DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP, FIRM LIFECYCLE STAGES, AND SURVIVAL OF SMES IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN NAIROBI, KENYA
Abstract
The focus of the study was to investigate the moderating effect of firm lifecycle stages on the relationship between the dimensions of democratic leadership and survival of SMEs in the healthcare sector in Nairobi. The research process was guided by pragmatic research philosophy and adopted explanatory sequential mixed method research design. Data collection was done in two phases, fist starting with quantitative phase followed by a qualitative phase. For the quantitative phase, study used a target population of 1438 licensed healthcare facilities in Nairobi falling under the SME category. Through multistage random proportionate sampling, a sample of 626 leaders holding senior management positions in the healthcare facilities was drawn. Qualitative data was collected from a sample of 12 senior leaders holding the ownership or CEO positions. Structured questionnaires were used for collecting quantitative data while interview protocols with semi structured were used for qualitative data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics while the qualitative data applied systematic thematic analysis. The findings of the study indicated that democratic leader behaviors had a negative significant effect on SME survival, while democratic workplaces and democratic stewardship had positive and significant effects on SME survival. Firm lifecycle stages were also found to significantly moderate the relationship between democratic leadership and SME survival. The study concluded that the components of democratic leadership significantly predicted survival of SMEs. It also gave several recommendations that future research could consider.
Keywords: Democratic Leadership, Workplaces, Stewardship, Lifecycle stages, Survival
CITATION: Muthiani, B. M., Kilika, J. M., & Oduor, B. (2025). Democratic leadership, firm lifecycle stages, and survival of SMEs in the healthcare sector in Nairobi, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 12 (2), 1488 – 1520. http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v12i2.3276
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v12i2.3276
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