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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 13, No. 03
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
DOI:10.14738/abr.1303.18498.
Ndebele, G., & Okharedia, A. A. (2025). A Situational Leadership Framework for Enhancing the Survival and Sustainability of SMEs
in Botswana's Agrifood Sector. Archives of Business Research, 13(03). 204-225.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
A Situational Leadership Framework for Enhancing the Survival
and Sustainability of SMEs in Botswana's Agrifood Sector
Gugulethu Ndebele
Graduate School of Business Leadership,
University of South Africa
Akhabue A. Okharedia
University of Mpumalanga, South Africa
ABSTRACT
This research aims to develop a Situational Leadership style Framework for the
survival and sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Botswana's
Agriculture and Food (Agrifood) Sector. Toward this end, this study adopts a
convergent mixed-methods methods approach. The data is collected through
physical questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A simple linear regression model
is estimated using the R programming language for quantitative data analysis. The
qualitative data is analysed using thematic analysis, verbatim transcription, and
quotations. The research examines the Situational Leadership style and its
influence on the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in
Botswana. The study's findings indicate that the Situational Leadership style
significantly influences SMEs' survival and sustainability in Botswana's Agrifood
Sector. The contribution to knowledge is the Situational Leadership framework for
leadership styles that depicts the emerging leadership styles from this study:
mentorship, coaching, flexible, responsive, agile, adaptable, empowering, and
exemplary leadership. These emerging leadership styles are depicted in the
Situational Leadership framework, which identifies leadership styles that influence
the survival and sustainability of SMEs in Botswana's Agrifood Sector. The study's
main limitation is that a Google Scholar search yielded no results from previous
matching studies that researched how the Situational Leadership style influences
the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in Botswana. However,
this limitation does not necessarily affect the study's validity because the research
findings can be generalised to other SMEs, since SMEs tend to face similar survival
and sustainability challenges.
Keywords: Situational Leadership Style, Situational Leadership Framework, Survival,
Sustainability, Agrifood Sector, Verbatim Transcription.
INTRODUCTION
The Agriculture and Food (Agrifood) Sector is a global imperative, where research on factors
that promote economically viable food systems remains inadequate [1,2]. The aforementioned
assertion on limited research on food systems calls for examining factors that can promote
viable food systems. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operate in an increasingly complex
business environment, where adopting a suitable and effective leadership style promotes the
strategic focus, competitiveness, and survival and sustainability (SS) of the SMEs [3,4]. Effective
leadership can help SMEs overcome these complexities [5].
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Ndebele, G., & Okharedia, A. A. (2025). A Situational Leadership Framework for Enhancing the Survival and Sustainability of SMEs in Botswana's
Agrifood Sector. Archives of Business Research, 13(03). 204-225.
URL: http://doi.org/10.14738/abr.1303.18498
SMEs in African countries, including Botswana, face various challenges that threaten their long- term success, with leadership playing a critical role [6,7,8]. Observations linking SME failures
to leadership constraints inspired this research, which aims to identify the specific leadership
styles that influence the SS of Botswana's Agrifood Sector. Amoah-mensah and Darkwa and
Novelli and de Souza [9,10] suggested that a leader must be dynamic and exercise flexibility by
adopting a leadership style that promotes organisational SS. Effective leadership has been
suggested as one of the contributors to SME resilience, growth, and sustainability, by
stimulating the performance of the followers; thereby leading to SME SS [11,12] SMEs play a
significant role in food supply chains in low to middle-income countries and for them to survive
in today’s highly competitive and complex economic world, they require effective leadership
[13,14]. Additionally, the current volatile and competitive global economic climate requires
leaders to review their leadership styles in favour of corporate sustainability-focused and
innovative leadership [15,16].
Studies highlight that SMEs in the Agrifood Sector are critical to food production in low and
middle-income countries, producing up to 80% of the global food requirements [17]. The
scarcity of financial resources as well as the knowledge, management, and leadership gaps that
characterise SMEs make them vulnerable to the economic crisis caused by the highly
competitive and volatile global economy [18,15].
