Abstract
Myriad of literature and studies on ideology articulate it as a concept and theory elaborating on its formation process, attributions and connotations; laying emphasis on it as a social or political science concept without inclining it to employee behaviour in businesses. This paper investigates the role of ideologies of leaders in their decision making and its effect on employee behaviour, focusing on entrepreneurs of SMEs and their employees in Ghana. The study adopts the quantitative approach using structured questionnaires as the main data collection tool. Considering conservatism and liberalism as the main forms of leadership ideologies, the transformational leadership theory is used as the lens to explain the authors’ synthesised concept of leadership ideologies and employee behaviour. A regression analysis, utilising the tolerance statistical model, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the variance inflation factor (VIF) is used to assess the multicollinearity (correlations) that exists between the variables. The coefficients of correlation reveal a positive relationship between leadership ideologies and employee behaviour. The study establishes that employee behaviour, to a limited degree is determined by the ideologies held by leaders. The researchers recommend liberalism as a more favourable leadership ideology for encouraging the realization of individual potentials of employees, enhancing creativity and cohesiveness at the workplace such as attained under transformational leadership.
Highlights
Recent studies have focused on the crucial role played by SMEs in the Ghanaian economy, highlighting their immense contribution to employment and income generation alongside factors that inhibit the operations of new and existing SMEs (Abor & Bieke, 2006). Mensah (2004) identified SMEs as the “valve for absorbing” the redundant labour force in the Ghanaian economy
The researchers investigated the relationship between leadership ideologies in their decision making and employee behaviour
Employee behaviour to a limited degree is determined by the ideologies held by leaders
Summary
Recent studies have focused on the crucial role played by SMEs in the Ghanaian economy, highlighting their immense contribution to employment and income generation alongside factors that inhibit the operations of new and existing SMEs (Abor & Bieke, 2006). Mensah (2004) identified SMEs as the “valve for absorbing” the redundant labour force in the Ghanaian economy. As leaders of SMEs, entrepreneurs influence by means of the control exercised in decision-making (O'Regan & Ghobadian, 2005) which is influenced by their ideologies towards the operations of these SMEs. Implementation of decisions made in SMEs is not carried out by entrepreneurs alone: employees play a critical role in the realization of what has been conceived by the entrepreneurs. Implementation of decisions made in SMEs is not carried out by entrepreneurs alone: employees play a critical role in the realization of what has been conceived by the entrepreneurs This renders the employees highly beneficial to SMEs, the number of employees as one criterion in defining an SME (Teal, 2002). The question remains: 1. Do the ideologies held by leaders influence their decision making process in businesses?
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