Effect of Competitive Advantage on the Relationship between Strategic Leadership and Performance of International Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

In developing countries, International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) have taken active and complementary roles in sustainable human development. Despite the role of INGOs in development, the issues of sustainability, availability of funds, and supportive leadership have remained a major challenge in developing countries. The concept of competitive advantage has been recognized as a central building block in strategic management and an important precedent to organizational performance. Competitive advantage is a deliberate effort by the organization to align its internal conditions and capabilities with changes in the external environment. This study sought to establish the mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of international non-governmental organizations in Kenya The study was anchored on strategic leadership theory, upper echelons theory and resource-based view theories. For methodology, descriptive cross-sectional survey design covering 277 respondents was adopted. Semi structured questionnaires were used to collect data. The study findings indicated that data collection tool/questionnaire was reliable as Cronbach alpha was greater than 0.7 for all variables. The results indicated a significant mediating effect of competitive advantage on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of international non-governmental organizations in Kenya. This means that the influence of strategic leadership on performance is indirect through competitive advantage. The study concluded that both competitive advantage and strategic leadership concurrently influence organizational performance positively. It is recommended that international non-governmental organization must be able to identify their competitive advantage. Keywords: Strategic Leadership, Competitive Advantage, Performance, International Non-Governmental Organizations & Kenya.

Strategic leadership and its influence on competitive advantage in strategic collaborations between universities and teaching hospitals in Kenya

“…The study findings on strategic leadership were comparable to Oracha et al (2021) who established that strategic leadership was critical in sustained superior performance in organizations. Oracha et al (2021) argued that operationalization of competitive advantage needed to incorporate financial and non-financial metrics as applied in this study, a claim also supported by Liu et al (2018).…”

“…The study findings on strategic leadership were comparable to Oracha et al (2021) who established that strategic leadership was critical in sustained superior performance in organizations. Oracha et al (2021) argued that operationalization of competitive advantage needed to incorporate financial and non-financial metrics as applied in this study, a claim also supported by Liu et al (2018). The findings of this study are also congruent with theoretical expectations from the resource-based view that in the attainment of competitive advantage, it is critical for an organization to deploy strategic ambidexterity through strategic leadership, by effectively leveraging on visioning, nurturing core competencies and building effective collaborations according to Hitt et al (2017) and Quigley and Graffin (2017).…”

“…Strategic Leadership and its Influence on … Najmi et al (2018), though using structural equation modelling in a study involving hospitals, established similar findings to this study as far as strategic leadership having a significant and positive direct influence on sustained performance. In congruence with Oracha et al (2021) and this study, Najmi et al (2018) also utilized financial and non-financial multidimensional constructs to determine superior performance. The results of this study and Najmi et al (2018) are at odds with many other studies like Hunitie (2018) and Zhanglan et al (2021) that determined that the strategic leadership is directly significant in determining competitive advantageonly in turbulent and competitive business environments.…”

“…In a study involving over a hundred firms in Europe over a period of four years, Georgakakis et al (2016) found a positive relationship between strategic leadership and sustained superior organizational performance similar to Oracha et al (2021). TheGeorgakakis et al ( 2016) study controlled for size of the organization, employee complement, prior performance, sociodemographics, level of education of the chief executive, chief executive team tenure, industry munificence and chief executive autonomy.…”