Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 22 Issue 5

of empiricism. This gap in the literature is therefore worthy of investigation. Research in leadership literature has stressed the need to set in motion a definitive leadership philosophy to drive the organization's affairs (Onamusi, 2020). Such a leader defines the work system, defines authority, spells out responsibility, and enhances strategies' development and successful implementation through the established internal organisational frameworks. Given that businesses operate within a constantly changing environment, such unplanned and unanticipated dynamism may create challenges for strategy execution given the time difference between strategy unfolding and execution; as such, it becomes imperative that organisational leadership becomes agile. An agile leader can operate as a contingent internal organisational factor that enhances the organisational capability to thrive under intense and complex market environment and achieve effective strategy unfolding outcomes. Evidence of empirical studies have been written on leadership (Azim, Fan, Uddin, Jilani, & Begum, 2019; Ibrahim & Daniel, 2019; Khattak, Zolin, & Muhammad, 2020; Mahmood, Uddin, & Fan, 2019; Weller, Sus, Evanschitzky, & Wangenheim, 2020; Yue, Men, & Ferguson, 2019; Zuraik & Kelly, 2018), and with a few focusing on the relevance of agile leadership (Akkaya & Tabak, 2020; Joiner, 2019). Also, scholarly works have addressed the relevance of strategy execution to the organisation (Adetayo, 2018; Agyapong, Zamore, & Mensah, 2019; Auka & Langat, 2016; Bhimavarapu et al., 2019; De Oliveira et al., 2019; George et al., 2019; Gumel, 2019; Korkmaz, 2020; Mailu, Ntale, & Ngui, 2018; Srivastava & Sushil, 2017; Yang, 2019; Zaidi, Zawawi, & Nordin, & Ahnuar, 2018). However, one missing issue from all these studies is how agile leadership enhances the interaction between strategy execution and performance? This creates another gap that necessitates the conduct of this study. Hence, the study raises the question can agile leadership moderate the interaction between strategy execution and firm profitability of selected Deposit Money Banks in Lagos State, Nigeria? II. L iterature R eview a) Theoretical basis for the Study The ADKAR model is considered a widely used goal-oriented change management approach that facilitates the organisational change from the individual perspective. The ADKAR model offers explanations of how successful change can be achieved by enhancing employees within an organisation (Shah, 2014). The central premise upon which the ADKAR theory is built is on the assumption that organisational change is a function of people-change (Adhikari, 2007). Organisations do not change; instead, the people within the organisation change. When successful change occurs, the individual change matches the stage of organisational change. The ADKAR theory has been a change management model that explains the interactions between strategy execution and performance. It presented the framework to guarantee successful change given that strategy execution is a management change activity. However, despite the support found in literature about the significance of the ADKAR model to enhance the organisational change process, which enhances organisational performance, the ADKAR model shares its limitation. Shah (2014) stressed that the model missed out on leadership and program management principles to create clarity and provide direction to change. Moreover, it emphasizes internal organisational factors and does not consider external variables that could disrupt the internal organisational change process. Businesses operate not in isolation but with a dynamic, complex, and far-reaching external environment. According to Teece (2014a), dynamic capability represents an “entity's ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address the fast-changing environment." Consequently, the Dynamic capability theory was considered to complement the ADKAR theory in explaining the process of achieving successful strategy execution in a dynamic environment. Overall, given how static the ADKAR theory is, the DCT provided complimentary support and theoretical explanation for the interaction between strategy execution and firm profitability. b) Strategy Execution and Firm Profitability It is imperative that banks consistently achieve significant year-on-year profit to be considered a profitable going concern. While several factors have been considered in the extant literature as enablers of firm profitability, this study considers strategy execution a plausible determinant. It is important to stress that literature on strategy execution or implementation is surprisingly scanty. What is alarming is that despite the attention given to the significance of strategic management in ensuring strategy formulated gets implemented, only a few empirical studies have considered the strategy execution with respect to factors responsible for its success and scanty empirical evidence of the effect of strategy execution on firm profitability let alone on firm profitable. Amongst the few that considered the above objective, Waititu (2016) established that commercial banks listed on Kenya's stock exchange that had significant investment in strategy execution success factors (leadership, structure-role fix, communication-system, & work- specific culture) achieved a substantial increase in profitability on year on year from 2011 to 2016. The Affinity to Execute Strategy could Drive Firm Profitability. Is this True? What Role Does Anagile Leader Play? 50 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue V Version I Year 2022 ( ) A © 2022 Global Journals