Idealized influence and the growth of intra-regional trade in the East African community

The study sought to investigate the influence of idealized influence of the Council of Ministers on the perceived growth of Intra-Regional Trade in the East African Community (EAC). The research question highligthed in this paper therefore is: To what extent does idealized influence of the Council Members influence the growth of Intra-Regional Trade in the EAC? The study adopted positivism research philosophy and explanatory sequential mixed design and was anchored on the transformational leadership theory. The target population comprised 205 Senior Trade Officers and Senior technical officers at the EAC headquarters. A sample size of 152 was drawn using random sampling technique. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire containing open and closed ended questions, while interview guide was used for the technical officers. Data collected was coded, cleaned and analysed using SPSS version 24 to obtaindescriptive and inferential statsitics. The results showed that ideаlizedinfluence significаntly predicted the growth of intra-regional trade in the EAC, R2= 0.162, F (1, 121) = 23.452, p < .05; β = .364, t (9.197) = 4.843, p < .05. The null hypothesis was rejected. The findings showed that increased idealized influence will have a positive effect on the growth of intraregional trade. The study concluded that to enhance the growth of intra-regional trade, the council should be aware that idealized influencebehavior enhances the growth of intra-regional trade. The study recommends further research on the moderating effect of national culture on the influence of idealized influence on the growth of intra-regional trade in the EAC.