Quality Output, Workplace Environment, and Employee Retention: The Positive Influence of Emotionally Intelligent Supply Chain Managers

• Published date: 01 December 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12258
• Date: 01 December 2020

Quality Output, Workplace Environment, and Employee Retention:

The Positive Inf‌luence of Emotionally Intelligent Supply Chain

Managers

Scott B. Keller

1

, Peter M. Ralston

2

, and Stephen A. LeMay

1

1

University of West Florida

2

Iowa State University

Industry advancements are accelerating at phenomenal rates and changing the management of logistics and supply chain operations. Employ-

ers must develop supervision with advanced skills to manage and retain the most effective employees making up the new workforce of

highly skilled and technologically advanced personnel. Emotional intelligence is a managerial competence leveraged by leaders to connect with

subordinates on a psychologically emotional level. Our research evaluates and applies emotional intelligence within the context of managing

logistics and supply chain employees. Recognizing that employees are critical to production and service delivery, logistics and supply chain

managers must be able to cognitively analyze situations and connect with employees in a positive manner even during challenging times. We

f‌ind that managers possessing higher levels of emotional intelligence are better equipped to help their employees manage emotions, build more

positive working conditions for subordinates, increase retention of employees, and achieve more positive service outcomes for external cus-

tomers.

Keywords: emotional intelligence; personnel; logistics; supervisor; leadership

INTRODUCTION

The essence of managing a workforce within a supply chain

(SC) is being challenged by modern industry advancements in

information systems, data analytics, artif‌icial intelligence, and

advanced manufacturing. On the one hand, if autonomous vehi-

cles are widely adopted and parts and products are manufactured

immediately when and where they are needed, then it is easy to

envision a SC that employs fewer people to drive trucks or han-

dle products (Cavallaro 2018). On the other hand, the most pro-

gressive SC-oriented companies may opt to interact with labor in

ways that further leverage the value that such advancements gen-

erate (Cantor 2016). Some believe that as companies pursue

operational eff‌iciency through industry advancements, jobs will

change; however, the companies will still need people to operate

the advanced technology and machinery (Goodman 2017; Caval-

laro 2018). As the need for skilled labor increases for operating

domestic and global supply chains (Van Hoek, Wagner, and

Sohal 2013; Kotzab, Teller, Bourlakis, and Wuensche 2018), the

value created by such labor will continue to be a driving force in

achieving logistics and SC management (L&SCM) success

(Ellinger, Keller, and Basß2010).

While human resources are a requisite for business success,

maintaining needed employment levels at L&SCM f‌irms is

becoming a challenge (Opengart, Ralston, and LeMay 2018).

Causes such as employee mobility; employees who are attractive

to multiple industries; mismatches between employee knowledge,

skills, and abilities and job requirements; and f‌irms focusing on

meeting customer needs and cost containment, while not

protecting their own human resources (Gardner 2005; Stank,

Dittmann, and Autry 2011; Sweeney 2013), are impacting a

f‌irm’s ability to meet its human resource needs. Whatever the

reason, f‌irms involved in L&SCM have been forced into a com-

petition to attract and hire new employees, and struggling like

never before to retain their highly qualif‌ied people (Gibson

2019). Firms need specialized skill sets in connecting with their

labor base.

Arguably, a f‌irm’s greatest asset in leveraging L&SCM

employees is effective managers (Sheehan, Ellinger, and Ellinger

2014). Skilled supervision is the key to organizing and leading a

productive labor force. We suggest f‌irms will f‌ind their competi-

tive advantage within the same arena that they f‌ind the problem,

in people. Specif‌ically, L&SCM f‌irms will f‌ind a competitive

advantage in the labor market by having supervisors with high

levels of emotional intelligence (EI).

EI is the ability to recognize or perceive, utilize, understand,

and manage emotions during workplace interactions with

employees (Mayer and Salovey 1997). Van Hoek et al. (2002)

pointed out that SC managers will be required to have technical

knowledge of functional operations and the ability to manage

emotions of the workforce to fully achieve company goals.

The present research sets out to evaluate the individual emo-

tional dimensions apparent in L&SCM managers. We explore

the core dimensions of EI and their relationships with measures

of workplace environment, employee turnover, and aspects of

quality service. Our focus is on the emotionally intelligent

L&SCM supervisor (EIS). Research in psychology and organiza-

tional behavior suggests that the most effective supervisors pos-

sess a prescribed intellect to recognize, understand, and leverage

varying emotional states when interacting with subordinates (Sal-

ovey and Mayer 1990; Goleman 1995; Mayer and Salovey 1997;

Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, and Sitarenios 2003; Salovey and Gre-

wal 2005). Ultimately, the goal of EI is to equip people with the

skills to perceive, use, understand, and successfully manage their

Corresponding author

Peter M. Ralston, Department of Supply Chain Management, Ivy

College of Business, Iowa State University;

Email: pralston@iastate.edu

Journal of Business Logistics, 2020, 41(4): 337–355 doi: 10.1111/jbl.12258

© 2020 Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals

individual emotions and to help others manage emotions during

challenging situations.

The following research questions convey the underlying moti-

vation for the current research:

1 Do the dimensions of EI follow a prescribed sequence from

the basic EI skills to the more advanced as theorized within

the literature?

