The Role of Leadership Styles and Customer Satisfaction in Increasing Revenues in Retail Business in Bangladesh

Abstract

The study investigates the relationship between leadership type and employee’s motivation, satisfaction of customers as well as revenue generation in retail sector of Bangladesh. The retailing in Bangladesh is changing at a fast pace, but few study has been conducted to examine the impact of leadership styles on employees performance and customer satisfaction as well as business outcome such like situation. The primary aim of this research is to address this gap in the literature, by investigating how type of leadership practiced which are more common among retail managers in Bangladesh and its impact on employee performance and customer experience. This study employs quantitative approach. A random survey of structured questionnaires on 400 respondents comprised of managers, employee, HR personnel and customers in major cities Dhaka and Chittagong is undertaken. The findings suggest that the transformational leadership is the highest and most effective form of leadership style practiced in retail business of Bangladesh, which helps a lot to enhance employee enthusiasm, performance and service quality. Transactional leadership is beneficial to operational discipline, while laissez-faire leadership is probably to undermine the performance of both personnel and service levels. However, customer satisfaction or willingness to refer does not always result in repeating the purchase or increasing loyalty. The study comes despite increasing sales and profits, but suggests that loyalty, customer retention, and the share of market remain low. The findings of the study further suggest that retail firms operating in Bangladesh can develop customer loyalty and sustainable revenue drive by using transformational leadership.