Leadership styles that influence employee brand advocacy in the medical scheme administration industry

Abstract

Employee Brand Advocacy (EBA) is the most effective method for cultivating and managing employee relationships within the financial industry, specifically in the medical scheme administration organisations. Nonetheless, the existing research on EBA is not only fragmented across many contexts but it has also been significantly under explored in the financial sector. Furthermore, the leadership theories acknowledge that no single approach to leadership is universally applicable to all situations. Diverse situations and organisational contexts necessitate the chosen leadership styles and actions that are tailored to the follower dynamics (Buyandelger, 2024). However, this theory misses to clarify the relationship between positive EBA and the Leadership Styles (LS) within the medical scheme administration industry. Empirical research has been undertaken in the fields of employee brand advocacy and leadership since their emergence as conceptual constructs. These constructs have been researched by scholars numerous times; however, there are no studies together in the context of the medical scheme administration industry. A blended leadership style was identified as being appropriate after a review of the literature. Consequently, it was necessary to examine the leadership styles that have a positive impact on employee brand advocacy in this context. The aim was to evaluate the leadership situations that contribute positively to the employees' perceptions of brand advocacy, by identifying the leadership styles that positively influence the phenomena, and by ultimately identifying the optimal conditions that reveal the mutually beneficial behavior of both parties, which are both the employees and the leaders within this industry. Methodology: A qualitative study was chosen for this investigation. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews which enabled the participants to disclose their personal experiences with the phenomena under investigation. This method facilitated the development of open-ended enquiries. The study’s respondents were from a variety of organisations, including human capital experts, senior and middle managers, as well as department heads. Their roles and experiences in the medical scheme administration industry were diverse. There were 16 respondents that were interviewed virtually via Microsoft Teams and the data was collected using the qualitative data analysis approach which was instrumental in acquiring a more profound understanding of the diverse experiences of the participants regarding the leadership styles that influence positive employee brand advocacy.