The Impacts of Authentic Leadership on Employee's Work Engagement and Creativity in Vietnam: The Mediating Role of Psychological Contract and Organizational Justice

Introduction

In today's dynamic and competitive business environment, the quality of leadership has emerged as a critical factor influencing organizational success. As Vietnam continues to integrate into the global economy and undergoes rapid economic transformation, organizations face the challenge of engaging employees and fostering creativity in an increasingly complex marketplace. Authentic leadership, characterized by self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and an internalized moral perspective, has gained significant attention in leadership research as an approach that can positively impact employee attitudes and behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to examine how authentic leadership influences two important employee outcomes in the Vietnamese context: work engagement and creativity. Furthermore, it investigates the mediating roles of psychological contract and organizational justice in these relationships. Understanding these dynamics is particularly valuable for Vietnamese organizations as they navigate the transition from traditional management practices toward more contemporary leadership approaches while respecting local cultural values.

Authentic Leadership in the Vietnamese Context

The concept of authentic leadership was developed by Walumbwa et al. (2008) and comprises four key dimensions: self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and internalized moral perspective. Self-awareness refers to leaders' understanding of their own strengths, weaknesses, and impact on others. Relational transparency involves presenting one's genuine self to others by openly sharing thoughts and feelings appropriate to the situation. Balanced processing entails objectively analyzing all relevant data and views before making decisions. Finally, internalized moral perspective relates to leaders being guided by internal moral standards rather than external pressures.

In the Vietnamese context, where traditional hierarchical structures and power distance are relatively high, the implementation of authentic leadership presents both opportunities and challenges. Vietnamese cultural values influenced by Confucianism emphasize respect for authority and harmony in relationships, which may initially seem at odds with the transparency and participative decision-making aspects of authentic leadership. However, as Vietnam modernizes and younger employees enter the workforce, there is growing appreciation for leaders who demonstrate authenticity, ethical behavior, and concern for employee well-being.

Research suggests that Vietnamese employees particularly value leaders who demonstrate moral integrity while also showing genuine care for their subordinates. This aligns with the concept of authentic leadership, which emphasizes ethical behavior and creates trust-based relationships between leaders and followers. As Vietnamese organizations evolve from traditional command-and-control approaches toward more participative management styles, authentic leadership offers a framework that can respect cultural values while promoting organizational effectiveness.

Authentic Leadership and Employee Work Engagement

Work engagement, defined as a positive, fulfilling work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption, has been linked to numerous positive organizational outcomes. Vigor refers to high levels of energy and mental resilience while working; dedication involves being strongly involved in one's work and experiencing a sense of significance; absorption entails being fully concentrated and happily engrossed in one's work.

Several theoretical perspectives explain how authentic leadership promotes work engagement. Social exchange theory suggests that when leaders demonstrate authentic behaviors, employees feel valued and respected, leading them to reciprocate with higher levels of engagement. Authentic leaders create positive working relationships characterized by trust and mutual respect, which encourages employees to invest more of themselves in their work.

In the Vietnamese context, where employees traditionally expect paternalistic leadership, authentic leaders who show genuine concern for their employees' well-being create strong emotional bonds that enhance engagement. Research conducted in Vietnamese organizations indicates that employees who perceive their leaders as authentic report higher levels of work engagement, as they feel more connected to their organization and its purpose.

Authentic Leadership and Employee Creativity

Creativity, the generation of new and useful ideas concerning products, services, processes, and procedures, has become increasingly important in today's knowledge-driven economy. Authentic leadership can foster creativity in several ways. By creating an environment of psychological safety where employees feel comfortable taking risks and expressing unconventional ideas, authentic leaders encourage creative thinking.

The relational transparency dimension of authentic leadership encourages open communication and the sharing of diverse perspectives, which are essential ingredients for creativity. Furthermore, authentic leaders' balanced processing ensures that employees' ideas are given fair consideration, regardless of their source or status in the organization. This inclusive approach signals that creativity is valued throughout the organization.

In Vietnam, where cultural emphasis on conformity and respect for authority has sometimes suppressed creative expression, authentic leadership can help create the psychological safety necessary for creativity to flourish. As Vietnamese organizations move up the value chain and compete on innovation rather than just cost, fostering employee creativity becomes increasingly important. Authentic leaders who encourage independent thinking while maintaining respect for cultural values can effectively promote creative outcomes in Vietnamese settings.

