Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Kenneth Levitt

Abstract

The retail industry contributes to the United States economy, and high turnover rates reduce the profitability of businesses, which affects their sustainability. The general problem is millennials employed in retail are not finding adequate leadership support and alignment with their career expectations or social beliefs. This qualitative single case study involved an embedded group of millennials employed as retail managers with at least three years of supervisory experience. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences and expectations involving effective leadership. The study involved using the generational theory, cognitive model of behavior, and servant leadership theory to address how perceptions of leadership are influenced by generational differences and leader behavior. Data collection from 8 semi-structured interviews was affected by the shared societal event of the COVID pandemic. Thematic analysis revealed transitional data from a follower’s perspective to a leader’s perspective and an emerging millennial leadership style. Millennials’ skills and behaviors have evolved from life experiences and they can relate to other generations because of a need to know everything with a fearlessness to ask why. Future research of retail leadership will provide guidance to managers in the retail industry as they determine the style of leadership that fits their environment, culture, and employee needs. Reducing the voluntary turnover rate by putting people before profit in the retail industry will decrease the ripple effect that business closures have on local, state, and federal government sustainability.

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