The Role of Leadership Ecosystem as a Strategy for Business Acceleration: A Case of Textbook and Stationery Business in Makueni County

Abstract

Makueni County, situated on the eastern part of Kenya is one of the 47 devolved county governments created by the new constitution which was promulgated in 2010. The county has over 1200 schools which are supplied with instructional materials by 40 registered booksellers under the Free Primary Education Program. Despite the huge injection of direct funds from the Kenya Government, most businesses lack the capacity to deliver on their mandates efficiently giving room for unregistered ‘brief-case’ book/stationery sellers to invade the market. Rapid development of these businesses is important in facilitating effective and efficient channelling of educational materials to schools by the Kenya Government. This study focused on evaluating the role of leadership ecosystem on business acceleration. The specific objectives of the study included: The effect of Leadership on Profitability, Sales Turnover, Cost Performance and Employee Performance. The study used an exploratory design. The target population was the 40 registered book/stationery businesses in Makueni County (Ministry of Education Orange Book). From the target population a representative sample of 20% of the population was selected. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires were subjected to the Cronbach alpha to check for reliability. Quantitative data was analysed by use of Regression and Correlation analyses in SPSS while qualitative data was analysed using the Leadership Test Tool. The analysed data was presented using frequency tables and graphical techniques. The study sought to establish whether or not Leadership ecosystem had an effect on the business parameters highlighted above. The finding of the study was that rapid business growth depended on the effectiveness of the organizational leadership in place. It’s suggested that transformational leadership be exercised in the book/stationery business in Makueni County in order to enhance business acceleration.