Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Performance: Using Leadership Style to Enable Structural Elements

• Author: Robert E. Overstreet,Joseph B. Skipper,Joe B. Hanna,Benjamin T. Hazen
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12043
• Published date: 01 June 2014
• Date: 01 June 2014

Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Performance: Using

Leadership Style to Enable Structural Elements

Robert E. Overstreet

1

, Benjamin T. Hazen

2

, Joseph B. Skipper

3

, and Joe B. Hanna

4

1

Air Force Institute of Technology

2

University of Tennessee

3

Georgia Southern University

4

Auburn University

Successful leaders create structural elements in order to achieve the performance objectives set forth by organizational strategy. Supply chain

oriented structural elements are reflected in an organization’s relationships, both within the firm and with supply chain partners. In this

research effort, we examine how such structural elements can be created as a means through which to enhance performance. Our hypothesized

model is rooted in strategy-structure-performance theory and integrates elements of servant leadership theory and social exchange theory to

explain how building organizational commitment via servant leadership behaviors can ultimately impact performance. We use a survey method

to collect data from 158 motor carriers. The results of our structural equation model support our hypotheses and serve to extend the discussion

of supply chain structural elements and the role of leadership style in achieving organizational performance.

Keywords: strategy-structure-performance; organizational commitment; organizational performance; servant leadership; partial least squares

structural equation modeling

INTRODUCTION

Organizational strategies that define performance objectives are

achieved via the creation and maintenance of appropriate structural

elements (Williamson 1970; Bowersox et al. 1999; Wasserman

2008; Patel et al. 2013). Structural elements include not only sys-

tems and core competencies (Fombrun 1986; Prahalad and Hamel

1990; Day 1994; Flynn et al. 2010), but also work-role definitions,

coordination mechanisms, policies, and social relationships within

and beyond the enterprise (Chandler 1962; Galbraith and Nathan-

son 1978; Miles and Snow 1978; Dalton et al. 1980; Defee and

Stank 2005). Research suggests that it is the creation and mainte-

nance of these structural elements that present possibly the greatest

challenge, and also perhaps the greatest opportunity for reward,

for organizations (Defee and Stank 2005). Structural elements, in

both tangible and intangible forms, are a function of, or at a

minimum supported by, the members of an organization whose

behaviors “reflect benevolence, embrace cooperative norms, and

demonstrate credible commitment”within the organization and

toward its supply chain partners (Patel et al. 2013, 715). Thus,

organizations have a need to understand how to develop and main-

tain the human component of their structural elements. A deeper

examination of the human component, which despite being the

domain of organizational behaviorist, has become a recent trend in

supply chain management systems design that is increasingly

recognized for its importance in identifying how and why some

supply chains outperform others (Fawcett et al. 2011).

Organizing and leading a diverse, dispersed workforce while

enabling adequate structural elements in support of organizational

strategy presents a variety of challenges for those who are

charged with managing supply chain functions. The unique chal-

lenges of supply chain management call for leaders that possess

distinctive skill sets that enable them to develop innovative solu-

tions and create a collaborative culture in order to enable com-

petitive advantage (Harps 2003; Defee and Stank 2005). Thus, it

is imperative to understand which leadership styles may be effec-

tive in creating structures appropriate for enabling supply chain

performance so that organizations can attract and cultivate the

right leadership skills. The present study examines this inherently

human side of supply chain management by using a multitheoret-

ical approach that integrates strategy-structure-performance (SSP)

theory, social exchange theory (SET), and leadership theory to

explain how affective organizational commitment, as a structural

element, can be created and maintained via leadership. We also

examine how this structural element evokes performance.

Sanders and Wagner (2011) argue that the competitive land-

scape is changing and to remain relevant researchers must pro-

vide insight to industry leaders who have to make tough supply

chain capability decisions to meet today’s complex and nuanced

challenges. Among the most competitive landscapes in supply

chain management is that of the U.S. motor carrier industry,

which in 2012 represented nearly $650B in logistics costs

accounting for over 4% of the entire U.S. gross domestic product

(Wilson 2013). The rather unique challenge for leaders in the

motor carrier industry is that a significant portion of their work-

force is largely autonomous and geographically separated. How-

ever, past research supports the notion that some leadership

styles can positively affect performance irrespective of employee

proximity (e.g., Howell and Hall-Merenda 1999).

In this study, we propose that building affective organizational

commitment is one mediating structural element that enables per-

formance regardless of employee proximity to management.

Affective organizational commitment refers to the attitudinal and

emotional attachment to an organization (Meyer and Allen 1991;

Corresponding author:

Robert E. Overstreet, Department of Operational Sciences, Air Force

Institute of Technology, 2950 Hobson Way, WPAFB, OH 45433,

USA; E-mail: robert.overstreet@afit.edu

Journal of Business Logistics, 2014, 35(2): 136–149

© Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals