Leadership Styles and Small Enterprises’ Performance: Is Gender an Issue? Empirical Study from Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

In this paper, we provide new empirical evidence to the relationships between leadership styles (LS) and organizational performance, introducing gender as moderator variable. Data have been collected in two Congolese towns (Bukavu and Goma); an African post-conflict region dominated by very small family businesses that have not received enough attention. Combining exploratory factor analysis with a multivariate regression we found three main results. First, both leadership and performance are confirmed to be multidimensional. LS comprised participative/democratic leadership, and autocratic/directive leadership, while performance has three dimensions: employee efficiency/productivity, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction/retention. Second, the autocratic leadership is the more adopted both by men and women, with a slight non-significant difference for men. Although democratic leadership is underscored, it appears to be more adopted by women with significant difference. Third, controlling for other variables, only participative/democratic leadership styles have positive impact on SMEs’ performance, while autocratic leadership does not influence it. This implies that, in the growing competition facing SMEs, managers should adopt leadership style that allows their employees to internalize the firm’s objectives and to be committed. Also, our research confirms that women have much to give in managing enterprises, as they appear to be stronger in leadership styles, which have more impact on main dimensions of firms’ performance. Moreover, our results suggest new avenues for deeper research about leadership styles in family-owned enterprises.

Do knowledge and personality traits influence women entrepreneurs’ e-commerce venture? Testing on the multiple mediation model

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the growth of e-commerce, with many entrepreneurs turning to the online platform (Akonkwa et al , 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed business ecosystems and intensified business with a different set of needs and requirements of its stakeholders (Dvouletý et al , 2021).…”

“…Women represented 55.5% of the Malaysian labour force (DOSM, 2022). Women are the central pillars of forming a future-loving and progressive generation (Akonkwa et al , 2022). Women’s involvement in sustainable economic growth is becoming more prominent and vital (Roy et al , 2022).…”

“…Women’s involvement in sustainable economic growth is becoming more prominent and vital (Roy et al , 2022). With the attitude, commitment and desire shown by women entrepreneurs, one day, the business world may be pioneered by women leaders (Akonkwa et al , 2022). Women meaningful economic participation is essential in achieving greater security and stability around the world especially in the emerging economies.…”

Influence of Gender Representation in Leadership on Organizational Performance in the Ministry of Gender, Family, and Children, Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Moreover, participative leadership is more frequently used by women with good influence on performance and dictatorial leadership used by men with a negative impact on performance (Deogratias et al, 2021). Therefore, since a quota on gender parity was established, female's representation in parliament has increased with 10 percent in national assembly and 21 percent in senate.…”

Nexus Between Green Human Resource Management and Environmental Practices: An Empirical Study Using Structural Equation Modelling

“…The bene cial effects of leadership are substantial on the performance of the staff of an organization and the execution of high-involvement HRM practices in SMEs (Cahyadi et al, 2022) Effective leadership in the organization promotes environmental awareness (EA) (Ansari et al, 2021;Ren et al, 2021). Effective leadership refers to a position in which a position of authority behaves respectfully towards his or her subordinates, and other stakeholders within an organization (Akonkwa et al, 2022;Kaluza et al, 2020;Monje Amor et al, 2020). According to (Mwaisaka & Ouma, 2019) participative leadership (PL) expresses care for subordinates by training and developing them which can help them boost their future career prospects.…”