Degree Date

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation - Public Access

Degree Name

DBA Doctorate in Business Administration

Academic Discipline

Business Administration

First Advisor

Colleen Ramos

Second Advisor

Nitha Fiona Nagubadi

Third Advisor

David J. Ross

Abstract

Prior research provided limited insight into how mid-to-senior leaders experienced and interpreted leadership in relation to retention. This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored how mid-to-senior leaders in a U.S. retail organization experienced and interpreted upper management leadership in relation to their retention decisions. Five leaders with at least four years of tenure participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Each account was analyzed idiographically before patterns of convergence, variation, and divergence were examined across cases. Findings showed that willingness to remain reflected continued internal growth and meaningful influence, supportive leadership that affirmed personal value while preserving agency, and relational and cultural attachment that remained meaningful but conditional. Participants interpreted these experiences as interconnected and continually reassessed whether the employment relationship still offered a credible future, professional value and agency, and meaningful organizational connection. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provided a psychological lens for interpreting overlapping and changing motivational meanings rather than classifying retention factors into separate need levels. The findings positioned leader retention as an ongoing, interdependent, and conditional process. Organizations should broaden leader development beyond promotion and reassess retention following meaningful organizational or leadership changes.

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