Leadership in Vietnamese state owned enterprises (SOEs) : exploring multi-stakeholder perceptions - a qualitative study

The uncertainty of today’s managerial environment has instigated much leadership research, and prompted conjecture about the complexities of the leadership process (Kouzes & Posneer, 1987; Bryman et al., 2011; Northouse, 2013). Many major qualitative studies of leadership have been located in Western countries, and in individualistic cultures (see, Lord & Maher, 1993; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001; Yan & Hunt, 2005; Mehra et al., 2006; Foti, Knee Jr, & Backert, 2008; Wallis, Yammarino & Feyerherm, 2011), and the effects of stakeholders’ perceptions of leadership have been noted as being important. Knowing what shapes followers’ perception of leadership can assist organizations in improving feedback to leaders and support leaders’ self-evaluations, so they might lead more effectively (Yan & Hunt, 2005; Schyns, Kroon, & Moors, 2008). Others consider that the role of followers has been depicted in a limited and passive way (Klein & House, 1995; Den Hartog et al., 1999; Ehrhart & Klein, 2001). The leadership literature requires further development, including the need to examine the shifting, and still predominantly collectivist and socialist, Vietnamese business context.