The Mediating Role of Psychological Contract

The psychological contract refers to the unwritten expectations and obligations between employers and employees. Psychological contract fulfillment occurs when employees perceive that the organization has met its implicit obligations. This research proposes that psychological contract fulfillment mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and both work engagement and creativity.

Authentic leaders, by their transparent and ethical conduct, establish clear and trust-based relationships with employees. They tend to fulfill psychological contracts by acting with integrity, keeping promises, and treating employees fairly. When employees perceive that their psychological contracts are being fulfilled, they respond with greater engagement and are more willing to engage in creative activities that benefit the organization.

In Vietnam, where business relationships often carry personal and emotional significance, the psychological contract plays a particularly important role. Authentic leaders who honor these implicit obligations demonstrate respect for Vietnamese employees, creating a positive emotional climate that encourages both engagement and creativity. The collectivist orientation of Vietnamese culture means that when leaders demonstrate care for employees' well-being, employees feel a stronger obligation to reciprocate with discretionary effort and creative contributions.

The Mediating Role of Organizational Justice

Organizational justice encompasses employees' perceptions of fairness in the workplace and includes distributive justice (fairness of outcomes), procedural justice (fairness of processes), and interactional justice (fairness of interpersonal treatment). This research proposes that organizational justice mediates the relationships between authentic leadership and work engagement, as well as between authentic leadership and creativity.

Authentic leaders promote organizational justice through their balanced processing, which ensures fair consideration of different viewpoints, and through their internalized moral perspective, which guides ethical decision-making. These behaviors contribute to perceptions of fairness among employees, which in turn enhances their engagement and willingness to engage in creative behaviors.

In the Vietnamese context, where perceptions of injustice may lead to withdrawal or conflict rather than direct confrontation, leaders who establish fair processes and practices play a crucial role in maintaining positive employee attitudes. The high power distance in Vietnamese culture means that leaders have significant influence over perceptions of justice. Authentic leaders who demonstrate fairness in their decision-making create an environment where Vietnamese employees feel secure enough to fully engage in their work and contribute creative ideas without fear of unfair treatment or exploitation.

Implications for Practice in Vietnam

The findings of this study offer several important implications for organizations operating in Vietnam:

• Organizations should prioritize the development of authentic leadership capabilities among managers through training programs that focus on self-awareness, transparent communication, ethical decision-making, and balanced consideration of different perspectives.
• HR practices in Vietnam should emphasize the alignment between espoused organizational values and actual leadership behaviors to ensure authenticity in management practices.
• Organizations should address psychological contract explicitly through clear communication about mutual expectations, regular feedback mechanisms, and consistency between organizational promises and practices.
• Efforts to enhance organizational justice should focus on transparent decision-making processes, equitable treatment of employees, and respectful interpersonal interactions across all organizational levels.
• Cultural adaptation of authentic leadership principles should consider Vietnamese values of harmony and respect, finding approaches to leadership authenticity that resonate with local cultural norms.
• Multinational companies operating in Vietnam should be aware that authentic leadership practices effective in other cultural contexts may require adaptation to align with Vietnamese workplace expectations and cultural values.

Conclusion

This study contributes to understanding how authentic leadership influences important employee outcomes in the Vietnamese context. The findings demonstrate that authentic leadership positively affects both work engagement and creativity among Vietnamese employees, with psychological contract fulfillment and perceptions of organizational justice serving as important mediators in these relationships.

As Vietnam continues to develop its economy and integrate with global markets, organizations that cultivate authentic leadership will be better positioned to engage their workforce and foster the creativity necessary for competitive advantage. The mediating roles of psychological contract and organizational justice highlight how authentic leadership creates the relational and ethical foundations that enable employees to fully invest themselves in their work and contribute innovative ideas.

Future research should further explore how authentic leadership integrates with traditional Vietnamese leadership approaches and how contextual factors such as industry type, organizational size, and generational differences influence these relationships. Nonetheless, this study provides empirical support for the importance of authentic leadership in contemporary Vietnamese organizations and offers practical guidance for leaders seeking to enhance employee engagement and creativity in this dynamic cultural context.