The effects of authentic leadership on symmetrical internal communication and employee-organization relationships

Abstract

The definition of leadership and the role of effective leadership in organizations has been investigated by many scholars over the world. However, the perception of leadership in Viet Nam remains limited. Obviously, Vietnamese leaders have not identified the important role of applying an effective leadership style in enhancing organizational performance. Moreover, they have not had a sufficient perception of employee’s importance and focused on how to maintain a long-term relationship with their subordinates. Thus, a further research need to conduct to prove the crucial role of leadership in organizations and how the leadership style affects the company performance in terms of the quality of employee-organization relationships. The purpose of this current study is to examine empirically the impacts of authentic leadership on symmetrical internal communication and employeeorganization relationships. This research was conducted through a two-phase study, including the qualitative study and main quantitative research. After interviewing deeply with six participants, who come from different positions with various backgrounds in a wide range of aviation organizations to get their opinions about research problems and modification for scale items, a final single survey was achieved. Then, this survey was delivered to Vietnamese staffs from the aviation industry in Vietnam. The data were collected based on a sample size of 140 participants by the convenient sampling technique. Moreover, structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that authentic leadership positively affects EORs both directly and indirectly, through symmetrical internal communication. Also, the study provides theoretical and practical implications as well as suggested directions for future research.