Leadership style profiles of retail managers: Personal, organizational and managerial characteristics

Using survey data (n = 205) obtained from retail managers and executives of national retail chain store companies, we identified three leadership styles that were based on Quinn's theoretical model of competing leadership roles. Three leadership clusters, labeled loner/internal-focused, team builder/goal-oriented, and conceptual producer/external-focused, were identified through the use of a clustering technique. These three clusters were then compared on the basis of personal, organizational and managerial characteristics, using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. The findings indicate that leadership styles are influenced by various factors such as personal values, job characteristics, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, career progression, and personal demographic characteristics. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.