Abstract
In this paper, an attempt is made to investigate the extent to which leadership capabilities influences the survival instincts of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Nigeria. Leadership capabilities are dimensions used by a leader to anticipate events, envision possibilities, maintain flexibility, and empower others to create strategic change to ensure organizational survival. The top leaders form decision-making bodies in FBOs that play a critical role in selecting and implementing organizational strategies. The challenges of failure and vision/goal accomplishment continue to threaten the existence and sustainability of many FBOs. In this study, purposive, stratified and simple random sampling methods were used. Out of 499 copies of the distributed questionnaire only 432 were returned, which is a response rate of 86.6%. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 3.0 as a statistical tool for the analysis. Results show that demographic characteristics moderate the relationship between leadership capabilities and survival instincts of faith-based organizations. The present study made a tentative attempt to expand the appeal of concepts in new geographical boundaries in an empirical context, thereby making an important, original contribution to the Nigerian religious sector and literature on strategic leadership management, particularly on leadership capabilities and organizational survival. Based on the results, it is recommended that implementation of leadership capabilities should be consistently checked and controlled in line with organizational trends for sustainable survival of faith-based organizations.
Keywords: Innovative skills, Leadership capabilities, Management skills, Survival instincts, Strategic direction.
Received: 18 September 2020 / Revised: 10 March 2021 / Accepted:20 April 2021/ Published: 8 June 2021
Contribution/ Originality
The study used new estimation methodology to define and analyze the relationship between leadership capabilities of leaders at the helm of affairs regarding the enhancement of survival instincts of faith-based organizations in Nigeria. This enables the paper to add to the existing body of knowledge in strategic leadership management practices.
1. INTRODUCTION
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are development organizations with specific religious backgrounds and are characterized by an affiliation with a religious body, a mission statement with explicit reference to religious values, receive finance from religious sources, and have a governance structure. The selection of staff board members is based on religious beliefs, and decision making is based on religious values. Churches, mosques, and temples are also considered as FBOs and act as change agents in our societies by spreading the gospel, refining our moral characters, instilling their faith practices in the lives of members, and lessen the burdens of members in our communities (Akanbi & Beyers, 2017; Uchehara, 2019; Ware, Ware, & Clarke, 2016). The FBOs under the umbrella of non-profit organizations are incorporated to achieve specific goals and objectives. In realizing these goals and objectives, the roles of leaders in ascertaining an organization’s capabilities cannot be over-emphasized. Organizations cannot achieve meaningful purpose in terms of survival instincts if leaders do not actively manage the coordination of both physical and financial capabilities (Abasilim, Gberevbie, & Osibanjo, 2019).
Two problems necessitated this study. The first is the increased number of failed FBOs in Nigeria (Para-Mallan, 2019), and the second is the growing challenge for some FBOs in achieving pre-determined membership, funds, and strategic growth targets and visions (Alawode, 2020; Raoof, 2019). It has been argued that achieving targets is not only an indicator of survival, but also of sustainability (Adebowale, Ojewole, & Osaro, 2017; Bora, Borah, & Chungyalpa, 2017). The challenges of failure and vision/goal accomplishment have increasingly threatened the existence and sustainability of many FBOs, and in order to overcome these challenges, an organization's collapse or survival has been assigned to management (Abiso, Oluboyejo, Ilori, & Adeogun, 2016). It is still not fully understood whether the failure or survival of FBOs can be attributed to the leadership capabilities of their founders and leaders, especially from the point of view of FBOs as business enterprises with some spiritual and business motives.
In the numerous pieces of strategic management and leadership literature, scholars have analyzed prominent roles played by FBOs in local communities in both developed and developing countries for sustainable development and growth. However, Holloway (2012) noted that many non-profit organizations in the United Kingdom are small, ill-equipped and under-capitalized to respond to rising public demand, hence the need for competent strategic leadership. Kitawi & Irungu (2015) argued that church-owned companies in Kenya support the church's survival because funds are insufficient to spread the gospel to their faithful followers. Lear (2012) noted that, in South Africa, deciding an organization's strategic path requires the leaders to establish a long-term vision and purpose in order to achieve the pre-determined goals. Okorley & Nkrumah (2012) noted that the issues of sustainability, availability of funds, and responsive leadership in Ghana have remained a critical challenge despite the involvement of FBOs in development. Owolabi & Makinde (2012) have shown that strategic planning and corporate success are positively linked in Nigeria. Nwokoro (2017) and Frame (2020) identified relevant problems with FBO contributions that make them more distinctive than their secular counterparts. Despite the enormous progress made in many aspects of life by FBOs, these studies (Frame, 2020; Holloway, 2012; Kitawi & Irungu, 2015; Lear, 2012; Nwokoro, 2017; Okorley & Nkrumah, 2012) did not examine the dimensions of leadership capabilities or survival instincts of faith-based organizations in Nigeria.
