Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Carol-Anne Faint

Abstract

Increased mobility and a growing presence in the workforce by millennial employees are pushing sustainability to the forefront of concerns for business leaders. Especially for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with limited human capital resources and no formal succession plans. Thus, increasing the need for insight on millennial employee development to mitigate voluntary turnover. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore successful millennial employee developmental strategies employed by 3 SMEs leaders in southern New Jersey. These SMEs leaders were the ideal population with millennial employees with 3 or more years of employment and not solely family-run organizations. The unfolding model of voluntary turnover, expectancy theory, and the human capital theory was the conceptual framework that guided introspection into this phenomenon. Semistructured interviews collected data about the perceptions held by the SMEs leaders of the phenomenon in their respective organizations. Methodological data triangulation enabled the identification of evident millennial employee development themes and the basis of millennial employment development strategies as mitigation or the exertion of motivational force. The effort to answer the posed questions identified 4 prevalent themes (a) flexibility, (b) organic culture, (c) self-governance, and (d) laissez-faire leadership, which aligned with the mitigation versus motivational conceptions. The findings may contribute to societal change by broadening perceptions held by individuals and communities, particularly leaders, about millennial employees to dispel preconceived stigmas, reduce interaction ambiguities, and minimize the escalation of generational conflicts and discourse within respective communities.

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