Store Manager–Store Performance Relationship: A Research Note

Store Managers’ Intra-Organizational Relationship Capacity [Display omitted] •Intra-organizational relationships affect retail store performance.•Store manager view of leadership support impacts four areas of store performance.•Store manager trust in supervisor capability indirectly impacts store performance.•Regional manager’s transformational leadership impacts gross sales profit. Despite the critical role that store managers play in linking top management teams and service/retail employees, as well as in fulfilling corporate strategy within chain store environments, service management research infrequently addresses the factors that may promote store managers’ effective exchange relationships within the firm and subsequent effects on store operations and profitability. This study focuses on how store managers’ performance orientation, trust of a regional manager’s capabilities, and organizational commitment affect a manager’s relationships relative to regional managers and frontline employees. The direct effect of store managers’ relationship capacity on store performance is also examined. The results, based on survey data from managers of stores of a retail and service chain and company financial reports, generally support the suggested hypotheses. Specifically, a store manager’s relationship with his/her supervisor has a strong influence on how the manager views the supervisor’s leadership support and leadership style, which ultimately influence store performance (primary goods/service sales and store profits).