Effect of leadership style on the relationship between the employee empowerment and job performance among staff in the County Government of Kakamega, Kenya

Abstract

County Governments have invested a lot in staff empowerment strategies such as employee training, employees rewards and information flow since inception. However, their effect on job performance has not been ascertained. Several studies have been conducted on this subject and their results were diverse.More than 25% of organizations reported no significant empowerment-oriented practices in their organizations.The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of leadership style on the relationship between employee empowerment and job performance in the county government of Kakamega. This study covered the following theories: Agency Theory, Empowerment Theory, and Resource Based View Theory. A correlation research design was adopted for the study and the study targeted 242 respondents, drawn from all the county departments in the County Government of Kakamega. Simple random sampling, stratified sampling and purposive sampling were used in the study. A sample size of 171 respondents was used. The questionnaire was the main instruments for data collection. Reliability analysis results illustrated that Cronbach‘s alpha coefficients were above 0.7. The study employed criterion validity, construct validity of the instruments, and face validity.Data analysis and interpretation were based on descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics using SPSS version 22. Data was presented using frequency tables, percentages and pie charts. The findings established that Introduction of leadership style on the relationship between employee empowerment and job performance among staff in the County Government of Kakamega decreased employee job performance from 69.8% (R2= 0.698) to 56.3% (R2= 0.563). It was recommended that the County government should consider embracing autocratic & participative leadership styles to enhance the relationship between employee empowerment and job performance.The output of the study would be utilized by the Department of Human Resources Management by the County Governments of Kenya in the formulation of a systematic process of applying employee empowerment. Finally, it would also contribute to scientific knowledge base for academic purposes for researchers in the area of employee empowerment.