In a constantly evolving world, leaders are expected to demonstrate high levels of agility and
adopt an effective leadership style [19,20]. The evolving multidisciplinary fields of leadership
and corporate sustainability call for contextualised research [15], and true to that call, this
research was based on the Agrifood Sector in Botswana. Furthermore, studies reveal that SMEs
with a sustainability focus tend to be more competitive and survive longer [15].
SMEs undoubtedly form the backbone of any economy for a variety of reasons, which include
employment creation, poverty alleviation, and driving innovation. The stark reality is that
despite their significance, SMEs continue to fail and hardly survive beyond five years [21,14],
with the revelation by Pett et al. [12]) that empowering leadership promotes the SS of SMEs.
Furthermore, even though SMEs are credited with providing innovative solutions to economic
problems, about 80% of SMEs in developing countries like Botswana have a significantly high
failure rate [22]. In Botswana, SMEs contribute to 50% of formal employment [23]. SMEs
promote scalable and novel business opportunities, contributing up to “50% of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of African economies” [24 p.1]. Given the proliferation of SMEs and
their positive contribution to economic development, studies on their growth, survival and
sustainability remain very critical [4]. The broader literature is awash with a multiplicity of
leadership styles, from traditional to modern styles [19]. However, the central objectives of this
study focus on the four dimensions of the Situational Leadership (SL) style, as the SL style has
been identified as a flexible leadership style that influences the SS of SMEs [25,10].Traditionally,
scholars have discussed four dimensions of the SL style as follows: (i) Directing , (ii) Coaching
(iii) Supporting and (iv) Delegating leadership styles [26,25].
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The purpose of this study is to develop a Situational Leadership (SL) style framework for the
Agrifood Sector in Botswana that farmers can implement to enhance productivity. The
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framework aims to influence the reform, growth, survival, and sustainability of SMEs within the
sector. This investigation is conducted in response to the persistent challenge of low
agricultural production, which currently fails to meet market demand [27]. In a State of the
Nation Address (SONA), held on the 5th of November 2023, the former President of the Republic
of Botswana, Dr Mokgweetsi E.K Masisi announced that the restriction ban was bearing fruit as
it has led to a reduction in Botswana’s fresh produce import bill from P634 million in 2018 to
P182 million in 2023. Nonetheless, the restriction ban has not completely curbed food
insecurities as local farmers are still not able to meet the demand for horticultural products like
cabbages, tomatoes, potatoes and onions [28].
SURVIVAL AND SUSTAINABILITY OF SMES IN THE AGRIFOOD SECTOR IN BOTSWANA
Research indicates that only a small percentage of SMEs successfully transition from one
generation to the next, primarily due to inadequate capital funding and ineffective leadership
styles [29,15]. The survival and sustainability (SS) of SMEs remain. a significant concern [30].
Furthermore, studies on the sustainability of SMEs within the Agrifood Sector are limited,
despite the critical role these businesses play in food security and national economic
development [16].
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTION
It is against the background to ascertain how the Situational Leadership style significantly
influences (s) the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in Botswana, that
the following research objectives and research question were formulated. The research
objectives adopted for the study are: (a) To determine the influence of Situational Leadership
on the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in Botswana and (b) To
develop a Situational Leadership framework for the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the
Agrifood Sector in Botswana.
The following research question was formulated for this study: (a) What is the influence of
Situational Leadership on the survival and sustainability of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in
Botswana?
PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY
The proposed conceptual framework presented in Figure 1 below was proposed as a guide for
this study, to determine the influence of the SL style on the SS of SMEs in the Agrifood Sector in
Botswana. The framework depicts the relationship between the four dimensions of the SL style
and SS of SMEs in Botswana’s Agrifood Sector.
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Ndebele, G., & Okharedia, A. A. (2025). A Situational Leadership Framework for Enhancing the Survival and Sustainability of SMEs in Botswana's
Agrifood Sector. Archives of Business Research, 13(03). 204-225.
