Managerial Leadership, Governance and Service Delivery: A Critical Review of Literature

Abstract

Service delivery is the most widely used measure of performance in the public sector. This paper is a critical review of the literature with a focus on how service delivery is linked to leadership, management and governance practices. The four concepts explaining the variables under study in this paper are introduced through a brief presentation. The study discusses theoretical perspectives deemed most appropriate for this work. These are the path-goal theory, resource-based view and principal-agent theory. There are numerous studies which have taken different methodology approaches and are conducted in diverse contexts. There, however, exist conceptual, theoretical, methodological and contextual gaps which need to be addressed in future studies. The key emerging knowledge gap is the fact that the available studies have not investigated the link between leadership, management and governance on one hand and service delivery on the other. Given the importance of improving service delivery, it is therefore imperative for scholars and practitioners to understand the nature of this link and to explore it to improve, especially with regard to the public sector entities. The review has developed a clearer understanding of the concepts and how they relate to the theoretical perspectives. The review underscores the need for practitioners to work towards ensuring organisations are aligned with best practices for leadership, management and governance to ensure better service delivery. The review further highlights the need for policymakers to put in place a regulatory framework to nurture inspired leadership, sound management systems and transparent governance for better service delivery.

Keywords: Leadership, management, governance and service delivery

DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/14-1-03

Publication date: January 31^st 2024