Abstract

Leadership has been acknowledged as one of the most important factors in enhancing job commitment of employees and organizational effectiveness. Nevertheless, there is limited empirical information regarding the relative impact of leadership styles on workers’ job commitment in indigenous manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The present study investigates the impacts of transformational, transactional, democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles on job commitment of employees and establishes the leadership style which predicts employees' job commitment in indigenous manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Contingency Theory was the guiding theory for the present research study, and cross-sectional survey design was used for conducting the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 250 employees of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited and Jezco Plastics Limited through primary methods, and the multiple regression analysis technique was utilized for testing the relationship between the variables. The results of the study indicated that transactional, democratic, and transformational leadership styles positively impacted employees' job commitment, while laissez-faire negatively impacted it, and autocratic leadership style had no impact. The conclusion of the study is that workers’ job commitment can be achieved through leadership that incorporates performance management, employee involvement, and inspirational leadership but avoids passive and authority-driven leadership. The results of this research are helpful for managers in indigenous manufacturing firms who want to enhance job commitment among employees