From the above, the importance of leadership capabilities (strategic direction, innovation skills, and managerial skills) and survival instincts for the achievement of organizational goals become crucial. Strategic direction has always been considered as a crucial element and function of strategic leadership management for the attainment of organizational goals (Kremer, Villamor, & Aguinis, 2019; Mishra & Pandey, 2019; Worlu, Adeniji, Atolagbe, & Salau, 2019). However, most leaders are unprepared to effectively function in this role when it comes to the demonstration of strategic leadership capabilities management. With a tendency to rate highly in relational skills, pastors have difficulty making hard-nosed administrative decisions in the creation of visions, missions, and objectives. Additionally, they have questioned the need for leadership capabilities in the church, since it implies authority and accountability, and secular organizations also have these capabilities (Gioko & Njuguna, 2019; Olokundun, Ogbari, Obi, & Ufua, 2019).
Survival instincts in the management of organizations today allow the making of some decisions and the implementation of some fundamental actions because they are based on the efficiency and effectiveness of past actions. However, Nwaeke & Obiekwe (2017) opined that success and the prosperous future of any organization depends largely on its survival skills, knowledge, abilities and competencies displayed by both the leaders and employees. Scholars, such as Adebowale et al. (2017), have argued that the survival of FBOs is assessed in phases of growth and development instead of in chronological years. The stages of organizations are linked up in a subtle and unpronounced manner. Still, it is essential to note that not every organizational leader displays the features of each phase as it progresses (Ufua, 2019). Shah, Yasir, Majid, & Javed (2019) concluded that although FBOs attempt to maintain the existing state of affairs, the majority of their efforts is directed towards survival.
The primary purpose of this study is to identify what leadership capabilities leaders (overseers and administrators) consider useful in the provision of significant managerial insight in the church and how those capabilities can be encouraged and sustained. With their identification, leaders will have a factual basis for developing sustainable programs and policies and can acquaint people in the ministry with the leadership capabilities needed to successfully cope with the environmental challenges of FBOs. The work is organized in sections as follows: introduction, literature review, methodology, results presentation, and conclusion and recommendation.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Strategic Direction and Survival Instincts
Strategic direction has attracted attention from both leadership management and researchers over the last decade. Despite the attention drawn to the subject, a clear agreement on what strategic direction is and how strategic direction should be developed remains undefined, however, it has been stated that strategic direction involves developing a long-term vision for the organization. According to N’ganga (2017) and Umeanwe (2020), strategic direction entails articulating the FBO’s mission and vision, developing the organization’s strategic goals and objectives, and coming up with a strategic plan. Celik (2019) suggested that the survival instincts of companies are what push them to make strategic choices. The options include a wide range of choices about the long-term direction of an enterprise, the scope of FBO operations, gaining an advantage over competitors, addressing shifts in the gospel market, improving skills and values, and aspirations of stakeholders (Adebowale et al., 2017).
Adeyemo (2020) claimed, however, that strategies set guidelines for FBOs that protect them from external challenges, concentrate their efforts, and encourage activities within the organization that provide a consistent direction for themselves and outsiders to pursue. Strategic guidance offers continuity and, under stable environmental conditions, promotes productivity. When FBOs face environmental uncertainties, these apparent advantages can be turned into disadvantages. If the issue of strategy is overlooked, deciding on a path in FBOs may also mask potential hazards such as: loss of members, weak evangelism and church planting, financial misappropriation, leadership internal wrangling, etc.
2.2. Innovative Skills and Survival Instincts
According to Allen & Van der Velden (2001), the speed at which changes occur could lead to moral wear and tear of the skills reward that is altered by new technologies. There is a need to review the job requirements and relevant skills so that FBOs can cope with technological and organizational changes to survive. Kremer et al. (2019) and Smith (2017) argued that the way we conduct business and our lives will not simply provide the requisite changes for us to continue to change socially and economically, but that evolutionary and innovative progress will result in economic and social pressures. These scholars argued that it is these improvements and development that provide the basis for future success, which is often most prominently seen and accepted when FBO leadership offers the requisite support for changes in innovation.
