Strategic Leadership Practices and Competitive Advantage Among Large Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Strategic leadership is a change in the emphasis of management away from internal dynamics and toward outward alignment with the organization's strategic objectives. In recent years, strategic leadership has become the most important and extensively utilized leadership technique. Strategic leadership practices define the organization's strategic direction and the strategic actions intended to boost the company's competitiveness. In point of fact, having a well-thought-out strategy does not guarantee that one will accomplish strategic objectives in the absence of involvement from strategic leaders. The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of strategic leadership practices on competitive advantage among manufacturing firms in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study was based on two theories, porter’s theory of competitive advantage as well as strategic leadership theory. This study used a descriptive research methodology known as cross sectional. The population of interest consisted of all 455 manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. There were a total of 46 businesses that made up the sample. A kind of sampling known as stratified sampling was used in the investigation. It was discovered that the majority of manufacturing companies embraced strategic direction and strategic controls to a significant degree, whereas a significant number of manufacturing companies embraced human capital development, corporate communication, and strategic controls to a moderate degree. It was discovered that practices of strategic leadership have an effect on a company's competitive advantage. According to the findings of the research, manufacturing companies in Kenya might enhance their competitive advantage by using strategic leadership practices. These activities have been demonstrated to increase a company's overall competitive advantage. The research also suggests that companies should focus their efforts primarily on the strategic leadership practices that will have the greatest effect on their competitive advantage