Moderating effect of leadership style on corporate mentorship and service delivery in counties of the western region, Kenya

Abstract

Succession planning is important within the public sector to ensure continuity in service delivery. Just like at the national level, county governments have less effective succession planning strategies driven by poor talent management and human resource development practices. This study sought to establish the influence of corporate mentorship on service delivery in counties in the Western Region, Kenya, and to examine the moderating effect of leadership style on the relationship between corporate mentorship and service delivery in counties in the Western Region, Kenya. The study was based on the Leadership Pipeline Theory and social learning theory. The study used descriptive and cause-effect designs. It used primary data, through structured questionnaires on a Likert scale, and interviews were administered to a target population of 243 top-level managers (chief executive committee members), middle-level managers (chief officers), and low-level managers (directors and functional heads in Kakamega, Vihiga, and Busia Counties. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select 151 respondents; reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha through a pilot study at Bungoma County, and content validity was tested using expert opinions while construct validity was tested using factor analysis. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were presented using tables. The findings revealed that there is a significant positive effect of corporate mentorship (β1=0.254, P=0.000) on service delivery in counties in the Western Region, Kenya.  Further, it was evident that there is a significant moderating effect of leadership style on the relationship between succession planning and service delivery in counties in the Western region as the R-squared moved from 36.0% to 56.9% (P=0.000). The study concluded that leadership style plays a crucial role in maximizing the impact of corporate mentorship efforts. The study recommended that county governments institutionalize structured corporate mentorship programs aimed at developing employees’ professional and managerial competencies. County executives should integrate mentorship and leadership training into their human resource policies to ensure continuity in professional growth and service excellence.