Date
11-11-2026
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Chair
Shelly Zaldivar
Keywords
Latino church leadership, servant leadership, organizational change, cultural responsiveness, formal leadership strategies, informal leadership strategies
Disciplines
Business | Leadership Studies
Recommended Citation
Herran, Clara, "How Do the Formal and Informal Leadership Strategies in Church With a Latino Component Result in the Ability or Inability To Make Critical and Sustainable Changes?" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9078.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9078
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore the challenges leaders in a church with a Latino component face and how those challenges may affect their ability to make critical and sustainable changes. The study examined leadership strategies, members’ interactions, cultural and contextual factors, and leadership actions and behaviors associated with gaining church support. Guided by a positivist paradigm, the study used a flexible qualitative design and single-case study method. Data were collected from 12 participants representing multiple leadership, ministry, volunteer, and congregational perspectives through semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Methodological triangulation was used to compare evidence obtained through the two data collection methods. Analysis revealed five major themes reflecting interconnected relational, organizational, cultural, and contextual dimensions of leadership. Participants emphasized communication, leadership accessibility, trust, cultural responsiveness, organizational systems, community engagement, and congregational relationships as influences on leadership effectiveness and sustainable organizational change. Unexpectedly, organizational conflict and resistance were less prominent than anticipated; participants described leadership challenges primarily through relational and cultural experiences involving trust, belonging, communication, and ministry effectiveness. Cultural dynamics, including familismo, machismo, marianismo, and experiences of racism, were reflected in participants’ accounts of leadership and congregational life, although these dynamics were less prominent than anticipated. Participants did not experience formal and informal leadership as distinct forms of influence but as an integrated relational process. The findings supported Servant Leadership Theory and Organizational Change Theory, indicating that sustainable organizational change depends on relational trust, culturally responsive leadership, effective communication, congregational engagement, and connections with community.