URL: http://doi.org/10.14738/abr.1303.18498
Figure 1: A Proposed Conceptual Framework For The Study
LITERATURE REVIEW
Studies on the leadership styles employed by SMEs remain limited, where, as a consequence,
there is a vital need to understand the influence of leadership styles on the performance of
SMEs [4]. Although there is no generally accepted definition for leadership, scholars concur that
leadership is a process that involves “influencing a group of people towards the attainment of
a common goal” [25 p.31). Leadership remains one concept that remains with no common
definition, because it is dynamic, multifaceted, and complex [25]. Studies on leadership styles
have increasingly grown in significance, yet the key aspects of leadership styles that determine
sustainability remain an area that requires further research [9]. Although numerous studies on
leadership styles have been recorded, these studies mainly focused on leadership styles in
general and did not focus on leadership styles and their influence on the Agrifood Sector, SS in
particular [25]. This literature review will discuss the theory adopted for this study, the
Situational Leadership theory.
The Situational Leadership Theory
The Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) is one of the most prominent theories; as it is
premised on the assertion that situations are different and hence calls for leadership styles to
suit the particular situation, as no one specific style of leadership is applicable for all conditions
and thus flexibility and adaptability are key [25,10]. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard’s revised
SLT suggests four leadership styles; directing, coaching, supporting and delegating as discussed
in Section 6.2. The four leadership styles represent different amounts of supportive
(consideration) and directive (initiating structure) behaviours. The SLT statement of the theory
by Hersey and Blanchard was initially pronounced in 1972 and revised in 2007. As years have
Independent Variable
Situational Leadership Style
Directing Behaviour
Delegating Behaviour
Supporting Behaviour
Coaching Behaviour
Dependent Variables
Survival and
Sustainability
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progressed, an alternative theory with an emphasis on follower experience has emerged and,
in the process, SLT has gained popularity [31].
Despite recorded limitations of the SLT, recent studies hail the flexibility of the leadership style,
in support of the dynamic nature of leadership in a constantly evolving world [10]. Moreover,
the strength and success of the STL over the past 50 years lie in the SLT's emphasis on giving
support to followers after adapting to their needs and leader flexibility [10]. Moreover, the SLT
was quite supportive of this study, whereby leaders are called upon to be flexible in their chosen
style of leadership, to promote long-term organisational SS. The situational leadership theory
is premised on the assertion that different situations require different leadership styles and an
effective leader has to adapt his leadership style according to the dictates of the particular
situation. In like manner, the situational leadership framework does not prescribe a particular
leadership style for a given situation but calls on leaders to assess the situation at hand and
exercise flexibility to make effective decisions.
For situational leaders to be effective, they need to identify the needs of their followers and
adapt their leadership styles to suit the needs of the followers accordingly [25,10].
Furthermore, Novelli and de Souza [10] argue that situational leaders adopt a directive style
when dealing with a complex situation where followers have no experience, yet leaders adopt
a participative leadership style for more experienced followers. It is therefore plausible to
conclude that the situational leadership style allows for leadership flexibility and adaptability
to cater to varying follower needs.
SLT has been described as a contingency theory, whereby a leader has to assess a particular
situation and apply a leadership style that would seem favourable to that particular situation
[32]. The SLT has been hailed for its assertion that there is no one particular leadership style
that is best for all circumstances [33,34]. Thompson and Vecchio [p.33) identified “four”
combinations of subordinate maturity (development levels) and leadership style as follows: (1)
the subordinate of very low maturity who should benefit from a “telling” style of supervision,
(2) the subordinate of moderately low maturity who should benefit from a “selling” style of
supervision, (3) the subordinate of moderately high maturity who should benefit from a
“participating” style of supervision, and (4) the subordinate of very high maturity who should
benefit from a “delegating” style of supervision. Essentially, SLT proposes that follower
maturity and readiness for self-direction are essential in determining the optimal leadership
style [33]
Dimensions of the Situational Leadership Theory (SLT)
Essentially, the dimensions of the SL style have been described as follows: (i) High Directive,
Low Supportive (Directive Leadership Style) (ii) High Directive, High Supportive (Coaching
Leadership Style), (iii) High Supportive, Low Directive (Supportive Leadership Style) and (iv)
Low Supportive, Low Directive (Delegating Leadership Style) [25,35].
