Date of Award
Summer 8-24-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Daniels College of Business
First Advisor
Sung Soo Kim
Second Advisor
Aimee Hamilton
Third Advisor
Anne DePrince
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Intimate partner abuse, Workplace productivity, Servant leadership, Stakeholder approach, Socioeconomic status
Abstract
Intimate partner abuse affects millions of individuals from all segments of society, and existing literature demonstrates that it has extensive impacts on American companies through loss of workplace productivity, reduced workplace safety, and employee turnover. While several supportive policies and practices have been suggested for implementation in business environments, many business leaders do not perceive the utilization of such measures as having business value. Thus, this study addresses the question, What influences business leaders’ decisions about whether and to what degree to adopt policies and practices for responding to employees’ experiences of intimate partner abuse? This dissertation is a qualitative study in which thirty-one small business leaders were interviewed. The findings indicate that external and internal environments, as well as leaders’ characteristics and perceptions, influence the type of stakeholder approach they might take, as well as their tendency toward a servant leadership style. Both their stakeholder approaches and their servant leadership styles then influence their decisions about implementing supportive responses for employees who have experienced intimate partner abuse. This effect is particularly strong for the implementation of informal practices. Planned behavior, stakeholder, servant leadership, and critical and feminist theories coalesce to form the theoretical model that is developed herein. This dissertation expands the fragmented research about the intersection between intimate partner abuse and business leadership, it develops a new combined theoretical model that could be applied to other areas of research involving sensitive and stigmatized experiences in employees’ lives, and it suggests ways in which sex, gender, and various elements of socioeconomic status could influence leaders’ and employees’ experiences of such situations. Ultimately, these findings provide new insights for management training and consulting, as well as an understanding of how best to support leaders’ decision making-processes.
Copyright Date
8-2024
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Marilyn Lucille Brock
Provenance
Received from Author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
233 pgs
File Size
4.0 MB
Recommended Citation
Brock, Marilyn Lucille, "Influences on Small Business Leaders’ Decisions About Supportive Policies and Practices for Employees Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Abuse" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2475.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2475
Included in
Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence Commons, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Leadership Commons
