Transformational Leadership and Livelihood Improvement: Evidence from Rural SACCOS in Tanzania

Purpose: The study analysed the influence of transformational leadership on the livelihood improvement of the savings and credit cooperatives societies (SACCOS)’s clients in Morogoro rural district in Tanzania. The specific objectives of the study were to assess how the sub-variables of the transformational leadership of inspiration, motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealised influence, and individualised consideration influenced the rural SACCOS livelihood improvement.Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employed an explanatory design and a deductive approach. Simple random sampling was used to select 270 SACCOS clients for the survey. The data were collected using the structured questionnaire. The logistic regression analysed the data. Findings: The findings indicated that intellectual stimulation and idealised influence had a positive and significant impact on the livelihood improvement of rural SACCOS clients. However, the variables of inspiration, motivation, and individualised consideration did not influence the livelihood improvement significantly Research Limitation: The study is restricted to a single district in Tanzania, thereby limiting the generalisability of the findings. Moreover, the focus was limited to rural SACCOS clients. Furthermore, the study focused solely on quantitative data analysis. Practical Implication: By fostering participation, trust, accountability, transparency, and decision-making through transformational leadership, SACCOS improve the quality of financial services for their clients, thereby enhancing their livelihoods. Social Implication: The application of Transformational leadership enhances SACCOS performance and enables them to better serve rural communities. Therefore, effective leadership enables SACCOS to serve community members sustainably. Originality / Value: Previous studies have linked transformational leadership to financial services performance, particularly loan repayment performance. This study links transformational leadership to the livelihood improvement of the clients of rural SACCOS.