Abstract:
Strategic Leadership and governance are some of the most critical issues facing organizations today. The main objective of the study is to investigate the influence of strategic leadership and governance on the performance of tourism organizations in Tanzania. The study aimed to achieve specific objectives, including determining the influence of strategic direction, strategic human capital development, organizational control, and governance practices on tourism performance in Tanzania. The study also examined the moderating effects of moral leadership emphasis on the relationship between strategic leadership and the performance of tourism organizations in Tanzania. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design to achieve five specific objectives. The target population of this study includes private and public tourism-related organizations, as well as umbrella organizations such as Government boards, Authorities, and Associations. The total number of registered and licensed tourism organizations in operation for more than 10 years is 1005. The researcher sampled 280 respondents from 140 organizations, including all categories established in this study. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data. Reliability of the questions was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, where an adequate threshold was considered. Logit model analysis was used to understand the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The researcher used t-test procedures to test all hypotheses. The study findings revealed that strategic direction positively and significantly relates to the organization’s performance; strategic human capital plays a significant role in influencing tourism performance in organizations; organizational control would improve the performance of tourist organizations; and the practice of governance significantly contributes to improved tourism performance. Results showed that moral leadership practices significantly contribute to tourism performance in organizations. The study recommended that tourism organizations should revise and review their vision and mission, including rewriting them professionally, and share them all with every member of staff. Top management to ensure clear provision of strategic intent to all staff and other stakeholders; practical emphasis of morals including the application of code of conduct; leaders to read all monitoring and evaluation reports while taking necessary measures for the success of the organizations; and ensure governance in service delivery for enhancing satisfaction to tourists to increase the number of tourists hence performance enhanced and profit multiplication. Policy makers and regulatory authorities should rethink revising and reviewing existing policies while developing new policies in the tourism service areas.
