Transformational, Transactional, Laissez-faire Leadership Styles and Employee Engagement: Evidence From Vietnam’s Public Sector

Abstract

Leadership style is considered one of the critical factors in employee engagement with the leader, the organization, and the organization’s success. So far, there have been studies on the relationship between leadership style and employee engagement. However, there has been no research on the relationship between leadership style and the engagement of civil servants in Vietnam’s provincial public sector, which is a gap that needs to be researched. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between three leadership styles, namely transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership concerning engagement to work and performance of public sector employees, and at the same time determines the relationship of leadership styles with demographic variables and with employee engagement in the Vietnamese public sector. The study data were collected from a convenient sample of leaders from the departmental level to the board of directors, and the survey sample was also collected from employees in state agencies who were feedback by answering questionnaires at a time. A total of 325 people, who are leaders and civil servants in the provincial public sector in Vietnam, responded. SPSS statistical software version 26.0 was used to process the data obtained through surveying the opinions of respondents in the leadership style questionnaire and the employee participation questionnaire. The results of the analysis show that leadership styles are closely related to employee engagement. The study also discovered that the level of an employee’s engagement to work depends largely on leadership style. Recommendations are made when a leader practices the right leadership style to increase employee engagement and vice versa.

Effect of transactional and transformational leadership on talent engagement: Mediating role of talent development

“…A leader's attitude contributes to developing talents that enhance productivity (Ananthan et al., 2019). Transactional leaders improve productivity by developing their followers’ skills, knowledge, and caliber (Parker & Wu, 2014; Thanh & Quang, 2022). Transactional leadership, directly and indirectly, influences the knowledge management process and enhances the knowledge level of talents (Birasnav, 2014).…”

“…Additionally, Höglund (2012) stated that there is still a significant lack of empirical research in the field of TM, specifically focusing on the association of leadership style with TM strategies. Prior studies focused on the relationship between leadership style and talent retention (Barkhuizen & Masale, 2022; Nwokocha & Iheriohanma, 2015; Wakabi, 2016), talent engagement (Ghadi et al., 2013; Popli & Rizvi, 2016; Raja, 2012; Thanh & Quang, 2022), talent development (Debebe, 2017) but none of them covered two of the major strategies of TM together. Furthermore, no significant research was conducted to analyze leadership's role in TM strategies (Zhang et al., 2015).…”

The relationship between effective personality and occupational health of lecturers: An empirical assessment in vietnam

“…Workers with effective personalities tend to face challenges more actively and look at situations more calmly and flexibly thanks to their good learning ability. As a result, they will solve the problems more effectively [ [37] , [38] , [39] ].…”

Evidências De Estilo De Liderança E O Isomorfismo: Uma Análise Em Entidades Públicas

“…A compreensão do comportamento humano na execução do trabalho do líder (Downton, 1973;Burns, 1978;DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;DiMaggio & Powell, 1991) e a forma com que a execução do trabalho influencia no desenvolvimento da organização (Hooijberg & Choi, 2001;Frumkin, 2004;Anbazhagan & Kotur, 2014;Giao & Hùng, 2018;Thanh & Quang, 2022) é de grande valia para compreender a relação entre liderança e isomorfismo nas instituições públicas.…”

“…Estudos anteriores buscaram avançar no entendimento das características e habilidades de um líder e sua relação com o trabalho desenvolvido pelo mesmo (Downton, 1973;Burns, 1978;DiMaggio & Powell, 1983;DiMaggio & Powell, 1991), na maneira com que as atitudes do líder influenciam no desenvolvimento dos orgãos públicos (Hooijberg & Choi, 2001;Frumkin, 2004;Anbazhagan & Kotur, 2014;Giao & Hùng, 2018;Thanh & Quang, 2022) e na relação que os estilos de liderança possuem com o isomorfismo institucional (Dimaggio & Powell, 1991;Beuren, Nascimento & Fachini (2010). Desta maneira, esta pesquisa objetiva compreender se o modelo de liderança transacional, transformacional e laissez-faire utilizado pelos líderes possui relação positiva com o isomorfismo coercitivo, mimético e normativo nas entidades públicas do estado de Santa Catarina.…”