MEDIATING EFFECT OF STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION ON THE NEXUS BETWEEN INTEGRATIVE LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL STATE CORPORATIONS IN KENYA: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
Abstract
Kenya's commercial state corporations remain central to economic transformation under Vision 2030, yet many continue experiencing governance crises, financial instability, and operational inefficiencies despite repeated leadership reforms. The persistent bailouts of Kenya Airways and challenges at Kenya Power exemplify the gap between leadership capacity and sustainable performance. This study examined the mediating role of strategy implementation in the relationship between integrative leadership and organisational performance in Kenyan state corporations. Adopting a Systematic Literature Review approach, the study synthesises empirical evidence from 2018 to 2025 across Kenyan and international contexts. Findings reveal that integrative leadership encompassing transformational, transactional, and participatory practicescreates enabling conditions including motivation, inclusivity, and accountability. However, leadership alone proves insufficient for organisational outcomes. Strategy implementation emerges as the critical mechanism translating leadership vision into measurable results. Evidence from Kenya shows execution is frequently undermined by political interference, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and weak accountability structures, whereas international cases demonstrate that institutionalised executional systems yield more consistent performance improvements. Theoretically grounded in the Full Range Leadership Model and Resource-Based View, the study frames executional capacity as a strategic resource that is valuable, rare, and difficult to replicate. The analysis concludes that leadership and execution are interdependent drivers of performance. Practical recommendations include insulating corporations from political interference, embedding digital monitoring systems, institutionalising participatory governance, and strengthening accountability frameworks. Ultimately, the sustainability of Kenya's state corporations depends on bridging the vision–execution gap through institutionalised executional excellence.
Keywords: Strategy Implementation, Integrative Leadership, Organisational Performance & Commercial State Corporations
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