The Influence of authentic leadership on employee wellbeing in the banking industry in Kenya
Date
2024
Authors
Njoroge, S. N.
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
In the contemporary organizational landscape, there is increasing attention on the influence of authentic leadership on employee well-being. This attention is due to the potential implications it has for both organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership and employee well-being within the banking industry in Kenya. The research was anchored on the theoretical frameworks of Leader Member Exchange Theory and Fiedler's Contingency Theory. The goal was to provide insights into how authentic leadership behaviors, including self-awareness, balanced processing, internalized moral perspective, and relational transparency, influenced different dimensions of employee well-being. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey design and employed judgmental sampling to select participants from different management levels across 39 commercial banks in Kenya. The sample size consisted of 195 managers from the various levels of management: Top, Middle, and Low. Data was collected using structured questionnaires that incorporated validated tools such as the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) for assessing authentic leadership dimensions, and components of Seligman's PERMA model for assessing employee well-being. The analysis involved descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis to explore the relationships between authentic leadership behaviors and employee well-being dimensions. The reliability and validity of the instruments were assessed using Cronbach's alpha and content validity checks. The findings of this study contribute to both theoretical understanding and practical implications for fostering authentic leadership practices and enhancing employee well-being in the banking sector. Specifically, the study reveals significant positive relationships between authentic leadership traits, such as internalized moral perspective and relational transparency, and various dimensions of employee well-being. However, certain traits, like self-awareness, did not show significant relationships with employee well-being when analyzed together. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of further research to address gaps in understanding the specific dynamics of authentic leadership and employee well-being within the Kenyan banking context. While this study provides insights into authentic leadership and employee well-being in Kenyan banking, limitations exist. The absence of input from top executives and the focus on a specific industry limited the findings' generalizability. Additionally, clustering of responses around the neutral midpoint raised concerns about bias. Future research should address these limitations for a more comprehensive understanding.
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Citation
Njoroge, S. N. (2024). The Influence of authentic leadership on employee wellbeing in the banking industry in Kenya [Strathmore University]. http://hdl.handle.net/11071/15502