Where are the workers? Leadership-follower fit and behavioral work withdrawal in the logistics supply chain

Abstract

With supply chains targeting increased efficiency, leadership behaviors are critical in influencing the employee experience, and thus the success of employees in organizations. Yet, behavioral work withdrawal, e.g., lateness and absenteeism, among frontline logistics employees is an acute challenge, estimated to contribute millions annually in related costs such as overtime or temporary workers. Our work seeks to capture potential causes for these withdrawal behaviors in the logistics supply chain. Extending prior work on regulatory focus theory, we propose that behavioral work withdrawal depends on fit or misfit between leadership behavior and the follower's regulatory focus. Leadership behaviors appealing to opportunities and growth (i.e., inspirational styles) are likely effective at reducing withdrawal for employees high in promotion focus, while behaviors appealing to accuracy and avoiding errors or failure (i.e., management-by-exception styles) are likely effective at reducing withdrawal for employees high in prevention focus. We combine survey and archival data to test our moderation hypotheses. Support is found for the fit perspective, confirming that no single leadership behavior is consistently better at reducing withdrawal, yet attentiveness to this perspective is critical as misfit increases withdrawal. These findings can help reduce overtime, employee burnout, and service delays and allow managers to reduce associated costs.