Scholars, such as Allen & Van der Velden (2001) and Cappelli (2015), opined that the speed at which information and knowledge flow and the degree of product/service and technology renewal can favor inadequate skills in the workplace. This is an aspect that has been described in many empirical studies which have implicated the effects of skill inadequacies regarding job satisfaction, wages, and the labor market in general. Lloret (2016) concluded that survival of leaders’ innovative skills requires special attention to remain of value, and the involvement of all stakeholders to keep up with the challenges of scientific and technological progress. Coulson-Thomas (2016) argued that continuous re-evaluation, renewal, and reinvention may be needed in a religiously competitive environment. He suggested that this includes alertness, imagination, versatility, transparency, awareness, and experience that cannot be assumed.
Hence, FBO leaders need to allow individuals the freedom to adjust how they act and organize, and question and challenge assumptions. They should be able to work, learn, and communicate in ways that enable them to give their best and be imaginative and productive (Adebowale et al., 2017).
2.3. Management Skills and Survival Instincts
Management skills include effective communication and a good relationship with all people from all fields. FBO leaders are limited to interacting with people who are compatible with the leader’s communication style; this restricts their ability to convey their vision and mission statement to achieve the desired goals. Scholars have acknowledged that no organization, whether profit or non-profit, can perform its numerous activities successfully without attracting and retaining talented employees with relevant knowledge, attitudes, and skills (see Ufua, Salau, Dada, & Adeyeye (2020)). Despite daunting environmental conditions, organizational sustainability is of paramount importance for a company to remain in business (Barnabas, Nwuche, & Anyanwu, 2016).
Fadeyi, Oladele, Imhonopi, & Nwachukwu (2019) claimed that FBO survival is a motivation that has the potential to improve satisfaction and help implement other organizational objectives. These scholars noted that management skills play a fundamental role among the many factors that contribute to an organization's survival. Popescu, Iancu, Auram, Auram, & Popescu (2020) pointed out that recent approaches to the characteristics expected of organizational leaders have separated management skills into three broad categories – personal skills (knowledge and self-development, time management, stress management, and identifying, defining, and solving any problems creatively; interpersonal skills (conflict management, motivating and influencing employees, supportive communication, gaining power and influence; and group skills (creating effective teams, implementing positive changes, empowering people/employees and designating tasks). To achieve these objectives, FBOs need to develop leadership capabilities to manage, conduct and enforce procedures and processes that foster organizational and individual survival instincts (Adebowale et al., 2017).
2.4. Theoretical Review
2.4.1. The Concept of Resource Dependency Theory
The resource dependency theory specifies how the external resources of FBOs affect the behavior of the organization. The fundamental assumption of this theory is that dependence on essential resources influences the actions of FBOs and organizational decisions, and their actions can be focused and relevant to the particular dependency situation. The theory stresses the importance of looking at the environment in which the FBOs are operating when trying to explain behavior and impact (Pfeiffer & Salancik, 2003). The survival of most FBOs depend on their ability to attract the resources needed to support their operations. This theory further explained the usefulness of the environmental linkages of faith-based organizations and their outside resources, which could provide the FBOs with a competitive advantage through social performance for sustainability when used effectively (Hull & Rothenberg, 2008).
Murluki, Cherulyot, & Komen (2017) and Satirenjit, Bruce, & Binks (2012) argued that leaders serve to link external resources with the FBOs to reduce the financial uncertainty, since managing effectively with uncertainty is critical for the existence of FBOs. Rather than FBOs simply evaluating environmental opportunities and threats in conducting services rendered, competitive advantage depends on the uniqueness of resources and capabilities. It was concluded that the types of resources have the potential and promise to generate competitive advantage and, eventually, superior social performance for sustainability (Ainuddin, Beamish, Hulland, & Rouse, 2007; Murluki et al., 2017). According to this theory, capable leaders with the necessary potential and vibrancy, and first-hand information and dynamic capabilities could drive FBOs towards sustainability.
2.4.2. The Concept of Survival-based Theory
The survival of the fittest principle originally formulated by Herbert Spencer (Miesing & Preble, 1985) was considered ideally suited to the theoretical underpinning of the research in line with the empirical conclusions of previous scholars. The survival-based theory explores the use of strategic institutions to stop rivals from being eliminated. In order to excel in innovation and possess a strong intellectual and functional capacity to operate an organization, the mechanisms of sensing, intuition, feeling, and thought must be built by leaders of FBOs. This enables FBOs to embrace uncertainties in order to achieve relevance, survival and growth (Gibcus & Kemp, 2003; Umar, 2019). Basically, the foundation of the survival strategy is that, in order to survive, companies need to constantly adapt to their competitive climate. Brian (1996), cited in the work of Egwakhe, Tijani, Akinlabi, & Egwuonwu (2020), seems to implement a new way of thinking about the company world and new ways of behaving (corporate strategies) every decade.
