Volume 18, No. 2, 2021
Leadership Styles in Vietnamese Small and Medium Enterprises
Tien Dat LE and Phong Tuan NHAM
Abstract
Leadership and leadership styles are considered as decisive factors to the success and failure of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The objectives of the paper are to identify benefits and drawbacks of applying three major leadership styles, namely autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire styles of Vietnamese SMEs leaders, who are working in various business fields. The qualitative approach was used to explore the perceptions of 51 Vietnamese SME managers, and the N-vivo software was useful in data analysis. The theoretical contribution, therefore, can be seen by the in-depth investigating on the leadership styles from the multi-dimensional viewpoints of SMEs leaders in the culture context of one Asian emerging nation such as Vietnam. The paper is also expected to be useful for SME managers to better understanding leadership styles, in order to adjust and perfect their leadership behaviors for more effective managerial and organizational performance.
Pages: 317-346
DOI: 10.14704/WEB/V18I2/WEB18324
Keywords: Leadership Styles, Autocratic Leadership Style, Democratic Leadership Style, Laissez-faire Leadership Styles, SMEs, Vietnam.