Succession Planning and Sustainability of Church Affiliated Social Enterprises within Karen Parish, Nairobi Archdiocese
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Church-affiliated social enterprises combine commercial activities with social and religious missions, making leadership continuity important to their long-term sustainability. However, limited empirical evidence explains how specific succession-planning practices relate to sustainability in Catholic Church-affiliated enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the relationships between knowledge transfer, communication practices, talent identification, leadership development and organizational sustainability, while assessing the moderating role of organizational culture. Guided by the Resource-Based View, Leader–Member Exchange theory and Institutional theory, the study employed a convergent mixed-methods design. The quantitative component targeted 100 leaders and managers across 20 church-affiliated social enterprises in Karen Parish, Nairobi Archdiocese, yielding 81 usable questionnaires, an 81% response rate. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 21, while qualitative interview data were analysed thematically using NVivo. Pearson correlation analysis revealed positive associations between sustainability and leadership development (r = .725, p < .001), knowledge transfer (r = .424, p < .001), communication practices (r = .374, p = .002), talent identification (r = .340, p < .001) and organizational culture (r = .326, p = .003). Interview findings highlighted mentorship, documentation, staff communication, performance-based talent identification, training, delegation and practical leadership assignments. The moderation analysis also indicated a negative interaction between succession planning and organizational culture (B = -0.064, p = .010). The study recommends institutionalized succession procedures, structured knowledge transfer, transparent leadership selection and adequately resourced leadership development. The findings contribute context-specific evidence to research on leadership continuity and sustainability in faith-based social enterprises.
Institution: Tangaza University
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7224258814