Leadership styles and job satisfaction of selected star-rated hotels in Naivasha Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The hospitality industry in Kenya operates in a volatile environment characterised by poor pay, long working hours, and work-related stress leading to cases of absenteeism, substance abuse, and high labour turnover due to low employee job satisfaction. This results in poor employee productivity which in turn affects the hotel’s profitability. This calls for the application of appropriate leadership styles in the management of employees to increase job satisfaction. This research study investigated the effect of leadership styles on job satisfaction in selected star-rated hotels in Naivasha sub-county, Kenya. More specifically it assessed the effect of transformational, transactional, democratic, and autocratic leadership styles on job satisfaction, and in the process established the most effective leadership style on job satisfaction in selected star-rated hotels in Naivasha sub-county, Kenya. The research study was anchored on Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, Path-Goal Theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Transactional Leadership Theory. The research employed an explanatory research design that applied a survey research approach to allow for descriptive and inferential analysis. The target population was all five 3-star to 5-star rated hotels in the Naivasha sub-county, chosen on account of having clear management structures as per the Tourism Regulatory Authority’s star-rating criteria. The research study was conducted on a sample size of 49 supervisory level and 248 junior level employees drawn from 3 to 5-star-rated hotels in the Naivasha sub-county, who were selected using the stratified random sampling technique. Data were sourced through a semi-structured questionnaire. Frequency percentages were applied and presented in tables. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses testing was carried out at a 5% significance level and F-statistic was used to test the significance of the model and computed at a 95% confidence level. With an R² of 0.57199, the model suggests that approximately 57.2% of the variation in job satisfaction is explained by the leadership styles (transformational, transactional, democratic, and autocratic). According to the findings, transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style, and autocratic leadership style have a significant positive effect on job satisfaction in selected star-rated hotels in Naivasha sub-county. Democratic leadership style on the other hand has no significant effect on job satisfaction. The study recommends that hospitality establishment managers apply transformational and transactional leadership styles in the day-to-day running of their establishments if they are to positively influence job satisfaction which is important in increased productivity, organizational profitability, and customer satisfaction. Particular emphasis should be put on transformational leadership style which was found to have the most significant effect on job satisfaction from the results of the study. The study further recommends that hospitality establishment managers exercise situational application of autocratic leadership style which was found to have a significant albeit weak effect on job satisfaction. The study contributes to knowledge by broadening the study on the effect of leadership style on job satisfaction to include Kenya’s hospitality industry. The research has also shown that a nuanced application of autocratic leadership can have a positive effect on job satisfaction in the hospitality industry. The study called on future qualitative research to establish the specific situational factors that influence employee’s perception of autocratic leadership. The study further suggests that similar research be carried out in other industries to substantiate if the current research findings can be generalized to other industries as well.