The Perceived Influence of Strategic Leadership on Organizational Performance of Tourism Government Agencies in Kenya

Abstract

Organisations are increasingly embracing strategic leadership in light of adoption of strategic management practices. Organisations that have taken up strategic leadership have satisfied, engaged and loyal employees as well as high performance, however the perceptions of the leaders and employees shape the attainment of this leadership and may greatly affect performance. The study focused on the perceived influence of strategic leadership on organisational performance in tourism government agencies. The general objective of the study was to determine the perceived influence of strategic leadership on organisation performance in tourism government agencies. The other objectives were: to determine the perceived influence of strategic direction on the organisation performance of tourism government agencies in Kenya, to assess the perceived influence of organisation culture on organisation performance in tourism government agencies in Kenya, to investigate the perceived influence of organisation resource portfolio on organisation performance of tourism government agencies in Kenya, to assess the perceived moderating influence of organisational external environment on organisation performance of tourism government agencies in Kenya. The study population covered six government agencies in the tourism industry, namely; the Department of Tourism, Tourism Fund, Kenya Tourism Board, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Tourism Finance Corporation, and Kenya Utalii College. The study population was considered appropriate as it was objective enough, explorative and minimised errors. The researcher used stratified sampling. The population was divided into two stratas, management and non-management. The sample size for the study was 420. 109 for management staff while 311 for non management. To achieve the percentage of non-management staff needed, random sampling was done to pick the respondent. The survey used quantitative methods of data collection through a self-administered questionnaire. The study adopted survey research design. Data was collected using questionnaires and analysed using SPSS. Inferential data analysis was carried out by the use of regression analysis, the model was fitted and hypothesis testing carried using multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that strategic direction and resource portfolio were perceived to have a positive significance on organisation performance; on the other hand organisational culture was perceived to have a negative significance on the xx organisation performance. The environmental conditions had a perceived significant moderating influence on the performance of the organisations, with political environment and negative travel advisories occasioned by insecurity having the strongest effect. It was therefore recommended that organisations in the tourism sector needed to involve the employees more in the formulation of strategies and also look at ways of improving/enhancing the organisation culture to avoid resistance to change and at the same time allocate the right resources both physical and financial to allow efficiency. It is also important for the organisations to look at ways of influencing the organisation environment to negate their effects on the organisation performance, by engaging the political class on matters related to politics and insecurity.