INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP STYLES AND TURNOVER INTENTION IN BPO SECTORS IN DIGOS CITY, PHILIPPINES
Abstract
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has consistently witnessed tremendous growth, but it has a chronic problem of high employee turnover, which is both expensive and recurring. This quantitative research investigates the relationship of leadership styles, such as transformational, transactional, autocratic, and laissez-faire leadership, on turnover intention of one hundred seventy-nine (179) rank-and-file employees from BPO sectors in Digos City, Philippines. The researchers used the 5-point Likert scale to measure the respondents' rate of agreement or disagreement with each statement of the two variables. Statistical techniques such as mean and Pearson's r were also used to measure the correlation between the variables. The examined data revealed a high descriptive level of overall leadership styles and a very low descriptive level of turnover intention among the participants. It also revealed a weak and statistically non-significant correlation between the two variables (r = 0.061, p = 0.415). The results suggested that while leadership styles are visibly practiced within these organizations, they do not appear to be the primary determinant of employees' decisions to stay or leave in the BPO sectors in Digos City.
JEL: M12 – Personnel Management; Executive Compensation; Executive Pay; J63 – Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs; J24 – Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity; M54 – Labor Management; C12 – Hypothesis Testing
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abasilim, U.D., Gberevbie, D.E. and Osibanjo, O.A., (2019). Leadership styles and employees’ commitment: Empirical evidence from Nigeria. Sage Open, 9(3),
Abudaqa, A., Hilmi, M. F., & Dahalan, N. (2022). The Nexus between Job Burnout and Emotional Intelligence on Turnover Intention in Oil and Gas Companies in the UAE. arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.04843. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2208.04843
Alasiry, S. M., & Alkhaldi, F. S. (2024). Impact of Nursing Leadership Styles on the Staff Turnover Intention in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus, 16(10). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.70676
Al-Awlaqi, M.A., Aamer, A.M., Barahma, M.M. and Battour, M. (2021). The interaction between leadership styles and their followers’ human capital: a correspondence analysis approach applied to micro-sized businesses, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 74-93
Ali, M., & Ullah, M. S. (2023). Role of laissez-faire leadership in talent management: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh. Heliyon, 9(6), e17234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023. e17234
Alshamari, S. (2020). Laissez-faire leadership positively impacts organisational commitment in healthcare centres in Qatar. International Journal of Advanced Research, 8(9), 967–978. https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/11750
Arshad, H., Iqbal, S., & Maqsood, S. (2025). A review on the effects of leadership styles in shaping organizational culture and employee performance. Pakistan Journal of Social Issues, XV, 170–183.
Atrian, A., & Ghobbeh, S. (2023). Technostress and job performance: Understanding the negative impacts and strategic responses in the workplace. arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.07072. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.07072
Barnová, S., Treľová, S., Krásna, S., Beňová, E., Hasajová, L. and Gabrhelová, G. (2022). Leadership styles, organizational climate, and school climate openness from the perspective of Slovak vocational school teachers. Societies, 12(6), p.192.
Bhardwaj, P. (2019). Types of sampling in research. Journal of the Practice of Cardiovascular Sciences. 5(3): pp.157163. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3381
Bonds, A. (2017). Employees’ Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intentions. (pp.121 to 122). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3983/
Chiat, L.C. and Panatik, S.A., (2019). Perceptions of employee turnover intention by Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory: A systematic literature review. Journal of Research in Psychology, 1(2), (pp.10-15). https://doi.org/10.31580/jrp.v1i2.949
Choi, I. (2025). The Influence of Ethical Leadership on Turnover Intention and Actual Turnover in U.S. Federal Agencies. Public Personnel Management, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260251314543
Clack, L. (2021). Employee engagement: Keys to organizational success. The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being, 1001–1028. https://www.russianlawjournal.org/index.php/journal/article/view/3248/2024
Cole, P.G., Castro, R.C. (2023). Job satisfaction and turnover intention of BPO workers: The mediating effect of service performance. European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.46827/EJHRMS.V6I2.1410
De Clercq, D. (2022). Organizational disidentification and change-oriented citizenship behavior. European Management Journal, 40(1), pp.90-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2021.02.002
De Ocampo, R., Aguiling, H., (2018). Determinants Of Labor Turnover in The BPO Industry: Towards the Development of HR Retention Model (Vol. 2, No. 2, (pp.62-69) https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Determinants-Of-LaborTurnover-InTheBPOIndustry%3AOcampoAguiling/452cb24ef40d56fbbacd097d090315a9a3d727b7
Diebig, M., & Bormann, K. C. (2020). The dynamic relationship between laissez-faire leadership and day-level stress: A role theory perspective. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(3), 324–344. https://doi.org/10.1177/2397002219900177
Donkor, F. and Zhou, D. (2020). Organisational commitment influences on the relationship between transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles and employee performance in the Ghanaian public service environment. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 30(1), pp.30-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2020.1712808
Eckhardt, R., Tsai, C.Y., Dionne, S.D., Dunne, D., Spain, S.M., Park, J.W., Cheong, M., Kim, J., Guo, J., Hao, C. and Kim, E.I. (2021). Human capital resource emergence and leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(2), pp.269-295
