Mediating Effect of Innovation on The Relationship Between Leadership Style and Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya
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Date
2024-08-15
Authors
Evelyne Muriuki
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Publisher
PAC University
Abstract
Leadership is invaluable in creating sustainable outcomes while globally, banks have experienced turbulence necessitating innovation. The motivation to carry out this study stems from the fact that amid uncertainty, Kenyan banks’ performance has differed with some being more agile at embracing new ways of working faster than others and a search for understanding the leadership styles applied. Empirical literature reveals fewer studies undertaken on the subject in African and specifically, in the Kenyan context. Techniques used lacked the rigor to show the degree of input of leadership style and the clarity of combining different leadership styles and contribution to performance. The study sought to establish the effect of leadership style on performance of Kenyan commercial banks registered under the Central bank of Kenya while assessing the mediating effect of innovation on the relationship between leadership style and performance. Postulates of behavioral theory of leadership, transformational, authentic leadership and diffusion of innovation theories anchored the study, founded on epistemological position of pragmatism. A mixed method research orientation guided in the choice of a convergent parallel mixed research design which enabled collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The sampling frame for the proposed study comprised all licensed Kenyan commercial banks as listed in the Central Bank’s directory of licensed commercial banks and mortgage institutions and applied a multistage sampling procedure. The study adopted registered commercial banks as the unit of analysis, while leadership at various levels of hierarchy in the bank was the unit of observation. A sample size of three hundred and sixty senior and middle level managers was obtained using proportionate stratified sampling. Pre-testing of the questionnaires was carried out on select leaders in the microfinance banks regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya to confirm that all the items were stated clearly and could be similarly interpreted by all respondents. Reliability was tested via internal consistency using Cronbach alpha yielding an overall score of 0.978. Questionnaires collected data from 352 commercial bank leaders in Nairobi, Kenya, while interviews with 15 selected members of senior management provided in-depth understanding to the constructs. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS (Version 23.0), Atlas.ti 7 software was used for qualitative analysis and data presented using tables and charts. Findings showed transformational (β#0.247, P=0.000) and authentic leadership (β=0.267, P= 0.000) have a significantly positive influence while transactional leadership (β =-0.259, P =0.000) has a significantly negative influence on performance of commercial banks. Innovation partially mediated the relationship between leadership style and performance of commercial banks in Kenya as tested via the Baron and Kenny (1986) model. The beneficiaries of the study are policy makers, regulators, and organizational leaders particularly in the financial sector and it recommends commercial banks focus on leadership development programs emphasizing transformational and authentic leadership practices while encouraging soft HRM, situational and collaborative approaches to support innovation resulting in improved performance. Secondly, leaders in commercial banks should invest returns and devise products to reach the unbanked while prioritizing information security to curb fraud. Thirdly, studies could be conducted on financial players mediated by other innovation types like agency banking. Lastly, longitudinal studies could be undertaken over periods beyond five years to determine long-term effect of leadership style and political interference or mergers and acquisition of commercial banks on their performance.