This theory, which was quite popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasized the notion that by following the principle of nature, only the best and the fittest of competitors among FBOs will win, which in the end would lead to the improvement of the social community as a whole. Social Darwinism assumed that it is normal for the competition to behave in hedonistic ways to produce the fittest faith-based organization, which survives and prospers by successfully adapting to its environment or become the most efficient and economically effective religious organization. Hence, ruthless organizational rivalry and corrupt politics are acceptable under this assumption. The management's survival-based view stressed the assumptions that companies should adopt strategies that concentrate on running efficient operations to survive in a competitive environment (Egwakhe et al., 2020; Umar, 2019). These scholars concluded that an organization that succeeds is the one that is the most suited and capable of adapting to the religious environment.
This theory suffered criticism from Neo-Darwinism in the later part of the 20th century, which premised strongly on social solidarity as a fundamental fact of evolution. It is assumed under this theory that competition and cooperation are interconnected, and competition will force a godly business to be cooperative. Hence, virtues and values of doing good and ethical business, such as through friendship, trust, loyalty and cooperation, are encouraged in order to survive the competitive gospel market. Based on this argument, this study is anchored on resource dependence and survival-based theories.
3. METHODOLOGY
This study investigates the influence of leadership capabilities on the survival instincts of faith-based organizations in Nigeria. Leadership capabilities were measured with strategic direction, innovative skills and management skills. Meanwhile, survival instinct is the dependent variable and was measured as the fourth item of the variables. The moderating variable (demographic) was measured with age, gender and work experience. The descriptive research survey was adopted as the research design. The population comprises of all the employees in leadership positions in six selected faith-based organizations in Nigeria, making a total of 2330. The Bartlett, Kotrlik, & Higgins (2001) table chart was used for the determination of the sample size, which accounted for 499 at the margin of error = 0.05 of data categorization.
The six faith-based organizations were selected because they are fast-growing Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling methods were used. Purposive sampling was used because only employees in leadership positions participated in the survey. Stratified sampling, on the other hand, was used because the study population comprises of different diversity and strata, and within each stratum, everyone was given an equal chance of selection. Out of the 499 questionnaires distributed, 432 (86.6%) were returned. The questionnaire was developed in line with what is obtainable in the literature with the use of a five-point Likert scale. Two research assistants were engaged for the administration of the copies of the questionnaire, which was carried out during official working hours. The validity of the research instrument was certified by two experts in the field, while the reliability of the research instrument was carried out using Cronbach’s alpha. In order to satisfy the ethical consideration, the respondents were informed about the purpose of the study, they were offered anonymity, and the confidentiality of the information provided was guaranteed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23.0 was used to code the data, while SmartPLS 3.0 was used for the analysis of the data that shows the influence of leadership capabilities on survival instincts of faith-based organizations in Nigeria. Also, the essential processes for the assumptions of the analysis were meticulously checked to ascertain the correctness of the data, as recommended by Kline (2005) and Tabachnick & Fidell (2007). Multi-collinearity was examined by analyzing the variance inflation factor (VIF), which was less than five for all the variables. This indicates that there is no multi-collinearity issue.
Table-1. Factor Loading.
