cleveland & Cleveland, 2019;Freire & Bettencourt, 2020;Galbreath et al, 2020;Jiang & Probst, 2016;Mysirlaki & Paraskeva, 2020). The leadership styles proposed by Avolio (1990) is the most widely used leadership assessment model (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013;Turner & Muller, 2005).…”

Barriers to service recovery in B2B markets: a TISM approach in the context of IT-based services

“…Because Michel et al (2009) argued that the recovery process-related operational barriers – confusion about whom/what to recover, how to recover (i.e. SR strategies) and severity/type of failure – arise owing to top management-controlled factors (such as an organization limiting the responsibility to fix the SF to a single function, lack of formal [such as rewards and employee training] and informal controls and lack of information sharing across functions), the top managers are suggested to design and implement SR systems and processes that focus on the service experience across times, structures and processes rather than functions, deploy cross-functional teams to conduct recovery, integrate recovery metrics with rewards and use informal controls such as creating a relational orientation toward employees, inducing self-interest transcendence toward organizational goals and learning orientation (Galbreath et al , 2020). By doing this, the top management can display their commitment to SR.…”