Impact of Leadership Competency Gaps On Management Effectiveness in Selected Microfinance Banks in North Central Nigeria (Published)
In the fast-evolving world of finance, resources and technology are not the only factors that can determine the success of a microfinance bank; the competencies of the leaders are paramount. This paper investigated how leadership competency gaps affect the management performance of sampled microfinance banks in North-Central Nigeria in strategic thinking, communication, and flexibility/adaptability competencies. The research design adopted was quantitative, and a sample of 84 respondents was selected using stratified sampling techniques from a population of 120 across different microfinance banks in the North-Central region to gather primary data using structured questionnaires. Hypothesized relationships were tested using descriptive statistics and regression analyses. The findings revealed that strategic competency gaps had a non-significant impact on operational efficiency (β = 0.106, Sig=0.612), communication competency gaps also showed a non-significant influence on operational efficiency (β = 0.155, Sig =0.377), whereas decision-making competency gaps had a highly significant effect on operational efficiency (β = 0.966, Sig=0.000). These results show that while decision-making competency gaps are a critical challenge to managerial performance and service delivery, strategic and communication competency gaps do not have significant effects on operational efficiency and team performance in microfinance banks. The study concludes that addressing decision-making competency gaps is essential for improving operational performance, while strategic and communication competency gaps should be further explored in future research. The uniqueness of this study lies in its simultaneous focus on multiple leadership competencies and their distinct impacts on management outcomes in the microfinance industry, offering valuable insights for policymakers and bank managers.
Keywords: Leadership competency gaps, Microfinance Banks, Operational Efficiency, communication, strategic thinking
Assessing the Marketing Orientation of Microfinance Banks in Akwa Ibom State (Published)
This study was an attempt to investigate whether microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating within Akwa Ibom State have knowledge of marketing or adopt marketing strategies in their drive for savings and services delivery as well as examined the relationship between marketing orientation and the performance of marketing functions by microfinance Banks. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. The instrument used was marketing knowledge inventory Questionnaire (MKIQ) developed by the researchers. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. A major finding of this study was that there was poor knowledge of marketing among microfinance banks in Akwa Ibom State. The result of the hypothesis revealed a significant positive relationship between marketing orientation and performance of marketing functions .Based on these findings, we recommend that microfinance institutions in Akwa Ibom State be more proactive in marketing their services by creating marketing department, to be headed by a seasoned professional marketer, among other recommendations.
Keywords: Marketing Orientation, Microfinance Banks