Abstract:

This study examined the effect of supportive leadership style on supply chain performance of retail SMEs in Rivers State of Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design and quantitative method to allow for descriptive and inferential analysis. The population for the study was 377 registered SMEs in Rivers State of Nigeria. The convenience simple technique was used to select one respondent each from the 377 retail SMEs studied. The convenience sampling of respondents was used to ensure that those employees found at their workplaces were the ones used for the study. Subsequently, 377 copies of questionnaire were distributed to 377 employees crosswise the identified retail SMEs. Of the 377 respondents contacted, 258 contributed to the study, resulting to a response rate of 68 The 258 respondents produced a total of 249 working response deposit. Data were subjected to correlation and regression analysis using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS Version 22.0). The study’s findings showed that, the influence of supportive leadership style on order fulfillment was statistically positive and significant at 0.05 significant level. This implies that a well packaged supportive leadership style can increase the chance of boosting order fulfillment in retail supply chain. The study therefore, concludes that, there is a positive and significant influence of supportive leadership style on supply chain performance of retail SMEs in Rivers State of Nigeria, and recommends that, managers who are driven by the desire to achieve efficiency in operation should emphasis more on exhibiting added supportive leadership style in their organizations to boost order fulfillment to enhance supply chain performance.