The relationships among emotional intelligence, leadership styles and performance of employees in enterprises in Ha Noi, Viet Nam

THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE,
LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES
IN ENTERPRISES IN HANOI, VIETNAM

___________________________

A DISSERTATION
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines
in Collaboration with
Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

___________________________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Business Administration

___________________________

By
NGUYEN THI THU HUONG (ALICE)
December 2013
i


APPROVAL SHEET

ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

iii


ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Edwin Bernal and sincerely grateful for
his infinite patience, direction, support, wisdom, and guidance throughout
the completion of this research.
Secondly, I would like to thank the following individuals for their
contributions and cooperation throughout the research:
• All the leaders and employees who took the time to complete
the questionnaires;
•

Dr Nguyen Thanh Hai and Trinh Thi Hieu, from the International

Training Center of Thai Nguyen University, for their help and assistance;
•

My colleagues in The University of Labor and Social Affair, for

their continuous encouragement and support, through the good and bad
times, and also for helping with the proofreading of the document.

NGUYEN THI THU HUONG (ALICE)

iv

DEDICATION

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, my
husband, my children, and all of my dear friends who instilled within me a
love of creative pursuits, science and language, all of which finds a place
in this the dissertation.

NGUYEN THI THU HUONG (ALICE)

v


TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………………..

i

APPROVAL SHEET ……………………………………………………….

ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ………………………………………..

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT …………………………………………………..

iv

DEDICATION ………………………………………………………………

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………..

vi

LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………….

viii

LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………...

ix

LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………...

x

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………

xi

CHAPTER
I

II

III

INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………

1

Background of the Study …………………………………..

3

Objectives of the Study …………………………………….

6

Statement of the Problem……………………………….….

6

Hypothesis of the Study ……………………………………

7

Significance of the Study …………………………………..

7

Scope and Limitations of the Study ………………………

9

Definition of Terms ………………………………………….

9

REVIEW OF LITERATURE ……………………………….

13

Conceptual Framework ………………………………….…

37

METHODOLOGY

39

Locale of the Study …………………………………………

39

Research Design ……………………………………………

39

Population, Sample and Sampling Designs ………..……

39

Research Instrument ……………………………………….

40

Data Gathering Procedure …………………………………

42

Statistical Treatment ………………………........…….……

43

vi


IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ………………………….

44

The Survey Respondents ………………………………….

44

Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee
Performance Leadership Styles …………………………..

46

Relationship Between Employee Performance Leaders’
Emotional Intelligence ………………………………………

Relationships among Emotional Intelligence, Leadership
Styles and Employee Performance ……………………….
Most Effective Leadership Style in Vietnamese
Companies …………………………………………………..

V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

51
55
56

58

RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of Findings ………………………………………

58

Conclusions …………………………………………………

60

Recommendations …………………………………………

60

REFERENCES ………………………...…………………………………..

62

APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………...

70

CURRICULUM VITAE …………………………………………………….

98

vii


LIST OF TABLES
TABLE

PAGE

1

Sample and Response Rates ……………………………….

45

2

The Distribution of the Participants in Terms of Gender ….

45

3

The Distribution of the Participants in Terms of Company ..

46

4

Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Leadership
Styles ……………………………………………………………

47

5

The Leadership Styles According to the Type of Company.

48

6

Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Employee
Performance ……………………………………………………

49

Mean Scores and Standard Deviations of Emotional
Intelligence ……………………………………………………..

52

Correlations Between Emotional Intelligence and
Employee Performance ……………………………………….

54

Summary of Hypothesis Testing Results …………………..

57

7

8

9

viii


LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE

PAGE

2.1

The Conceptual ………………………………………………….

37

4.1

The Pie Chart of Leadership Styles …………………………...

47

4.2

Box Plot of Emotional Intelligence Scores ……………………...

53

ix


LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX

PAGE

A

Leadership styles Questionnaire (Leader version) ……….

71

B

Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Leader version) ….

74

C

Leadership styles Questionnaire (Subordinate version) …

77

D

Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (Subordinate
version) ………………………………………………………..

80

E

Employee Performance Evaluation ………………………..

83

F

Emotional Intelligence Scoring Key ……………………….

86

G

Employee Performance Scoring Key ……………………...

87

H

Leadership Styles Scoring Key ……………………………

88

I

Reliability Analysis ( Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability
Coefficients) …………………………………………………..