Erdogan, B., and Bauer, T. (2015). Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory: An Introduction and Overview. The Oxford handbook of leader-member exchange. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199326174.013.0002
Farahnak L. R., Ehrhart M. G., Torres E. M., Aarons G. A. (2020). The influence of transformational leadership and leader attitudes on subordinate attitudes and implementation success. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 27(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051818824529
Gan, Evelyn & Ling, Voon. (2021). The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Job Satisfaction and Employee Turnover Intentions: A Conceptual Review. SHS Web of Conferences. (pp 1-17). https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202112408005
Gerlach, F., Hundeling, M., and Rosing, K. (2020). Ambidextrous leadership and innovation performance: A longitudinal study. Leadersh. Organ. Dev. J. 41, 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2019-0321
Grint K. (2020). Leadership, management and command in the time of the coronavirus. Leadership, 16(3), 313-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715020922445
Gyensare, M.A., Anku-Tsede, O., Sanda, M.-A. and Okpoti, C.A. (2016), Transformational leadership and employee turnover intention: The mediating role of affective commitment, World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 243-266. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-02-2016-0008
Herman H.M. Tse, Xu Huang, Wing Lam (2013.). Why does transformational leadership matter for employee turnover? A multi-foci social exchange perspective, The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 24, Issue 5, 2013, Pages 763-776, ISSN 1048-9843 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.07.005
Hesty Rahmadani, Ilzar Daud, Yulyanti Fahruna, Titik Rosnani, & Anwar Azazi. (2023). Work engagement as a mediator of transactional leadership and workload on employee turnover intention. International Journal on Social Science, Economics and Art, 13(3), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.35335/ijosea.v13i3.362
Inayah, M. N. (2024). Effect of organizational culture and leadership style on turnover intention through work motivation as an intervening variable. Formosa Journal of Sustainable Research, 3(7), 1431–1446. https://doi.org/10.55927/fjsr.v3i7.10290
J.B. Magbity, A.M.A. Ofei & D. Wilson (2020). Leadership Styles of Nurse Managers and Turnover Intention, Hospital Topics 98(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/00185868.2020.1750324
Jaafar, S. B., Zambi, N. M., & Fathil, N. F. (2021). Leadership style: Is it autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. ASEAN Journal of Management and Business Studies, 3(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.26666/rmp.ajmbs.2021.1.1
Jilbert, J., Muis, M., Reni, A., Rifai, M. and Dewi, A.R.S., (2023). Global Business Process Outsourcing Development and Its Impact Toward Indonesia. In Proceedings International Economics and Business Conference (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp.213-226). https://proceedings.goodwoodconferences.com/index.php/IECON/articl /view/18
Kamal, F., Ridwan, & Kesuma, T. A. R. P. (2024). Laissez-faire leadership: A comprehensive systematic review for effective education practices. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 18(4), 1460–1467. https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v18i4.21407
Kenneth J. Harris, Anthony R. Wheeler, K. Michele Kacmar (2011). The mediating role of organizational job embeddedness in the LMX–outcomes relationships, The Leadership Quarterly, Volume 22, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 271-281, ISSN 1048-9843, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.02.003.
Lashley, E. J. (2021). Impact of leadership style on employee performance in a call center environment (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Walden University. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/10511/
Lei, H., Leaungkhamma, L. & Le, P.B., 2020. How transformational leadership facilitates innovation capability: The mediating role of employees’ psychological capital. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41(4), pp.481–499. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-12-2018-0456
Lin, C., Xian, J., Li, B., & Huang, H. (2020). Transformational leadership and employees’ thriving at work: The mediating roles of challenge-hindrance stressors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1400. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01400
Lopez, I., Delgado-Bello, C., Veas-González, I., & Villar, M. (2025). Impact of transformational and laissez-faire leadership styles on performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention: A case study of educational organizations in Chile. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 23(1), 662–675. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.23(1).2025.54
Lundmark, R., Richter, A., & Tafvelin, S. (2021). Consequences of managers’ laissez-faire leadership during organizational restructuring. Journal of Change Management, 22(1), 40-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2021.1951811
Manoppo, V.P. (2020). Transformational leadership as a factor that decreases turnover intention: a mediation of work stress and organizational citizenship behavior, The TQM Journal, Vol. 32 No. 6, pp. 1395-1412. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-05-2020-0097
Masenya, J., & Ngoepe, M. (2025). Quitting leadership style? The influence of transformational and transactional leadership styles on librarians’ retention in municipal libraries. Library Management, 46(1/2), 78–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2024-0095
Masood, S., Siddiqui, G. K., Lodhi, H., and Shahbaz, S. (2020). Effect of Leadership Styles on Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Employee Turnover Intention. Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, 6(2), 487-495 https://doi.org/10.26710/jafee.v6i2.1200
Medina-Garrido, J. A., Biedma-Ferrer, J. M., & Ramos-Rodríguez, A. R. (2017). Relationship between work-family balance, employee well-being and job performance. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 30(1), 40-58. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2401.13683
Memon, M.A., Ting, H., Cheah, J.H., Thurasamy, R., Chuah, F. and Cham, T.H., (2020). Sample size for survey research: Review and recommendations. Journal of applied structural equation modeling, 4(2), pp. i-xx.