Loading |
Reliability Indicator |
Error Variance |
Composite Reliability |
AVE |
Cronbach’s Alpha |
||
| Variables & Constructs | |||||||
| Strategic Direction (SD) | 0.8861 |
0.6962 |
0.722 |
||||
| SD1 | 0.538 |
0.289 |
0.711 |
||||
| SD2 | 0.654 |
0.428 |
0.572 |
||||
| SD3 | 0.829 |
0.687 |
0.313 |
||||
| SD4 | 0.731 |
0.534 |
0.466 |
||||
| Innovative Skills (IS) | 0.8051 |
0.7153 |
0.748 |
||||
| IS1 | 0.671 |
0.450 |
0.550 |
||||
| IS2 | 0.660 |
0.436 |
0.564 |
||||
| IS3 | 0.857 |
0.734 |
0.266 |
||||
| IS4 | 0.653 |
0.426 |
0.574 |
||||
| Management Skills (MS) | 0.8704 |
0.7935 |
0.753 |
||||
| MS1 | 0.767 |
0.588 |
0.412 |
||||
| MS2 | 0.923 |
0.852 |
0.148 |
||||
| MS3 | 0.674 |
0.454 |
0.546 |
||||
| MS4 | 0.790 |
0.624 |
0.376 |
||||
| Survival Instincts (SI) | 0.8822 |
0.8083 |
0.799 |
||||
| SI1 | 0.865 |
0.748 |
0.252 |
||||
| SI2 | 0.731 |
0.534 |
0.466 |
||||
| SI3 | 0.754 |
0.569 |
0.431 |
||||
| SI4 | 0.873 |
0.762 |
0.238 |
||||
3.1. Structural Model
Four hypotheses were formulated for this study and the constructs were carefully selected. The first hypothesis focuses on the influence of strategic direction on the survival instincts of faith-based organizations. The leadership capabilities and survival instinct were measured with four items, as depicted in Table 1. The second hypothesis concentrates on the effect of innovative skills on the survival instincts of faith-based organizations. Innovative skills was measured with four items. The third hypothesis tested the influence of management skills on the survival instincts of faith-based organizations, and each construct was measured with four items. The fourth hypothesis looked at the moderating role of the demographic profile of the respondents on the relationship between leadership capabilities and survival instincts of the faith-based organizations. R-squared, t-statistic values, and p-values are critical indicators in SmartPLS that are used for the determination and interpretation of the results, as portrayed in Figures 1 – 3.
The PLS algorithm model of the three tested hypotheses is depicted in Figure 1, while the bootstrapping method is indicated in Figures 2 and 3. The path defines the degree of relationship between leadership capabilities and survival instincts of faith-based organizations. The R-squared determines the level of variance which could be categorized as substantial, moderate, or weak, i.e., > 0.75, > 0.50, and > 0.25, respectively.
Figure-1. PLS Algorithm Model.
Figure-2. PLS Bootstrapping Model with β and P Values.
Figure-3. PLS Bootstrapping Model with β and T Values.
The t-values were evaluated through bootstrapping, as recommended by Ramayah, Jacky, Francis, Hiram, & Ali (2018). The bootstrapping setting was re-sampled to 500, as suggested by Garson (2016), for confirmatory purposes. Garson (2016) noted that bootstrapping helps in calculating path coefficients, outer loading, outer weights, indirect effect, and total effect, as depicted in Figures 2 and 3. As revealed in Table 2, all the t-values are above 1.96 and significant with a p-value of 0.05.
Table-2. Inner Model Results (direct and indirect).
Variable |
Path Coefficient |
Indirect Effect |
Standard Deviation |
T-Statistic |
P-Value |
||
LC |
0.647 |
0.629 |
0.101 |
6.398 |
0.000 |
||
IS1 |
0.293 |
0.068 |
4.344 |
0.000 |
|||
IS2 |
0.183 |
0.054 |
3.513 |
0.000 |
|||
MS1 |
0.325 |
0.060 |
5.420 |
0.000 |
|||
MS2 |
0.205 |
0.052 |
4.028 |
0.000 |
|||
SD1 |
0.418 |
0.053 |
7.836 |
0.000 |
|||
SD2 |
0.264 |
0.049 |
5.456 |
0.000 |
|||
DP |
0.358 |
0.372 |
0.096 |
3.715 |
0.000 |
||
ME |
0.073 |
0.069 |
0.033 |
2.185 |
0.029 |
||
R-Squared |
|||||||
R-Squared |
Adjusted R-Squared |
||||||
Leadership Capabilities (LC) |
0.843 |
0.838 |
|||||
Survival Instincts (SI) |
0.823 |
0.818 |
|||||
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Hypothesis One: In line with the outcome of the tested hypotheses, hypothesis one shows a path coefficient of 0.418, a t-value of 7.836, and a p-value of 0.000. This implies that strategic direction has a significant influence on survival instincts of faith-based organizations in Nigeria. The result also revealed that the measures of strategic direction significantly influence the operational efficiency of FBOs. It implies that if an FBO’s strategic direction aligns with demands of sustainable operational efficiency, the survival of such organizations amid competitiveness is guaranteed. This validates the findings of Umeanwe (2020) and Volberda et al. (2015).