89

J

Covariance Matrix ……………………………………………

95

K

The Results of Linear Regressions ………………………..

96

`

x


ABSTRACT
Title of Research

: THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EMOTIONAL

INTELLIGENCE, LEADERSHIP STYLES AND
PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES IN
ENTERPRISES IN HANOI, VIETNAM
Researcher

: NGUYEN THI THU HUONG ( ALICE )

Degree Conferred

: DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Name and Address
of Institution

: Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon,
Philippines and Thai Nguyen University, Socialist
Republic of Vietnam

Adviser

: Dr. Edwin Bernal

Year Written
: 2013
______________________________________________________________

This study aims to determine the effect of leadership styles and
emotional intelligence on employee performance. The subjects of this study
include 375 leaders and 730 subordinates in various enterprises in Hanoi,
Vietnam. The data gathering questionnaire has two parallel forms, one for the
leaders to rate themselves and another one in which subordinates rate
their own performance as well as the leadership style and the emotional
intelligence of their leaders. The leadership styles and emotional intelligence
were identified as the independent variables and the employees’ performance
as the dependent variable. Data obtained from each of the research
instruments were then statistically analyzed.
analysis

it

was

concluded

that

there

is

Through linear regression
a

significant relationship

between leadership styles and employee performance. However, only three
leadership styles – transactional leadership, transformational leadership and
charismatic leadership – were seen to have positive effects on the significant
subscales of employee performance. In contrast, a visionary leadership style
xi


has no significant effect on employees’ performance.

Simple correlation

analysis showed that there is a positive significant linear relationship between
emotional intelligence and employee performance. Moreover, these results
showed that a combination of the various leadership styles and emotional
intelligence of the leader proves more effective and enhances employee
performance. However, out of four leadership styles, the visionary leadership
combine leader’ emotional intelligence has negative effect on employee.
Finally, although emotional intelligence and leadership styles have
significant effects on employee performance, the emotional intelligencecharismatic leadership had affected performance more than others.
This research, therefore, adds a new dimension to employee
performance, leadership styles and emotional intelligence, since no study of
the same kind has been conducted in the recent past. As this research takes
place in the Vietnam context, the findings of this study are expected to
provide relevant reference to business enterprises in strategizing their human
resource management, in developing the appropriate leadership style and in
cultivating emotional intelligence.

xii


1

Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
In today’s global competitive market, human resource management
has been recognized to be playing a vital role in the productivity and efficiency
of an organization. This is true not only of business organizations but also of
institutions in the service sector, particularly those of health and education. As
more and more business organizations make their way toward progress, the
effectiveness of human resource development as a strategy for enhancing
productivity is increasingly accepted. This realization is reflected in the
increased efforts of many private and public organizations to improve
employees’ performance through programs designed to develop their skills,
capabilities and potentials. Moreover, to address problems that accompany
the increasing complexity of management and supervision, many wellestablished organizations have created separate human resource (HR)
departments. This HR section takes care of the organization’s hiring needs,
as well as the training and other physical and social needs of the staff
including the drafting of policies aimed at improving the efficiency of the
workers. The institutionalization of effective policies is also a primary concern
of HR managers.
The present concern of organizations for HR development emphasizes
the importance they attach to improving employees’ performance with the end
in view of maximizing productivity, efficiency and overall gain whether in terms
of monetary profit or services to consumers and users. To the extent further
that harmonious relationship in the workplace is widely accepted as essential
to quality output, the development of the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of

2

staff performance has become an integral component of the HR development
agenda of most institutions. It is also acknowledged that strengthening the
human relations aspect of organizational management involves all the actors
in the workplace: leaders and followers, superiors and subordinates, from the
top management to the lowest members of the organization.
The above premise is anchored on the contention that quality
employee performance is the foundation of any successful organization.
However, it is also recognized that there are other key factors that impact on
employee performance and contribute significantly to overall productivity. This
research posits that leadership style, and emotional intelligence both exert
influence on employee performance in varying degrees, leading to significant
changes in the productivity and efficiency of an organization. While these
three aspects may be assumed to contribute positively to the achievement of
organizational vision, mission and goals, it is the intention of this research to
conduct a deeper investigation of the magnitude of relationship that each of
the three factors of productivity bears on the other. The emerging findings in
this research are expected to guide organizations’ management on the
strength of contribution of each aspect and, thus, help it to identify what
specific features to focus on in developing human resources.

