Supervision environments and performance of UK dairy warehouses: A path analysis

Purpose: For team leaders or supervisors (functional coordinators (FCs)) warehouses are one of the most difficult places to supervise and manage subordinate workers. FCs themselves can be supervised by their bosses in different ways, either semi-autonomously or in a traditional authoritarian manner. However, different supervision environments for FCs may affect the performance of the warehouses they work in. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linkages between different supervision environments; FCs' trust in and satisfaction with their bosses, warehouse service quality and company growth. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modelling (path analysis) is applied to a randomly drawn data sample (n=95) of dairy warehouses from the UK. Findings: The results show that semi-autonomous supervision has a strong positive impact on FCs' trust and satisfaction and on warehouse service quality which positively affects company growth. In addition, FCs' trust and satisfaction are found to be important antecedents of warehouse service quality and they also directly enhance company growth. In contrast, traditional supervision does not build trust nor creates satisfaction and has a negative direct impact on warehouse service quality. Research limitations/implications: While conducted based on a small sample, the study examines important performance determinants and thus enhances the understanding of how to better manage warehouses in particular in a logistically challenging industry. Originality/value: This study empirically analyses the linkages between supervision environments, warehouse service quality and company growth and thus contributes to determine a best-practice approach for modern warehouse management.