Locus of Control and the Role of Leadership on Employee Personality in Pharmaceutical Industry in Kenya

Abstract

Personal traits have a significant effect on contemporary workplace dynamics and employee performance. This study focused on two areas of Kenya's pharmaceutical industry: the relationship between locus of control and employee personality, and how leadership styles affect this relationship. The study used a descriptive research design and comprised 8671 employees from 107 pharmaceutical enterprises in Nairobi County. Fisher's formula yielded a sample size of 384 respondents chosen by stratified random sampling. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data, and SPSS version 28 was used for analysis, which included descriptive (means, frequencies, standard deviations) and inferential statistics (correlation, regression). The key findings demonstrated substantial relationships between internal locus of control and specific personality factors. There was a substantial positive association discovered between internal locus of control, agreeableness (r=0.58, p=0.01), and conscientiousness (r=0.61, p=0.000). However, the internal locus of control and extraversion showed no significant correlation (r=-0.28, p=0.22). In contrast, the external locus of control had a mild positive association with agreeableness (r=0.16, p=0.001) and a moderately positive and substantial link with extraversion (r=0.34, p=0.001). A considerable inverse association was found between external locus of control and conscientiousness (r=-0.63, p=0.000). These findings highlight the complicated interaction between locus of control orientations and personality factors among personnel in Kenya's pharmaceutical industry. Further, transformational and democratic leadership styles were found to modulate the link between internal locus of control and agreeableness/conscientiousness. Laissez-faire and transactional leadership styles had no significant effect on the connection between internal locus of control and personality attributes. However, transformational, transactional, and democratic leadership styles had a significant impact on the link between external locus of control and personality qualities such as agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness, whereas laissez-faire leadership style did not. The study revealed that employees' locus of control is important in influencing their personality traits at pharmaceutical companies in Kenya. Both internal and external locus of control are important considerations, with transformational and democratic leadership styles amplifying their positive effects on employee personality. Based on these findings, it was suggested that leaders foster a leadership culture based on transformative and democratic values. Additionally, customised techniques should be devised to reduce the detrimental effect of external locus of control beliefs on employee conscientiousness. Mentorship programmes and organised goal-setting frameworks were recommended as possible techniques for improving employee accountability and organisational abilities