It is also

envisioned that the usefulness of this research would transcend its worth in
business organizations since it would be of greater value for government
organizations, particularly, in relation to a nation’s efforts toward economic
growth.

3

Background of the Study
This research focuses on enterprises operating in Hanoi, Vietnam. At
this point, it is important to consider that the form of leadership, emotional
intelligence and level of employees’ performance are factors of organizational
efficiency that are largely influenced by the cultural and social milieu where
the enterprise is located. This argument is supported by T. Quang & N.Y.
Vuong (2002) who described management style in an organization as
profoundly influenced by the social cultures in which it operates. This seems
to show that relationships in the workplace are extensions of the cultural
system existing in the outside community.
Many of the customs and practices of present day Vietnamese
enterprises may be explained by its deep cultural heritage that extends over a
period of 4000 years. Northern Vietnam, especially, is strongly influenced by
the Chinese culture owing to a 1000-year period of dominance by Chinese
feudal rulers in the region.
The Vietnamese people are by nature hospitable and hardworking.
However, Vietnam’s history and geographic location present evidence of the
fact that the Vietnamese people share many of the cultural and business
practices of their Chinese neighbors. In the words of Hofstede (1980), the
Vietnamese culture can be described as characterized by high power
distance, high collectivism, moderate uncertainty avoidance, and high context
(Swierczek, 1994; Quang, 1997; Ralston et al., 1999). High power distance
typical of daily life in Vietnam tends to be carried over to the business
workplace. As sons and daughters are expected to obey parents’ orders, so
also in organizations, a clear line of authority is observed in subordinate-

4

superior relationship. Titles, status, and formality are very important in the
Vietnamese society.
Collectivism has depicted the Vietnamese people for a very long time.
It is manifested in the existing tight social frameworks and self-functioning
communities. People expect ‘in groups’ to look after their members to protect
them, and provide them with security in return for their loyalty. Collectivism is
clearly manifested also in the Vietnamese people’s placing great value in
getting along well with others. To maintain harmonious relationship within the
community, much effort is exerted to avoid losing one’s face.
In the presence of conflicts, the Vietnamese would prefer to come out
with a win-win situation. This is demonstrated in the Vietnamese people’s
display of moderate uncertainty avoidance. They try to avoid ambiguous
situations by establishing more formal rules and rejecting deviant ideas and
behavior.

A distinctive feature of the Vietnamese society in avoiding

uncertainties is the use of indirect speech mainly for the intention of face
saving, a custom which may reflect the value placed on self-respect. For
what seems to be regarded as a negative trait, the use of indirect discourses
is somewhat compensated by their very good sense of humor, surfacing often
in every opportunity and conversation.
In terms of economy, Vietnam may be described as a nation in
transition and a country full of opportunities. It has a large, young, dynamic
and highly literate population with a great potential to be developed as
manpower sources to attain high levels of sustained economic growth
(Quang, 2006).

5

Before 1986, Vietnam was a command economy dominated by large
bureaucratic State-owned enterprises (SOEs), an inefficient agricultural base
and small family businesses.

In the years beginning 1986, Vietnam

introduced profound economic reforms that aimed to transform the country
from a command economy into a market oriented one -- the so-called Doi moi.
As a consequence, Vietnam substantially elevated its economy translated into
a higher living standard for the people. It experienced a relatively modest
economic growth rate of over 7% (GDP) during the 1990s and early 2000s,
even reaching more than 8% in 2006. This development made Vietnam one
of the highest growing economies in the world in that period (World Bank,
2006).
Despite the promising economic growth induced by economic reforms,
Vietnam’s economy has suffered some inadequacies.

The Global

Competitiveness Report (GCR) for 2011-2012 showed Vietnam in the 65th
position out of a total of 142 countries. The country dropped six spots from
the previous year, losing points in 10 of the 12 indicators considered by the
World Economic Forum (WEF).
For Vietnam to improve its ranking and become more competitive in
the global environment, experts assert the need to find out how Vietnamese
enterprises may be made to work more efficiently in order to raise their
productivity and, thus, contribute significantly to economic growth. Toward

this end, an examination of the factors exerting positive influence on the
productivity of enterprises in Vietnam is deemed in order.
addresses this concern.

