title: Full-range leadership and motivation in franchising : multiple case study of franchisees within O2
Creators: name: Somabhai  Patel, Rajesh
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2023

description: Although the relationship between leadership and follower attitudes such as organisational commitment and job satisfaction has been well documented in previous research, no prior research has explored the relationship between Full-range Leadership of franchisees and their followers' motivation. By exploring the relationship between Full-range Leadership and the motivation of employees in the under-researched area of telecommunication franchising, the study fills a gap in the literature. Additionally, this research discovered the factors affecting the application of a particular leadership style (transformational, transactional or laissez faire). A multiple case study research of twenty franchisees of 02, located in the north of England was conducted. A qualitative research methodology utilised data from secondary sources and semi structured interviews with franchisees and their subordinates. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 6s) was used alongside semi structured interviews; this led to a more in depth consideration of the seven Full-range Leadership factors. This study selected 180-degree format by interviewing franchisees and their subordinates. Data was analysed with the use of NViv08 to identify the most important themes and patterns from the data collected. The research showed that transformational leadership has a stronger relationship with motivation than transactional leadership. The laissez faire leadership style was absent amongst the franchisees under study. The research also illustrated that franchisees who exhibited a transformational style, empowered their staff more and made their followers less dependent on the leader. A practical application and observable behaviour of transformational leadership can be found in behaviours such as delegating significant authority to individuals, developing follower skills and self confidence, creating self-managed teams, providing direct access to sensitive information, eliminating unnecessary controls, and building a strong culture to support empowerment. In transactional leadership, leader follower relationships were based on a series of exchanges or bargains between leaders and followers. Franchisees that had a transactional leadership style used contingent reward to motivate followers. Transformational franchisees and their followers indicated that idealised influence had the strongest impact on motivation. Empirical evidence suggested that transformational leadership factors (idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration) had a stronger relationship with motivation than transactional leadership factors (contingent reward and management - by-exception). This study identified that several factors influenced the application of a particular leadership style: individual followers, situations, organisational performance and targets, organisational culture and franchisor's policies and procedures. Other motivational factors, besides the leader's leadership style, have been taken into consideration in this research. This study found that, in particular, monetary motivators were used in the sales driven environment of 02-franchise business to motivate followers. The findings supported the literature review in confirming that transformational franchisees used non-monetary rewards in addition to monetary rewards: giving a sense of achievement by appreciating and praising people's efforts, recognition by giving vouchers and awards, social events and competitions.