• Directing (S1: High Directive, Low Supportive): The leader provides clear
instructions, defines tasks, and closely supervises goal achievement while offering
minimal support.
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rigour and validity of the study [39]. Furthermore, a mixed-method study provides a much
more robust and comprehensive study in terms of the collection, analysis as well as
interpretation of data [39]. The mixed-methods methodological choice is defined as a method
that combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches into a single study [39]. The mixed- method approach is further defined as an approach that collects and analyses both qualitative
and quantitative data rigorously in response to research questions and hypotheses. The mixed
methods approach further integrates the two forms of data and their results, organises these
procedures into specific research designs that provide the logic and procedures for conducting
the study, and frames these procedures within theory and philosophy [40,39].
The convergent mixed-method design was adopted for this study, whereby quantitative and
qualitative data was collected and analysed simultaneously. The main intention for the
combination of the qualitative and quantitative data strands is for corroboration and validation
purposes, and a complete understanding of the research problem, as well as yielding coherent
and comprehensive results [40]. Integrating the data can occur in any or all three phases:
namely the data collection phase, the data analysis phase, and the data interpretation phase
[40]. In this research, data mixing was considered at the data analysis stage to avoid bias. The
quantitative data was collected and analysed independently from the qualitative data.
The strengths of the convergent design, which made this design to be adopted for this study
include efficiency in data collection due to the simultaneous collection of quantitative and
qualitative data sets. On the other hand, the weaknesses of the convergent design include the
challenges that could arise in merging the results of two different sample sizes and the
possibility of divergence in the results obtained from both quantitative and qualitative data
analysis [40]. Based on previous leadership studies, questionnaires are ideal for explanatory
research; especially when complemented by in-depth interviews [39,41,42]. The thematic
analysis was adopted for the qualitative study, to identify major and emerging themes [43,44].
Questionnaire Design and In-depth Interview Guide
A questionnaire was used to collect data for the quantitative phase of the study. The
questionnaire depicted a 5-point Likert Scale based on a scale from “strongly disagree” to
“strongly agree”, as well as some open-ended questions. Situational leadership has been
described as exhibiting both Directive and Supportive Leadership behaviours, and these factors
were considered when designing the questionnaire [45]. The seven micro-behaviours of
direction (initiating structure) are goal setting, planning work, showing and telling how, setting
deadlines, setting priorities, defining roles and defining methods of evaluation whereas the
seven micro-behaviours of support (consideration) are listening, rationale building, sharing
information about self, sharing information about the organisation, facilitation of problem- solving, encouraging and asking for input [34, p.249]. The SLT dimensions considered in this
study are directing coaching, supporting and delegating leadership styles and these dimensions
were catered for in the questionnaire design [25].
The number of participants who took part in the in-depth interviews was guided by the
proportions per strata and district, as explained under the target population section. In-depth
interviews were used to collect additional information that was not captured in the
questionnaire. Open-ended questions were utilised through the use of an interview guide to
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Ndebele, G., & Okharedia, A. A. (2025). A Situational Leadership Framework for Enhancing the Survival and Sustainability of SMEs in Botswana's
Agrifood Sector. Archives of Business Research, 13(03). 204-225.
URL: http://doi.org/10.14738/abr.1303.18498
gather further information on the leadership styles that influence the SS of SMEs in the Agrifood
Sector and the influence of access to Government support on leadership styles for the SS of
SMEs in the Agrifood Sector. The in-depth interviews were conducted face-to-face and via the
telephone. Efficiency in transcribing the information was upheld to promote data validity by
accurately transcribing the data. An in-depth interview guide for asking questions and
recording answers was utilised. An observational protocol was also used for recording
observations as suggested by Creswell [46].