This research


6

Objectives of the Study
The specific problems being investigated require the application of
reliable statistical methods that would prove the existence of significant
relationship among leadership style, emotional intelligence and employee
performance. Hence, the following objectives are presented:
1. To statistically test the existence and the significance of relationship
between leadership styles and employee performance;
2. To statistically test the existence and the significance of relationship
between

employee

performance

and

leaders’

emotional

intelligence;

3. To statistically test any existence and the significance of any
relationships among emotional intelligence, leadership styles and
employee performance.

Statement of the Problem
This research springs from a perceived need to find out what factors in
organizational management exert significant influence on the performance of
employees. More specifically, this study attempts to examine the relationship
among leadership, emotional intelligence and employee performance by
addressing the following questions:
1. Is there any relationship between leadership styles and employee
performance?
2. Is there any relationship between the employee performance and
the leaders’ emotional intelligence?


7

3. Is there any relationship among emotional intelligence, leadership
styles and employees’ performance?
4. Which leadership style is most effective in Vietnamese companies?

Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were statistically tested:
H1: There is a relationship between leadership styles and employees’
performance
H2: There is a relationship between employee performance and
emotional intelligence
H3: There is a relationship among emotional intelligence, leadership
styles and employees’ performance.

Significance of the Study
There
effectiveness

has

been

no

known

research

regarding

the

relative

of an emotionally intelligent transactional leader and an

emotionally intelligent transformational leader with respect to employee
performance

in

a Vietnam

organization. This study, therefore, aims to

investigate and explore the relationship among employee performance,
leadership and emotional intelligence in a Vietnam organization. The results
of this study will serve the information needs of the human resource
development programs of enterprises in Vietnam. Specific findings could
provide important inputs in developing guidelines for hiring and promotion,
performance evaluation, and drafting policy direction toward desired change


8

for better employee performance. This study could also provide important
inputs in developing training programs on human relations through which
managers; supervisors and subordinates can have first-hand knowledge of
what it takes to enhance their performance as leaders and followers. More
importantly, the outcome of this study would contribute to the improvement of
more complex government organizations in terms of effectiveness and
efficiency of service. More specifically, the study will be significant to the
following:
Vietnamese Leaders. This study offers empirical evidence to prove
the important role of leadership styles and emotional intelligence in the
workplace. This information will help Vietnamese leaders improve their
leadership skills, enhance leadership effectiveness in their work, and help
Vietnamese enterprises to build strong and solid grounds at developing
strategies to improve effective use of human resources in order to increase
competitiveness and productivity in business.
Employees in Vietnamese Enterprises.

The research output will

serve as an eye opener for hundreds of thousands employees in various
enterprises to be more observant of their managers’ and supervisors’
leadership styles and the level of emotional intelligence as a way of striking a
balance between superior – subordinate relationships in the workplace.
Human Resource Managers and Headhunters in Vietnamese
Enterprises. The knowledge on the various theories and concepts relative to
emotional intelligences and leadership styles and the findings of this study
shall serve as aids to managers of HR departments and the recruitment
officers in providing inputs to management on how to effectively manage


9

people, and in strategizing at finding the most suitable person for a particular
job.
Academic Institutions.

For the educators and the students, the

research output shall become a rich source of information and knowledge
about emotional intelligence, leadership styles and employee performance.
Future Researchers. For the researcher who would like to further
explore the vast opportunity for discovering more about emotional
intelligences, leadership styles and employee performance, and perhaps
duplicating the research in a particular industry and business sector, this
current research can become an important input for further studies.

Scope and Limitations of the Study
One of the main limitations of the study was the dearth of information

on emotional intelligence as there has been very little study in Vietnam
conducted on this area. The data generated by this research is limited to the
geographical area in Hanoi. Another shortfall of the sample is that there were
no established differences between males and females regarding overall
emotional intelligence.

