IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i21p9600-d1513810.html

Charting Success: The Influence of Leadership Styles on Driving Sustainable Employee Performance in the Sierra Leonean Banking Sector

Author

Listed:
  • Ibrahim Alusine Kebe

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
    Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown 999127, Sierra Leone)

  • Christian Kahl

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China)

  • Yingqi Liu

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China)

Abstract

Effective leadership sits at the heart of organisational success, especially during periods of change. In the dynamic and highly competitive environment of commercial banks in Sierra Leone, the impact of leadership styles on employee performance is a critical area of investigation. The purpose of this paper is to assess the differential effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles on employee performance during change initiatives within commercial banks in Sierra Leone. The research study utilised a cross-sectional survey design, and data was collected from 903 participants employed in the banking industry. The study used the structural equation model as an investigative instrument to examine the hypotheses. The findings reveal that transformational and transactional leadership styles demonstrate a strong bearing on employee performance, with the latter having a bigger influence. Organisational citizenship behaviour has a mediating effect between leadership styles and employee performance. In contrast, employee commitment does not act as a mediator between transformational leadership and employee performance but does act as a mediator between transactional leadership and employee performance. Commercial banks need to devise training programs that will advance both leadership styles to arouse, energise, or inspire followers to display favourable behaviour and commitment to attain organisational goals. The paper makes an insightful contribution to the existing leadership literature by ascertaining the significance of leadership styles on performance and the role of commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour as mediators of the nexus between leadership styles and performance in the Sierra Leone banking industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibrahim Alusine Kebe & Christian Kahl & Yingqi Liu, 2024. "Charting Success: The Influence of Leadership Styles on Driving Sustainable Employee Performance in the Sierra Leonean Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9600-:d:1513810
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9600/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9600/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Courage Simon Kofi Dogbe & Kennedy Kofi Ablornyi & Wisdom Wise Kwabla Pomegbe & Evans Duah, 2024. "Inducing employee performance among state-owned enterprises, through employee ethical behaviour and ethical leadership," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(7), pages 1378-1397, May.
    2. Galil, Koresh & Varon, Eva, 2024. "National culture and banks stock volatility," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Hougyun Kim, 2014. "Transformational Leadership, Organizational Clan Culture, Organizational Affective Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Case of South Korea's Public Sector," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 397-417, September.
    4. Weiping Jiang & Xianbo Zhao & Jiongbin Ni, 2017. "The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role of Organizational Citizenship Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Kanat-Maymon, Yaniv & Elimelech, Maor & Roth, Guy, 2020. "Work motivations as antecedents and outcomes of leadership: Integrating self-determination theory and the full range leadership theory," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 555-564.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dieter Vanwalleghem & Carmela D’avino, 2025. "Functional distance and US global banks’ foreign branch lending," Post-Print hal-05147313, HAL.
    2. Synthia Atas Sari & Noor Hazlina Ahmad, 2026. "Connecting the Dots: Linking Entrepreneurial Leadership and Strategic Agility towards SME Competitiveness," Vision, , vol. 30(2), pages 172-184, April.
    3. Zhu Zehao & Suhaida Abdul Kadir & Arnida Abdullah, 2025. "Deans’ Transformational Leadership and Internationalization of Higher Education in Chinese Universities: Mediating Effect of Adhocracy Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, August.
    4. Schrade, Peter, 2018. "The impact of leadership behaviour factors on work productivity: Measuring the impact of factors of the full range leadership model and the leadership task model," Journal of Applied Leadership and Management, Hochschule Kempten - University of Applied Sciences, Professional School of Business & Technology, vol. 6, pages 66-88.
    5. Said Yousef Dwikat & Darwina Arshad & Mohd Noor Mohd Shariff, 2023. "Effect of Competent Human Capital, Strategic Flexibility and Turbulent Environment on Sustainable Performance of SMEs in Manufacturing Industries in Palestine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-29, March.
    6. Islam Shainima & Hari Pramono & Suliyanto Suliyanto & Setyanto Refius & Suroso Agus & Bahauddin Khalid Md. & Iftakhar Nayma, 2024. "Transformational Leadership in Indonesian Diversified-Cultural SME Sector: An Investigation of the Settlement Criteria of Job Performance," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 34(3), pages 79-107.
    7. Mohamed Ahmed Suliman & Ahmed Hassan Abdou & Moatazbellah Farid Ibrahim & Dayal Ali Waheer Al-Khaldy & Ashraf Mohamed Anas & Wael Mohamed Mahmoud Alrefae & Wagih Salama, 2023. "Impact of Green Transformational Leadership on Employees’ Environmental Performance in the Hotel Industry Context: Does Green Work Engagement Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Korzynski, Pawel & Kozminski, Andrzej Krzysztof & Baczynska, Anna & Haenlein, Michael, 2021. "Bounded leadership: An empirical study of leadership competencies, constraints, and effectiveness," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 226-235.
    9. Canterino, Filomena & Guerci, Marco & Cirella, Stefano & Shani, Abraham B. (Rami), 2024. "The intertwined effect of HRM practices and transformational leadership on employees’ attitudes in an M&A context: Evidence from a collaborative and mixed-methods study," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 46-56.
    10. Gongli Luo & Guangming Zhu & Yanlu Guo, 2023. "Effect of paradoxical leadership on employee innovation behavior in a Confucian context," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(5), pages 2249-2279, November.
    11. Khawaja Jehanzeb & Nadeem Ahmed Bashir, 2025. "Does Psychological Contract Fulfillment Mediate the Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Affective Commitment? Leader-Member Exchange as Moderator," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(1), pages 21582440251, March.
    12. Mindaugas Laužikas & Mindaugas Laužikas & Aistė Miliūtė & Aistė Miliūtė, 2019. "Transformational Communication via Evolving Ethical and Moral Norms of Lithuanian Civil Service Organizations," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 6(4), pages 1750-1761, June.
    13. Balaji, M.S. & Jiang, Yangyang & Singh, Gurbir & Jha, Subhash, 2020. "Letting go or getting back: How organization culture shapes frontline employee response to customer incivility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1-11.
    14. Bon-Gang Hwang & Ming Shan, 2018. "Management Strategies and Innovations: Important Roles to Sustainable Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-3, February.
    15. Yang Qiu & Ming Lou & Li Zhang & Yiqin Wang, 2020. "Organizational Citizenship Behavior Motives and Thriving at Work: The Mediating Role of Citizenship Fatigue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Said Yousef Dwikat & Darwina Arshad & Mohd Noor Mohd Shariff, 2022. "The Influence of Systematic Strategic Planning and Strategic Business Innovation on the Sustainable Performance of Manufacturing SMEs: The Case of Palestine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-26, October.
    17. Saif-Ur-Rehman Khan & Mahwish Anjam & Mohammad Abu Faiz & Faisal Khan & Hashim Khan, 2020. "Probing the Effects of Transformational Leadership on Employees’ Job Satisfaction With Interaction of Organizational Learning Culture," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, June.
    18. Dalia Streimikiene & Asta Mikalauskiene & Lina Digriene & Grigorios Kyriakopoulos, 2021. "Assessment of the Role of a Leader in Shaping Sustainable Organizational Culture," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(57), pages 483-483.
    19. Fatima Afzal & Roksana Jahan Tumpa, 2024. "Exploring Leadership Styles to Foster Sustainability in Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-32, January.
    20. Idris A. Adelakun, 2025. "The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction in the Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Employee Turnover Intention," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 20(6), pages 209-209, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9600-:d:1513810. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.