Leadership styles and employee turnover: a case study of Kaco Home of Spices

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between leadership styles and employee turnover at Kaco Home of Spices. It specifically investigated how transformational, adaptive, inclusive, and authentic leadership styles relate to the likelihood of employees leaving the organisation. Guided by Herzberg’s 1956 two-factor theory, the study adopted a cross-sectional research design with a quantitative approach. Data was collected from a sample of 97 employees using closed-ended questionnaires, with 78 valid responses obtained, representing an 80.4% response rate. The research findings revealed that when analyzed individually, inclusive leadership (r = −0.330**, p < 0.01), authentic leadership (r = −0.315**, p < 0.01), and transformational leadership (r = −0.305**, p < 0.01) all had a significant negative relationship with employee turnover at Kaco Home of Spices. Conversely, adaptive leadership had a significant positive relationship (r = 0.310**, p < 0.01). However, multiple regression analysis revealed that adaptive leadership style was the only statistically significant predictor of employee turnover (Beta = 0.582, Sig = 0.002), proving that aggressive or poorly managed adaptive demands directly drive up employee turnover due to change fatigue. Transformational (Beta = −0.169, Sig = 0.151), inclusive (Beta = −1.255, Sig = 0.229), and authentic leadership (Beta = −1.109, Sig = 0.121) were not significant predictors at Kaco Home of Spices. Finally, the study recommended that management must approach adaptive leadership carefully by pairing workplace changes with clear structural guidance and pacing to avoid causing employee stress and instability. Furthermore, management must address non-leadership factors like salary scales and working conditions, as the combined leadership styles only explained 6.2% (Adjusted R Square=0.062) of the variance in employee turnover at Kaco Home of Spices.