Definition of Terms
For better understanding the following terms are conceptually and
operationally defined:

Emotional intelligence – as used in this study, emotional intelligence refers
to the qualities of a person that enable him to relate with others


10

harmoniously, both in the sociological and psychological sense, that
helps him to meet problems adequately within the workplace. It means
being aware of his own feelings and those of his co-workers or
subordinates, being able to motivate them, capable of managing his
own emotions and not letting them adversely influence his decisions
related to work. In this study, these qualities are gauged in terms of
specific behavioral and attitudinal manifestations, which are rated for
an individual along a seven-point Likert scale where 1 means “never
true” for this person and 7 means “always true” (see Appendix F for
the criteria used in the measurement).
Emotional Competency Profiler (ECP), as identified by Wolmarans, is a tool
used to measure emotional intelligence through seven (7) constituent
competencies: self-motivation; self-esteem; self-management; change
resilience; interpersonal relations; integration of “head and heart”; and

emotional literacy.
Leadership – In the context of this study, leadership would refer to an
individual’s capacity to lead, guide, and provide direction to subordinate
employees in the pursuit of a common goal for their organization. For
this research, the style or mode of leadership of an individual is
appraised in terms of a set of characteristics, behavior or attitude
measured along a seven-point Likert scale where 1 means “never true”
for this person and 7 means “always true” (see Appendix H for the
criteria used for measuring leadership).
Employee Performance – As used in this study, employee performance
involves a number of criteria used to measure how well an employee


11

carry out his task in the workplace. In this research, seven (7) aspects
of employee performance were used, to wit: quality, productivity, job
knowledge, reliability, initiative/creativity, teamwork, and customer.
The performance of an employee in terms of each of these criteria is
measured along a rating scale of 1-5 where 1 means “needs
improvement” and 5 means “exceptional” (see Appendix G for the
different indicators used to measure each performance aspect).
Transformational Leadership – Transformational leadership is used to
describe the type of leaders who improve followers’ accomplishments
and success by influencing their needs, values and attitudes for work.
Transformational leaders effect a change in their followers’ beliefs,
values and behavior to align them with those of the organization. The
transformational leaders may also motivate their followers towards
self-development and higher levels of personal success (see Appendix
H for the different criteria used in gauging the transformative style of a

leader).
Transactional Leadership – Essentially, transactional leadership refers to
motivating followers through a system of reward and punishment.
Toward achieving a routine performance goal, a transactional leader
lays down what is required to be done in exchange for a reward when
what is desired is done. Conversely, when the follower fails to do what
is required, punishment ensues. In concrete terms, the reward may be
in the form of bonuses or a raise, promotion, or recognition, while
punishment may include demotion or removal of some benefits
normally given to those with satisfactory performance (see Appendix H


12

for the different criteria used in gauging the transactional style of a
leadership).
Charismatic Leadership – Charismatic leadership generally describes
leaders who, through sheer charm and grace, persuade followers to
react and to do something to please or emulate them.

Drawing

followers toward a charismatic personality or his interest may not
necessarily mean pursuing common goals for the organization. This is
evident in some of the qualities of a magnetic leader as used in this
study such as instilling pride in others for being associated with him or
the display of a sense of power and confidence.

Other qualities

indicative of charismatic leadership may be found in the questionnaire
for leadership style (see appendix H).
Visionary Leadership: Visionary leadership refers to a leader who
optimistically perceives opportunities for success in the future as well
as the challenges likely to confront the achievement of goals. Such a
leader also envisions positive steps toward future growth. The visionary
leader also inspires his followers to pursue explicit actions for them to
make real contribution to the organization.

This description is

emphasized in this study in the following qualities:

display of

confidence that goals will be achieved; talking optimistically about the
future; articulating an optimistic view of the future.

These qualities

were used to appraise the visionary character of the leadership in this
study (see Appendix H).


13

Chapter II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This section presents an exhaustive review of relevant literature and
earlier studies supporting the need for the research and the investigation of

some factors perceived to be associated with employee performance. Thus,
this review includes three important aspects of management:

employee

performance, leadership style and emotional intelligence. An extensive
discussion of these research variables is presented for a better understanding
of their definitions, meanings, categorization, labeling, and, most importantly,
the theories related to each variable and the relationships among them.
Leadership
Bass (1990, in Bujang, 2012) posits that different leadership theories
try to establish the various factors at play in the emergence of leadership, the
nature of leadership, or the consequences of leadership. In the same way,
Bujang (2012) cites Barling, Fullagar

and Bluen (1983) observation that

these theories on leadership styles have been identified in relation to how
leadership is generally practiced.
Traditional Leadership Approach
Hairuk Hisam Bin Bujang (2012), citing Senior (1997), notes that three
traditional leadership approaches have been developed over time: the trait
approach, the behavioral approach, and the situational/contingency approach.
These approaches describe the various leadership dimensions and the
effects of such factors between leaders and followers (Senior, 1997, in
Bujang, 2012).