Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Organizational Leadership
First Advisor
Dr. Joshua D. Henson
Second Advisor
Dr. Thomas Gollery
Third Advisor
Dr. Daniel Rodriguez
Abstract
The primary objective of this dissertation was first to ascertain whether there is a statistically significant effect of generation on decision-making styles and secondarily to ascertain whether there would be a statistically significant interaction effect for study participant gender and generation upon decision-making styles. The researcher hypothesized that there are quantifiable differences among Hispanic generations: first-generation Hispanic immigrants to the second and third-plus generations (Kiang et al., 2011; Pan & Pierre Lu, 2015). Decision-making styles create a framework to understand an individual's decision-making process, problem-solving matrix, and interactions with other organizations and team members (Rowe & Boulgarides, 1983). The population for this study included Hispanic pastors and leaders of the Hispanic districts of the Assemblies of God Fellowship (Springfield, MO). The Hispanic Districts of the Assemblies of God were selected for their unique Hispanic population matrix. The study’s topic was addressed using a quantitative, nonexperimental research design. The study’s research methodology was a survey research approach. The instrument was the General Decision-Making Style (Scott & Bruce, 1995) survey, and the internal reliability level achieved in the study was considered good to very good for the overall value and for each of the three generational values (α = .84). Participants (n = 226) responded to 30 survey items: 5 demographic questions and 25 decision-making style questions. The data were collected using an online survey platform (SurveyMonkey) and analyzed using SPSS. The final analysis revealed a nonstatistically significant (F (10, 410) = 0.96, p = .48, ηp2 = 0.02) relationship between decision-making styles and generations. There was a similar finding for the secondary study question, in that the main effect for study participant generation was nonstatistically significant (F (10, 404) = 1.24, p = .26, ηp2 = 0.03). Congruently, the three hypotheses for Research Questions 1 and 2 were rejected considering the nonstatistically significant interaction effect. These results challenge assumptions of decision-making style and generational theory—and, as such, open the door to a new empirical examination of the constructs.
Recommended Citation
de Leon Jr, D. (2023). Evaluation of the Hispanic Paradox: Conceptualized Through the Lens of Generational Decision-Making Styles of First-, Second-, and Third-Plus-Generation Hispanic Leaders. [Doctoral dissertation, Southeastern University]. FireScholars. https://firescholars.seu.edu/org-lead/29