The Effects of Leadership Styles on Employee Engagement in Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

Enearu, William Osobase (2020) The Effects of Leadership Styles on Employee Engagement in Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Leadership styles refers to the approach a leader adopts in mobilising and motivating employees towards achieving a specific goal. Employee engagement on the other hand refers to the extent an employee is emotionally, cognitive and behaviourally attached to an organisation which influences his/her productivity. There are different types of leadership styles, however this study focused on four namely; Transformational, Democratic, Autocratic and Transactional. This study therefore tried to investigate the impact of leadership styles on employee engagement with reference to selected Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. The study adopts the qualitative research methodology which uses interpretivism philosophy, descriptive research design and qualitative survey research strategy. Data was collected via the conduct of interviews with four (4) employees of different SMEs in Nigeria. The results of the study revealed that amongst the four leadership styles transformational leadership was more significant in engaging employees, this is because transformational leadership has the capacity to keep employees satisfied and provoke commitment which are significant factors that stimulate employee engagement. The transformational leader provides more material (pay, bonuses, financial incentives) and non-material motivations (working conditions, career development opportunities, leadership responsibilities) which enhances job satisfaction. Transformational leaders are also able to instil a feeling of value and sense of belonging amongst employees, thus making them more committed to the organisation. When employees are satisfied and are committed, they become more engaged and are better productive. The research thus recommends that leaders should adopt the transformational style as it is better at stirring up employee engagement for better productivity.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Performance Management > Employee Engagement H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > Leadership H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Leadership
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in International Business
Depositing User:	Dan English
Date Deposited:	10 Feb 2021 16:16
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2021 16:16
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/4720

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