Exploring the link between entrepreneurial leadership and organizational agility of small firms in Kogi state

Abstract

This study examined entrepreneurial leadership and the organizational agility of small firms. It investigated the effects of strategic flexibility on operational agility, of proactiveness on customer agility, and of learning orientation on technological agility among small firms in Kogi State, Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted, and the population of interest comprised the owners and managers of small firms in the state. A structured questionnaire served as the instrument of data collection, its construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis, and the internal consistency of the scales was established through the Cronbach alpha coefficient. The regression weights of a structural equation model provided the basis for testing the hypotheses. The findings showed that strategic flexibility exerts a positive and significant effect on operational agility, with a standardised estimate of 0.873 at a probability value below 0.01, that proactiveness exerts a positive and significant effect on customer agility, with a standardised estimate of 0.945, and that learning orientation exerts a positive and significant effect on technological agility, with a standardised estimate of 0.951. The study concluded that entrepreneurial leadership contributes substantially to organizational agility, and that this contribution flows from adaptive leadership attributes rather than from risk-taking behaviour. It was recommended that organizations seeking to strengthen their agility cultivate strategic flexibility, proactiveness, and learning orientation among their leaders, since these capabilities, rather than risk appetite alone, account for the agility that allows small firms to endure volatile and competitive markets.