Pages: (202-221 )
Abstract
This article examines the influence of strategic leadership on organizational performance in emerging economies using evidence from Nigeria and Ghana. Organizations in Anglophone West Africa operate in environments characterised by institutional fragility, macroeconomic volatility and intense competitive pressures, making strategic leadership a critical determinant of long-term survival and growth. A survey research design was employed and data were collected from 374 enterprises through structured questionnaires administered to senior and middle managers. Strategic leadership was operationalised in terms of strategic vision, leadership capability, ethical leadership and organizational learning. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data, and multiple regression was applied to test the hypothesised relationships. The results show that strategic leadership exerts a positive and statistically significant effect on organizational performance, with the model explaining 68% of the variance in firm outcomes. Organizational learning and strategic vision emerged as the strongest predictors of performance. The study extends strategic leadership theory by providing context-specific empirical evidence from Anglophone West Africa and offers actionable insights for managers and policymakers in emerging economies.
Keywords: strategic leadership; organizational performance; emerging economies; Nigeria; Ghana; West Africa,