2 Does EIS enable L&SCM supervisors to create positive work-

ing environments for employees and inf‌luence employee reten-

tion?

3 Does EIS help to reduce the frequency of poor quality perfor-

mance within L&SCM operations?

This research contributes to the literature by exploring the

importance of leadership possessing and leveraging the critical

set of EI skills within L&SCM operational workplaces. EI has

been researched within the areas of mental health, maternity care,

sport psychology, academic performance, and child psychology

(Van Rooy and Viswesvaran 2004; Akerjordet and Severinsson

2009; Lane et al. 2009). Context matters greatly in workplace

decision making, learning, engagement, and productivity (Akhtar

et al. 2015; Van Knippenberg et al. 2015; Arkan et al. 2019).

The nuances associated with L&SCM workplaces often create

dynamic conditions with critical operational responses, heavy

reliance on individual decisions and effort, and highly variable

human responses (Ellinger et al. 2010; Goffnett et al. 2016). The

current research assesses the value of EI toward managing the

L&SCM workforce, to further our understanding of the value of

EI as a necessary supervisory competency, and to expand the

toolkit utilized by f‌irms when evaluating and hiring L&SCM

supervisors.

LITERATURE REVIEW

L&SCM managerial competencies in interpersonal

relationships

Competent and skillful workforce leaders require fundamental

business knowledge augmented with the abilities to manage

interpersonal relationships (Tokar 2010). Research pertaining to

L&SCM managers has focused on supervisor attitude and behav-

iors in guiding and retaining logistics employees (Ellinger, Ellin-

ger, and Keller 2005; Keller et al. 2006; Van Hoek and Mitchell

2006) and the importance of frontline supervisors having positive

cognitive and affective interactions with employees (Autry and

Daugherty 2003). In a study of 438 warehouse employees and

supervisors, Ellinger et al. (2005) found low levels of employee

coaching among supervisors. However, the researchers further

discovered that the supervisors who demonstrated coaching abili-

ties obtained high satisfaction and performance from their work-

force. Keller et al. (2010) established a taxonomy of supervision,

whereby the most productive grouping of distribution center

managers provided employees with exceptional levels of appreci-

ation, fairness, and responsiveness, and created an informative

and positive place to work (see also, Keller et al. 2006). Murphy

and Poist (2007; see also, Murphy and Poist 1991a, 1991b,

2006) utilized feedback from recruiters to determine that general

managerial skills (e.g., strong interpersonal communication skills)

are sought after f‌irst and followed by specif‌ic logistics skills.

While past research has investigated supervisor interpersonal

skills as well as attitudes and behavior, L&SCM supervisor skills

in identifying, understanding, and managing emotional elements

when communicating with subordinates have much room left for

examination. Keller (2002), Keller et al. (2013) created a two-

volume compendium of the measurement scales published in 37

years of logistics research from 1973 to 2010. None of these

scales pertained to the EI aspects of supervising employees. Only

recently has research pertaining to EIS begun to appear within

the L&SCM literature. Understanding and evaluating the emo-

tional abilities of supervision within supply chains are necessary

as employees and the work itself are ever-changing and diverse.

The next section provides a concise review of the literature

pertaining to EI. Mayer and Salovey’s 4-branch model of EI is

detailed as it is applied within this study.

Emotional intelligence

Scholars in organizational behavior, industrial psychology, and

other sciences have established the importance of leaders having

the intelligence to recognize or perceive, utilize, understand, and

manage emotions during workplace interactions with employees

(Mayer and Salovey 1997; Bar-On 2004; Goleman 2013; Calla-

han 2016; Rana et al. 2017). Salovey and Mayer (1990, p. 189)

established that EI pertains to the ability of an individual to mon-

itor his or her own emotions and the emotions of others while

distinguishing and identifying differences among the primary

human emotions displayed. Ultimately, it is the utilization of this

information to guide actions and responses during an interaction

that establishes the level of EI possessed by a person.

EI is a set of interrelated skills that allows managers to pro-

cess information pertaining to emotions in the context of various

interpersonal exchanges (Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey 1999;

Goleman et al. 2002; Bradberry and Greares 2009). Bar-On

(2004) used the term “emotional quotient”(EQ) to describe and

measure 5 domains of EI: interpersonal, intrapersonal, adaptabil-

ity, stress management, and general mood. Building on Gole-

man’s 4 domains of EI, Bradberry and Greaves (2009) created

the 28-item Emotional Intelligence Appraisalâ-Me to measure

self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relation-

ship management.

EI has been used sparsely within the L&SCM literature. Calla-

han (2016) conducted a primarily qualitative study pertaining to

frontline food distribution warehouse supervisors and employees

and found that supervisors who showed EI behaviors positively

affected the daily performance of the people who worked for

them. He administered the Emotional Intelligence Appraisalâ-

Me Edition to 9 supervisors within 6 companies and conducted

qualitative interviews with two employees that worked for each

supervisor. Although this research had limitations on generaliz-

ability, it showed a direct connection between EI in supervisors

and the sense of motivation and performance felt by the people

they supervised. Schumacher et al. (2009) used survey data from

dyadic pairs of buyers and aggregated supplier assessment scores

(performed if more than one supplier matched to a specif‌ic

buyer) to report that the supplier’s perception of a buyer’sEI

338 S. B. Keller et al.