Authentic Leadership, Strategic Orientation, Strategy Execution and Firm Performance

This study explores authentic leadership at the strategic level of the organization by examining its relationship with strategy execution, given the orientation of the firm's strategy, and its relationship to organizational performance. It also explores the potential moderating role of practical intelligence with regard to the relationship between authentic leadership and strategy execution. The results of data collected from 193 bank branches indicate that authentic leadership is positively related to effective strategy execution. Additionally, the study reveals that the entrepreneurial dimension of the Miles and Snow's adaptive cycle framework is positively related to strategy execution; the engineering and administrative dimensions are not significantly related to strategy execution. Entrepreneurial based strategic orientation is shown to have a positive relationship with strategy execution which, in turn, is positively related to organizational performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Keywords: Authentic leadership, strategic orientation, practical intelligence, strategy execution, and branch performance.