Hypothesis Two: This hypothesis depicts a path coefficient of 0.293, a t-value of 4.344, and a p-value of 0.000. This suggests that innovative skills have a significant influence on the survival instincts of faith-based organizations. This finding implies that if the leadership of FBOs is creative with their activities and operations, it will enhance their dynamic agility, particularly in times of an unpredictable socio-economic environment. This finding supports the arguments of Dimnwobi, Ekesiobi, & Mgbemena (2016) and Kremer et al. (2019), who posited that innovative leaders generate new ideas and concepts that will improve the quality of operations and enhance the dynamic agility of FBOs. The finding also validates a similar submission by Cascio & Montealegre (2016).
Hypothesis Three: In a related development, hypothesis three also depicts a path coefficient of 0.325, a t-value of 5.420, and a p-value of 0.000. This indicates that management skills significantly predict survival instincts of faith-based organizations. These findings imply that if the leadership of various FBOs has the prerequisite people management skills, it will help them to understand current best practices. Investing in the development of people’s management skills will also help the employees to perform efficiently and work toward achieving the corporate goal of the organization. This finding validates the submission of Akaegbu & Usoro (2017), Ponea & Ponea (2020) and Ufua et al. (2020) who believe that human development and leadership commitment can result in operational process advancement.
Hypothesis Four: The fourth hypothesis examined the moderating role of the demographic characteristics of respondents in the relationship between leadership capacity and faith-based organizations' survival instincts. The results indicate that the demographic profile (age, gender and job experience) moderates the relationship of faith-based organizations with a path coefficient of 0.358 between the leadership profile and survival instincts, a t-value of 3.715, and a p-value of 0.000, while the moderating path coefficient is 0.073, the t-value is 2.185, and the p-value is 0.029. The analysis included 432 of the respondents; 227 respondents, representing 52.5% of the total participants, were female, while the remaining 205 respondents, representing 47.5%, were male. The submission by Aransi (2020) has validated the findings on gender in this report. It can be inferred that the majority of the participants involved in the FBOs' leadership skills and sustainability issues were 53% male. This distribution means that, when it comes to faith-based organizational sustainability, it is gender-sensitive.
Theoretically, the results of the study are supported by the survival-based theory that emphasizes the need for companies to learn, organize and reconfigure their abilities rapidly to gain competitive advantage (Ukenna, Makinde, Akinlabi, & Asikhia, 2019). The need for organizations to provide services or strategic leadership dimensions and competitive advantage for sustainability are different from competitors. The survival-based theory is more concerned with the short-term advantage that can be gained by merely being the best and fittest of rivals to create a longer-term competitive advantage. It answers the questions of how and why certain FBOs pursue strategies to prevent contenders from being eradicated and build and retain a competitive edge relative to others in a dynamic religious environment (Singh & Rao, 2016).
It could be said that the changes in an aggressive competitive environment will quickly respond to a religious demand with exceptionally competent tasks (Egwakhe et al., 2020). In order to maximize overall success, an establishment that is very conscious of its survival in the midst of the volatile religious climate would have an advantage over its rivals. This is because such an FBO will ensure that it adapts to the climate, is flexible in its resources, and adapts existing skills or develops new ones.
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Regarding the survival instincts of the selected faith-based organizations in Nigeria, the core goal was to examine the impact of leadership capabilities. One of the interesting contributions refers to the similarities represented in aspects of leadership capabilities management and survival instincts in the systemic model – a correlation that is scarce in the current literature. The research showed the role of leadership in the creation of various capabilities for the survival of faith-based organizations. The relationship between leadership capability assessments and survival instincts is consistent with what has been documented in existing literature. Since quantitative research is important in the field of management science and organizational behavior, this current study has shown that dimensions of leadership capabilities have a positive effect on faith-based organizations' survival instincts.
While organizations operate in a volatile and complex religious climate, the study revealed that well-implemented dimensions of leadership capabilities can positively improve FBOs' survival instincts. However, if owners and leaders are prepared to place emphasis on talented, knowledgeable and innovative workers with business experience who are ready to assume any leadership role in order to move organizations towards sustainability, the implementation of leadership capability practices in FBOs needs to be strengthened. If the implementation of leadership capabilities is well tested, corrected and managed, ensuring the long-term survival of FBOs, this will help to gain competitive advantage among FBOs in Nigeria.
Funding: This study received no specific financial support. |
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. |
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to acknowledge the leadership of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, through the Covenant University Centre for Research, Innovation and Discoveries (CUCRID), for supporting the entire research processes. The authors would also like to thank Prof. Evans Osabuohien, Chair of the Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria, who gave his time to conduct a palliative analysis and the final draft of this work to be completed. |
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