The successful manager and psychological androgyny: a conceptual and empirical investigation of hotel executives

Abstract

Past studies have shown that successful hotel managers are required to display a wide variety of behaviors to perform their job satisfactorily. It was postulated that the “psychologically androgynous” person—that is, one who endorses both “masculine” and “feminine” positive behaviors—would possess the desired range of behaviors that lead to success in hospitality management. Accordingly, General Managers of 330 three- and four-star hotels on the mainland US were surveyed to determine the proportion among them classified as androgynous. The central hypothesis, which was strongly supported, predicted that a significantly higher proportion of successful hotel managers was androgynous as compared to the general population. No statistically significant differences were found in the androgyny profiles of American and non-American managers working in America. Managers of four-star hotels were more likely to be androgynous as compared to managers of three-star hotels. Finally, in terms of endorsement of positive “masculine” and “feminine” personality characteristics, there was a striking similarity between successful male and female hotel managers. Recommendations for further research and implications are presented.