Achievement Oriented Leadership Style and Performance of Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to examine the influence of achievement oriented leadership (AOL) style on organizational performance of manufacturing SME’s in Nairobi, Kenya. Positivism research philosophy and descriptive correlational research design were used. The target population of interest in the study comprised of managers/owners from 425 SME’s listed members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers based in Nairobi region. A sample size of 369 managers/owners was derived using stratified random sampling technique. From this, a total of 367 participated in the study, giving a response rate of 99%. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The descriptive statistics covered were mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis while inferential statistics used for data analysis included:-pearson’s correlation, chi-square and binary logistic regression. Binary logistic regression (Cox and Snell R squared) showed that 5.9 % of the probability of organizational performance was explained by achievement oriented leadership style. The parameter estimates indicated that AOL style positively and significantly predicted organizational performance, β= 2.450, p = .000, p < 0.05. Hence, the study rejected the null hypothesis that AOL style does not influence organizational performance in manufacturing SME’s in Nairobi. From the conclusion, AOL style significantly influenced organizational performance in manufacturing SME’s Nairobi, Kenya. The findings provide insights to the owners/managers of manufacturing SME’s on influence of AOL for better performance. This study recommends further research on SME’s from specific manufacturing categories in Kenya, the inclusion of demographic variables and a longitudinal approach to reveal the impact of AOL style on organizational performance over time.