Mendoza Solis, M., García Alcaraz, J. L., Avelar Sosa, L., & Manotas Duque,D. F. (2023). The role of transactional leadership in the social performance of the maquiladora industry. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 25(2), p.215-233. https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v25i2.4219
Muguna, A. T., Micheni, I. N., Kirika, J. M., & Kaimenyi, C. K. (2022). Leadership styles and academic staff turnover intentions in universities in Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Research, 6(1), 92–106. https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2022.6108
Nguyen, H. M., & Nguyen, T. T. (2023). The impact of transformational leadership on organizational performance: Evidence from manufacturing firms in Vietnam. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 10(4), p. 21-33. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244019866287
Pahi, M. H., Abdul-Majid, A.-H., Fahd, S., Gilal, A. R., Talpur, B. A., Waqas, A., & Anwar, T. (2022). Leadership style and employees' commitment to service quality: An analysis of the mediation pathway via knowledge sharing. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926779
Pattali, S., Sankar, J.P., Al Qahtani, H. (2024). Effect of leadership styles on turnover intention among staff nurses in private hospitals: the moderating effect of perceived organizational support. BMC Health Serv Res 24, 199 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-10674-0
Pimentel, J. (2019). Some Biases in Likert Scaling Usage and its Correction. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR) (2019) Volume 45, No 1, pp. 183-191
Promchart, K., & Potipiroon, W. (2020). Transformational leadership and turnover intentions among school teachers in the deep south of Thailand. The Journal of Behavioral Science, 15(2), 16-37.
Quaranta, J., (2017). Descriptive Correlational Research: Asthma Management by School Nurse. SAGE Research Methods Cases in Health, (pp. 40-41). Retrieved from https://methods.sagepub.com/case/descriptive-correlational-research-asthma-management-school-nurses
Rachman, F. and Iqbal, M. (2025). The Effect of Career Development and Leadership Style on Turnover Intention with Job Satisfaction as a Variable, International Journal of Education, Information Technology, and Others, 8(1), pp. 238-259. Available at: https://jurnal.peneliti.net/index.php/IJEIT/article/view/11441
Regawi, G. (2021). Effect of Leadership Styles on Employee Performance: The Case of Commercial Bank in Ethiopia (CBE) (pp. 34 – 41). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/82529909/Effect_of_Leadership_Styles_on_Employee_Performance_The_Case_of_Commercial_Bank_of_Ethiopia_CBE_
Rehmani, M., Farheen, N., Khokhar, M. N., Khalid, A., Dalain, A. F., & Irshad, H. (2023). How Does Transformational Leadership Stimulate Employee Innovative Behavior? A Moderated Mediation Analysis. SAGE Open, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231198401
Retnowati, E., Mardikaningsih, R., Khayru, R. K., Darmawan, D., & Wibowo, A.S. (2023). The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment on Turnover Intention. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 3(2), 38–43. Retrieved from https://ejournalisse.com/index.php/isse/article/view/91
Richards, Ali (2020) Exploring the benefits and limitations of transactional leadership in healthcare. Nursing Standard, 35 (12). pp. 46-50. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2020.e11593
Romi M.V., Alsubki N., Almadhi, H.M. and Propheto, A. (2022). The Linkage Between Leadership Styles, Employee Loyalty, and Turnover Intention Healthcare Industry. Front. Psychol. 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.890366
Sanam, S. (2023). Impacts of Leadership Styles, Such as Autocratic, Laissez-Faire, Abusive Supervision, on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention. Indiana University. https://www.proquest.com/openview/b7325f7cdec24ce0620a39acf414b2c5/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar
Santos, J. C. (2020). The relationship of managerial styles to employee job satisfaction in selected business process outsourcing firms in the Philippines. Journal of Advanced Management Science, volume 8(1), 2020. Retrieved from https://www.joams.com/uploadfile/2020/0304/20200304103541546.pdf
Sanusi, S., E., Arum, M., Wandi, D., Rahmat, A., Asih Kurnianingsih, Haerani, A., Dasmaran, V., Taryanto, Adha, S., & Purwanto, A. 2020. Develop a Leadership Style Model for Indonesian SMEs Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(8). https://doi.org/10.31838/srp.2020.8.82
Segel L. H. (2020). Positive leadership in uncertain times. McKinsey. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/positive-leadership-in-uncertain-times
Shrestha, M. (2019). Influence of age group on job satisfaction, Academia Journal of Management, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 30-41. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.33215/sjom.v2i3.141
