STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES: THE ROLE OF STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS

The study examines how strategic interventions mediate in the relationship between strategic leadership behaviors and firm performance of SMEs in Nigeria. A survey of 834 registered operators of SMEs through structured questionnaire was used and data were analysed using mediation analysis through structural equation modeling. The results showed that strategic leadership influence performance through strategic interventions decomposed into organisational learning and cultural values. It showed that the mediator exerts stronger effect on performance than the independent variable. It revealed further that strategic interventions are significant in its causal effect on performance of SMEs than strategic leadership. The implication is that the operators should not only encourage employee to be optimistic in future accomplishment and stimulate a sense of logic to create the notion of problem solving, but also must inculcate the culture of paying attention to employee talents and needs for performance improvement.