Leadership Styles as Determinants of Employee Performance: Evidence from Nigerian Manufacturing Companies
Muyiwa Emmanuel Dagunduro
*
Department of Accounting, College of Social and Management Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Taiwo Oguntuase
Department of Business Administration and Management, The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Ademola Oluwasegun Ibijola
Department of Finance, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Ekiti State University Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study examined the effect of leadership styles on employee performance in manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Specifically, it investigated how transformational, transactional, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles influence employee performance. The motivation for the study arose from persistent concerns about declining productivity and inefficiencies in manufacturing organisations, despite managerial restructuring and human resource interventions. The study employed a quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional survey design. From a population of 5,280 employees, a sample size of 358 respondents was determined using Cochran’s (1977) sample size formula and the finite population correction technique. Data were collected using a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics, including correlation and regression analysis. Validity, reliability and ethical considerations were observed throughout the study. The regression results revealed that leadership styles jointly had a significant effect on employee performance (F = 14.007, p < 0.05). Transformational leadership had a negative and insignificant effect (β = -0.035, p = 0.543), while democratic leadership had a positive but insignificant effect (β = 0.077, p = 0.152). Conversely, transactional leadership had a positive and significant effect (β = 0.302, p = 0.000), making it the strongest predictor among the leadership styles examined. Similarly, laissez-faire leadership had a positive and significant effect (β = 0.120, p = 0.028). The study concluded that transactional and laissez-faire leadership are important determinants of employee performance. It recommends that managers in manufacturing organisations adopt leadership approaches aligned with operational realities, employee skill levels and workforce performance demands.
Keywords: Employee performance, transformational leadership, transactional leadership, democratic leadership, laissez-faire leadership, organisational effectiveness, workforce productivity, leadership effectiveness.