Transactional leadership and workplace bullying among employees in Vietnam

Abstract

Workplace bullying is negative behavior and has increasingly serious consequences. The cause of this problem is found in the characteristics of the working environment, including leadership style. Transactional leadership is a popular leadership style in Vietnam, but there have not been many studies analyzing in detail the influence of each dimension on workplace bullying. Mixed methods, including qualitative and quantitative research methods, are implemented to accomplish the above purpose. Qualitative research was carried out with group discussion and expert interview stages. After that, quantitative research, with two phases, a pilot test and a formal study, was conducted. After conducting a group discussion with 10 members, an expert interview was conducted with 06 experts who are doctors of business administration. The scale is commented on, supplemented, and revised during this period. After the pilot test with a sample of 207 respondents, the research scale was tested for reliability and adjusted, then used for the formal research. The research’s sample includes 1,206 responses from employees of enterprises in Vietnam. Collected data are processed and analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS software. All three components of manager transactional leadership, including Contingent Reward (CR), active management by exception (MEA), and passive management by exception (MEP), were found to have a negative impact on employees’ workplace bullying. Although there have been many previous studies on workplace bullying and transactional leadership styles, there has not been any research analyzing the detailed influence of each component of this leadership style, especially in Vietnam. Therefore, the study results are a contribution to the theoretical basis of workplace bullying. From this result, this study suggests managerial implications to limit employee workplace bullying.