Does Leadership Style Determine Employee Turnover in Service-Based Companies?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/jage5276Keywords:
transformational leadership, laissez-faire leadership, transactional leadership, turnover intention, job satisfaction, service sector, leadership developmentAbstract
The empirical research on this issue of leadership style among 320 employees involved into a service industry showed that the association between leadership and the turnover intention was heterogeneous in that transformational leadership style was excellent related to more job satisfaction and significantly explained the turnover intentions albeit laissez-faire leadership style had a negative correlation with the intentions. The turnover intention was poorly and irrelevant related to transactional leadership and the other dimensions of control with other aspects of leadership. All scales proved to have excellent internal consistency as shown in psychometric evaluation and high sampling adequacy (KMO = .955; Bartlett’s p <.001) and, therefore, indicates reliability and construct validity of the measures. Results are in line with the evidence in the current time that transformational behaviors act as sources of motivation that minimize employee turnover and those supervisors who are inactive are those who increase risks of turnover. Pragmatic implications focus more on prioritising development of transformational leadership and implementing managerial mechanisms of accountability to ensure that turnover in the labourintensive service conditions are reduced. Future research recommendations would involve longitudinal monitoring of actual turnover events and use of mixed methods to measure these finL rest on their different granular mechanisms through which leadership through retention should be consented.
References
Alhmoud, A., & Rjoub, H. (2020). Does Generation Moderate the Effect of Total Rewards on Employee Retention? Evidence From Jordan. Sage Open, 10(3), 2158244020957039. https://doi. org/10.1177/2158244020957039
Álvarez, O., Castillo, I., Molina-García, V., & Tomás, I. (2019). Transformational leadership, task-involving climate, and their implications in male junior soccer players: A multilevel approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19), 3649.
Amankwaa, A., Seet, P.-S., & Susomrith, P. (2022). Tackling hotel employees’ turnover: A moderated-mediation analysis of transformational leadership, organizational embeddedness, and community embeddedness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 51, 67–78.
Bayraktar, S., & Jiménez, A. (2020). Self-efficacy as a resource: A moderated mediation model of transformational leadership, extent of change and reactions to change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(2), 301–317.
Chang, K.-C., Hsu, Y.-T., Cheng, Y.-S., & Kuo, N.-T. (2021). How work engagement influences relationship quality: The roles of work motivation and perceived service guarantee strength. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 32(11–12), 1316–1340. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2019.1700107
Daouk, A., Farmanesh, P., & Zargar, P. (2021). The Relationship Between Transactional Leadership and OCB: A Conditional Analysis of Organizational Justice Perception and Psychological Contract Fulfillment. Sage Open, 11(4), 21582440211061563. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211061563
Davlembayeva, D. (2021). Sharing Economy Platforms: A study of Social Exchange, Reciprocity and Commitment [PhD Thesis, Newcastle University]. http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/ handle/10443/5372
Desgourdes, C., Hasnaoui, J., Umar, M., & Feliu, J. G. (2024). Decoding laissez-faire leadership: An in-depth study on its influence over employee autonomy and well-being at work. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 20(2), 1047–1065. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-023-00927-5 Dong, Y., Zhao, X. (Roy), Yuan, Y., Dong, H., & Jiang, J. (2023). What’s wrong with different empowerment? The effect of differentiated empowering leadership on employee proactive service. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 47(7), 1187–1214. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480221074270
Dyerly, R. (2025). The Myth of Replaceability: Preparing for the Loss of Key Employees. https://www.shrm.org/executivenetwork/insights/myth-replaceability-preparing-loss-keyemployees
Folmar, J. A. (2020). Transformational leadership and employee satisfaction in a US fast-food restaurant [PhD Thesis, Walden University]. https://search.proquest.com/openview/79c9abd963b a49194b0178e3387a8d8b/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750& diss=y
Guiguema, L. (2023). Strategies to Mitigate Employee Turnover in the Information Technology Industry. Walden University. https://search.proquest.com/openview/daf34145aec6f531dc6b8d d5d4669493/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Hasan, M. M., & Mishra, V. (2025). Impact of Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Its Influence on Employee Retention: A Sectoral Comparative Study in Bangladesh. Kelaniya Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(1), 40–72. https://doi. org/10.4038/kjhrm.v20i1.152
Hosna, A. U., Islam, S., & Hamid, M. (2021). A review of the Dean&Francis Xinyi Liu relationship of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration with sustainable employees performance. International Journal of Progressive Sciences and Technologies, 25(1), 322–326.
