A systematic and critical review of leadership styles in contemporary hospitality: a roadmap and a call for future research

Abstract

Purpose - The overall purpose of this critical review is to provide an overview of leadership styles in the hospitality industry. It also demonstrates theories used in hospitality leadership styles research, identifies the main outcomes, and highlights gaps for future research. Design/methodology/approach – We present a comprehensive review of the 79 articles on leadership styles in the hospitality context spanning over 13 years (2008–2020) and extend the scope in distinctive means. Findings – Our review has demonstrated that leadership styles research in hospitality has made progress in the past 13 years; however, there are conceptual and empirical overlaps among different leadership styles in hospitality. There is a lack of research on antecedents and integrating theories in studies. Our review has revealed that several leadership styles have not been rigorously examined in hospitality research with their outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The search strategy used to find articles published in WoS about leadership styles in hospitality was restricted to title to boost the accuracy of the subsequent literature. Practical implications – By following the guidance presented in this review, we expect to advance and maintain hospitality leadership research to provide substantive insights into the context of hospitality leadership over the coming years. Originality/value – The current study is one of the first to undertake a comprehensive understanding of various leadership styles in the hospitality context. We provide a comprehensive projected research agenda to demonstrate theoretical discourses and empirical research. Overall, our critical review presents a holistic idea of the focus of the prior studies and what should be highlighted in future studies.