Intellectual Stimulation and the Growth of Intra-Regional Trade in the East African Community

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of intellectual stimulation of the Council of Ministers on the perceived growth of Intra-Regional Trade in the EAC. The study adopted positivism research philosophy and descriptive correlational research design and was anchored on the transformational leadership theory. Targeting senior trade officers in partner states of EAC, stratified sampling was applied to identify a few sample units. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire that contained both open ended and closed ended questions. Data collected was coded, cleaned and analysed using SPSS version 20 to obtain both descriptive and inferential statsitics. Results show a positive and significаnt influence of intellectual stimulation on the growth of intra-regional trade in the EAC; R2=.409, F(1,121) = 83.782, p<.05; β =.755, t(4.292)=10.351, p<.05. The findings point to the fact that increased intellectual stimulation in terms of encouraging risk taking, creative innovation and communication by the council, will have significant influence positive effect on the growth of intra-regional trade in the EAC. In this regard, council members of the EAC should strategically demonstrate intellectual stimulation by encouraging officer within their dockens to be risk tekers, while enhancing innovation and bolster appropriate communication.