The mediating effect of thought leadership on self-awareness, self-regulation, and job performance among managers of SMEs

In the ever-dynamic, ever-challenging and ever-demanding terrain, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constantly rely on creative, innovative and emotionally intelligent managers to lead their firms to stay ahead of the competition. The present study investigates the effect of self-awareness and self-regulation on the job performance of managers of SMEs. The study also examines the mediating role of thought leadership (THL) in the relationship between self-awareness and self-regulation on the job performance of managers of SMEs. Data was collected from 500 middle-level managers of SMEs. However, after screening the data, 453 were suitable for data analysis. The study used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data, which was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) and statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 27. The study’s sample size of 453 managers was selected through simple stratified sampling. The findings indicate that self-awareness and self-regulation are positively related to the job performance of managers of SMEs. THL mediates the relationship between self-awareness and self-regulation on job performance, with a stronger mediating effect on managers with higher levels of THL. These findings suggest that developing self-awareness, self-regulation and THL skills may lead to improved SME managers’ performance. The study concludes with implications for owner-managers and managers, limitations, and suggestions for future research.