CORPORATE LEADERSHIP, ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS AND PERFORMANCE OF WATER SERVICE COMPANIES IN WESTERN REGION, KENYA

Abstract

The study examined influence of corporate leadership and organizational factors on performance of water service companies in Western Region, Kenya. Specific objectives were to evaluate the influence of four components of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration on performance. The study anchored on transformational leadership theory, contingency organizational theory, and institutional theory for direction. The study was guided by positivist and interpretivism research philosophies. A descriptive and correlational design was adopted. A sample of 245 subjects was drawn from a population of 638, from four water service companies. The sample included senior managers, technical and subordinate staff where both stratified and simple random sampling were used. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires. A pilot study was conducted at Siaya-Bondo Water and Sanitation Company Limited. Reliability was tested using Cronbach alpha test while validity was checked using content, construct and face validity. For data analysis, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used, with results presented in tables. Findings revealed that idealized influence had a positive and significant influence on performance (b=0.222, p=0.007) of water service companies in Western Region Kenya. Inspirational motivation was not significantly influencing performance (b=0.146, p=0.150), while intellectual stimulation also was not significantly influencing performance (b= 0.146, p= 0.116) and individualized consideration had a positive and significant influence on performance (b= 0.224, p= 0.002). Results showed that organizational factors had a positive moderating influence on the relationship between corporate leadership and performance, but this effect was statistically insignificant (b=0.210, p=0.006). The study concluded that corporate leadership was found to have positive and significant effect on performance of water service companies in Western Region, Kenya. Organizational factors had positive but insignificant moderating effect on relationship between corporate leadership and performance of water service companies. These findings support the theoretical expectation of Transformational Leadership Theory that leaders who inspire, intellectually stimulate, and individually consider their followers can enhance organizational performance. The study recommends that the government formulate and implement operational guidelines and policies to improve the management of these organizations.