Kabuye, K. T. (2024). A study of the relationship among laissez-faire leadership style, employee engagement and employee turnover [PhD Thesis, Makerere University]. https:// dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/20475
Khairy, H. A., Baquero, A., & Al-Romeedy, B. S. (2023). The effect of transactional leadership on organizational agility in tourism and hospitality businesses: The mediating roles of Organizational Trust and Ambidexterity. Sustainability, 15(19), 14337.
Krishna, S. M., & Agrawal, S. (2024). Creative Performance of Millennials and Generation Z: What Matters More, Intrinsic or Extrinsic Rewards? Administrative Sciences, 15(1), 11.
M. Abu Elanain, H. (2014). Leader-member exchange and intent to turnover: Testing a mediated-effects model in a high turnover work environment. Management Research Review, 37(2), 110– 129.
Manradgh, D. A. (2024). A Quantitative Analysis: Examination of the Work Relationship Between Principals and Assistant Principals and Its Effect on Leader Retention Within the Tri- State Area (New York State, New Jersey, and Connecticut) [PhD Thesis, Sage Graduate School]. https://search.proquest.com/ openview/e09a24c323539b6648c4c54fddfc699e/1?pq-origsite= gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
McGuire, A. R. (2024). The Intersectionality of Trauma- Informed Leadership and Staff Retention in Higher Education [PhD Thesis, St. Thomas University]. https://search.proquest. com/openview/9f2e0a44130ce0ec7a371cddfc019fd3/1?pq-origs ite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Miao, R., Bozionelos, N., Zhou, W., & Newman, A. (2022). High-performance work systems and key employee attitudes: The roles of psychological capital and an interactional justice climate. In Strategic human resource management and organizational effectiveness (pp. 219–253). Routledge. https:// www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003344544- 8/high-performance-work-systems-key-employee-attitudesroles-psychological-capital-interactional-justice-climate-rentaomiao-nikos-bozionelos-wenxia-zhou-alexander-newman Nielsen, M. B., Skogstad, A., Gjerstad, J., & Einarsen, S. V. (2019). Are transformational and laissez-faire leadership related to state anxiety among subordinates? A two-wave prospective study of forward and reverse associations. Work & Stress, 33(2), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1528307 Nisar Khattak, M., Al-Taie, M. Z., Ahmed, I., & Muhammad, N. (2024). Interplay between servant leadership, leader-memberexchange and perceived organizational support: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 11(2), 237–261.
Nwankwo, N. A. (2025). The influence of transformational leadership style on employee engagement, organizational commitment and job satisfaction [PhD Thesis, Vilniaus universitetas.]. https://epublications.vu.lt/object/ elaba:229580197/
Oyewobi, L. O. (2024). Leadership styles and employees commitment: The mediating role of job satisfaction. Journal of Facilities Management, 22(5), 737–757.
Robert, V., & Vandenberghe, C. (2021). Laissez-Faire Leadership and Affective Commitment: The Roles of Leader- Member Exchange and Subordinate Relational Self-concept. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36(4), 533–551. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10869-020-09700-9
Saputra, F. (2021). Leadership, communication, and work motivation in determining the success of professional organizations. Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities, 1(2), 59–70.
Shahbaz, M. (2025). The Impact of Financial and Non-Financial Rewards on Employee Turnover in the Telecom Industry of Pakistan: The Moderating Role of Training and Development [PhD Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David]. https:// repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/3654/
Sreeja, T., & Mukherjee, U. (2025). Workplace Spirituality in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector: A Systematic Literature Review. Management and Labour Studies, 50(3), 404–427. https://doi. org/10.1177/0258042X241308422
Sutanto, H., Utami, Y., & Diantoro, A. K. (2021). The effect of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration on HR performance. RSF Conference Series: Business, Management and Social Sciences, 1(3), 10. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aris- Diantoro/publication/355538630_The_Effect_of_Idealized_ Influence_Inspirational_Motivation_Intellectual_Stimulation_ and_Individual_Consideration_on_HR_Performance/ links/67413c2ab5bd9d17d6000310/The-Effect-of-Idealized- Influence-Inspirational-Motivation-Intellectual-Stimulation-and- Individual-Consideration-on-HR-Performance.pdf
Zheng, S., & Li, L. (2024). Navigating the double-edged sword: How and when laissez-faire leadership affects Employees’ challenging behavior. Acta Psychologica, 250, 104549.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 by the authors.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