Target Population
The focus of the study was on commercial farms that met the SME threshold. Beef production
remains the dominant agricultural activity in Botswana, followed by small-stock farming,
particularly goat and sheep farming. Consequently, this study had a larger sample for data
collection emerging from the animal production sector. The study was demarcated to
commercial farmers who met the SME threshold in five of the 10 Agricultural Districts of
Botswana, namely the Southern District, Central District, Ghanzi District, Chobe District, and
the Northeast District. Commercial farmers were considered for this study mainly due to the
traceability of their activities. This study focused on livestock (cattle, goat, and sheep) and
commercial crop or horticulture production (sorghum, maize, citrus fruits, and vegetables), as
these have been described as dominant farming outputs in Botswana.
Sampling Frame
The key to credible research is to have a sample size that is representative of a given population
[47]. The Agrifood value chain is comprised of the production, processing and distribution of
agricultural and food services. This study focused on SMEs in the production sector, more
specifically the production of commercial crops and livestock, as these are the dominating
agricultural functions in Botswana.
The sample size was derived from a formula presented by [47, p.607). The formula is given as:
s = X2NP (1 - P) ÷ d2 (N - 1) + X2P (1 - P), (1)
Where:
• s = required sample size, (385)
• X2 = the table value of chi-square for 1 degree of freedom at the desired confidence level
(3.841).
• N = the population size (2 274).
• P = the population proportion (assumed to be .50 since this would provide the maximum
sample size).
• d = the degree of accuracy expressed as a proportion (.05).
Given the formula above, the population of the study was calculated to be 2 274. The number 2
274 represents the total number of commercial farms in the chosen five agricultural districts
with prominent agricultural output [48]. The population size represents commercial farms
involved in commercial crop farming (sorghum, maize, citrus fruits, and vegetables) or
horticulture as well as livestock farming (cattle, goat, and sheep) production in the Southern,
Central, Ghanzi, Chobe, and North-East Districts.
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The sample size was calculated using the formula presented by Krejcie and Morgan [47, p.607].
Based on the formula by Krejcie and Morgan, or a population of 2 274, the sample size was 385.
The sample size for each district was apportioned proportionately per stratum per district by
dividing the population size of each farm by the total number of farms in the target population,
then multiplying by the sample size derived from Krejcie and Morgan [47]. This sample size is
inclusive and will be adopted for both the quantitative and qualitative phases of the study. For
the qualitative phase of the study, a sample size of 39 was adopted. The rationale for choosing
the sample size of 39 is given by Creswell and Creswell [40], who postulate that a sample size
of 10% of the target population is reasonable enough to produce rich findings. However, the
final sample size for qualitative research was 16, which was the data saturation, the point at
which a sufficient database had been collected and no new information would surface if the
study continued further [40].
The sample size for the qualitative data collection phase was drawn from the overall target
population size of 385, to get 39. This sample size was apportioned proportionately for the five
districts. A maximum of 16 individuals (from the original 39), were subjected to both the
questionnaire and the in-depth interviews to dig deeper for more information. The respondents
of the study were selected proportionately per strata for each district. This way, overlaps were
avoided because the data collection was done simultaneously in any stratum.
DATA ANALYSIS
The study’s objectives were primarily analysed quantitatively by applying linear regression
modelling. Linear regression is a technique that is used to model linear between dependent and
independent variables. Thematic analysis, coding, verbatim transcription, and quotations were
adopted for the qualitative data analysis stage. Thematic analysis was used to identify key
themes and patterns from the data set, to produce a thematic description of the data as well as
to draw and verify conclusions.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Linear regression is a statistical analysis technique whose strength lies in its ability to establish
causal and effect relationships between variables. This study involved determining the
influence of the SL style on survival and sustainability. For this reason, linear regression was
found to be the best modelling architecture to capture the effect of the relationships that
involved the study’s variables of interest, consistent with previous research conducted by Keng
and AlQudah [41].
Answering the research question involved modelling a simple linear regression model, because
the leadership styles were analysed as a composite model, and the formula below was adopted:
Y=β0+β1X+ε (2)
Where:
• Y: The dependent variable
• X: The independent variable
• β0: The intercept