Assessing SMEs leadership styles impact on business development and job creation: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Unemployment is a growing concern for today’s economies. Governments gear various policies to increase business productivity and expansion to create new job places. However, little research was conducted on how informal sector leadership contributes to resolving this crisis worldwide. This study seeks to identify the SME leadership styles that foster business development and job creation in Ghana. The study targets the leadership styles of artisans and manufacturers of local goods. Mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) where both questionnaire and interview were used to gather information from a total of one hundred and twenty respondents; sixty proprietors were artisans and the remaining were managers of local factories. The paper adopts SPSS and the Pearson correlation in the data analysis. The study determined emotional intelligence and ethical leadership regarded as emerging leadership styles the best for informal sector growth. However, bureaucratic leadership, autocratic and laissez-faire leadership referred to as traditional leadership styles had no positive influence on growth indicators within the informal economy. The results also reveal that most SMEs fold up before the fifth year of their establishment, deepening the unemployment situation in the research communities. The paper further confirms the inadequate resources of most SME leaders to take up leadership training. Therefore, the study recommends that government should periodically organize and finance workshops and seminars to facilitate SMEs access to leadership training and development in Ghana.