RELATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY ON NEW AGRICULTURE VENTURES IN UGANDA

The purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of relational leadership for a social business initiative in rural Uganda. The author follows the case of the Hope Development Initiative (HDI) that supports (i) female farmers to become entrepreneurs as well as (ii) the development of the region. The study aims to illuminate relational leadership theory, particularly how it is applied in a specific context. Data were gathered during a ten-day research expedition to Northern Uganda. The study first presents obstacles the HDI faces in terms of lack of resources as well as socio-cultural dynamics limiting its organizational processes. Afterward, a framework of HDI’s processes of relational leadership serves to analyze and structure the results, thereby demonstrating how HDI actors manage to circumvent these obstacles based on building relationships with critical actors from the stakeholder environment. The case indicates that relational leadership should be seen as one of the most critical organizational capabilities to access resources for value creation in rural Uganda when actors from the stakeholder environment hold these required resources. The study demonstrates how relational leadership incorporating actors from the stakeholder environment on the micro level affects the success of the respective organization and development of the region on the macro level.