Suslik, M., Valentine, R., Reich, R.W. and Hall, R. (2022). Relationship of organization culture mediation of employee turnover intention within the Fortune 500. The Southern Business and Economic Journal, 45(2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378204969_Relationship_of_ Organization_Culture_Mediation_of_Employee_Turnover_Intention_Wit hin_The_Fortune_500
Shrestha, D. B., Budhathoki, P., Sedhai, Y. R., Baniya, A., Lamichhane, S., Shahi, M., Karki, B. J., Baniya, R., & Patel, N. (2021). Prevalence, awareness, risk factors and control of hypertension in Nepal from 2000 to 2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public health in practice (Oxford, England), 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100119
Sobaih, A. E. E., Hasanein, A. M., Aliedan, M. M., & Abdallah, H. S. (2020). The impact of transactional and transformational leadership on employee intention to stay in deluxe hotels: Mediating role of organisational commitment. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 22(3), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358420972156
Solis Mendoza M., García Alcaraz J. L., Avelar Sosa L., & Manotas Duque D.F. (2023). The role of transactional leadership in the social performance of the maquiladora industry. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 25(2), p.215-233. https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v25i2.4219
Stamolampros, P., Korfiatis, N., Chalvatzis, K. and Buhalis, D. (2019). Job satisfaction and employee turnover determinants in high contact services: insights from employees’ online reviews, Tourism Management, Vol. 75, pp. 130-147.
Supriadi, O., Musthan, Z., Nurjehan, R., Haryanti, Y.D., Rafid Marwal, M., Purwanto, A. et al., 2020. Did transformational, transactional leadership style and organizational learning influence innovation capabilities of school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic? Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11, p.47. https://doi.org/10.31838/srp.2020.9.47
Syed, Z.-U.-R., Ali, S., & Hussain, F. (2020). The critical elements determining employee retention in the BPO sector of Bangladesh. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 9, 2580-2588.
Thanh N.H., Quang N.V. (2022). Transformational, transactional, laissez-faire leadership styles and employee engagement: evidence from Vietnam's Public Sector. Sage Open. 12(2):1–18.
Thusago, K. (2023). The relationship between leadership style within an organisation and employee turnover within the South African banking industry. University of the Witwatersrand. https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/be369f7a-4449-486b-9b23-dda2a641a0c4/content
Triono, T., Kusmaningtyas, A., & Halik, A. (2024). Enhancing innovative work behavior through laissez-faire leadership, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and work engagement: The moderating role of organizational citizenship behavior in 4-star hotels. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, 8(6), 8156–8167. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v8i6.3759
Udayanga, M. V. S. S. (2020). The impact of the transactional leadership on organizational productivity: A monographic study. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Educational Research, 2(5), 297-309 https://www.ijmcer.com/wpcontent/uploads/2023/07/IJMCER_GG02502 970309.pdf
Woods S. A., Diprose N., Murphy-Diprose M., Thomas G. (2020). Effective interim leadership and management: Development of a cyclical model of interim assignments. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness, 7(2), 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-10-2019-0094
Yahaya, E. H., Abu-Abdissamad, A. M., & Malachy, O. D. Y. (2023). Transactional Leadership Style and Employees' Turnover Intention: The Role of Organizational Commitment. Lapai Journal of Management Science, 12(1&2), 46-62.
Yücel, İ. (2021). Transformational Leadership and Turnover Intentions: The Mediating Role of Employee Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Administrative Sciences, 11(3), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11030081
Zhang, Z., Ni, G., Lin, H., Li, Z., & Zhou, Z. (2022). Linking empowering leadership to work-related wellbeing and project citizenship behavior in the construction context: a self-determination perspective. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 16(2), 232–257. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-10-2021-0288?urlappend=%3Futm_source%3Dresearchgate.net%26utm_medium%3Darticle
Zheng, X., Song, J., Shi, X. (2025). The effect of authoritarian leadership on young nurses' burnout: the mediating role of organizational climate and psychological capital. BMC Health Serv Res 25, 292. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12403-7
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejefr.v9i5.2102
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Princess G. Cole, Christian Yuri M. Pongase, Jeanessa Mae B. Tacumba, John Paul T. Banac
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.
Copyright © 2016 - 2026. European Journal of Economic and Financial Research (ISSN 2501-9430) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.
