Authentic Leadership as sucess factor - Impact on Organizational Culture and Employee Engagement in Fast Growth Ventures
2019 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The study examines the relation that authentic leadership, which is defined as “a process that draws from both positive psychological capacities and a highly developed organizational context, which results in both greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behaviors on the part of leaders and associates, fostering positive self-development” (Luthans & Avolio, 2003 p.243), effectuates on employee engagement and organizational culture. A cross-sectional correlation study has been performed and data was gathered through a structured questionnaire performed by 105 male and female employees of some of the fastest growing ventures located in Europe.
The questionnaire was carried-out by employees of the organizations to better understand their experience in the workplace. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and ordinary least squares regression. The results showed that from the four characteristics an authentic leader possesses; self-awareness, moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency, all of them, can contribute to the physical and emotional engagement of employees in the workplace. Also, the results showed, that having meaningful core values improves employees’ work engagement and the success of the organization. Additionally, the impact of authentic leadership behaviour towards the perception of organizational culture and levels of employee engagement are said to be the highest in younger and smaller fast growth ventures.Based on the theoretical framework, the hypotheses were generated to answer the research question. Consequently, these findings present empirical evidence on the relationship between leaders, employees and the organization in the context of fast growth ventures. Furthermore, the results of this study add new understanding to the existing literature in line with the effects of authentic leadership characteristics on employee engagement and organizational culture. The findings of the study can be used as a guidance for leaders, portraying authentic leadership behavior, on how to increase employee engagement in a trusted workplace by creating a meaningful organizational culture.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2019.
Keywords [en]
Authenticity, Authentic Leadership, Organizational Culture, Employee Engagement, Fast Growth Ventures
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-39790OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-39790DiVA, id: diva2:1325662
Educational program
Master's Programme in Strategic Entrepreneurship for International Growth, 120 credits
Examiners
2019-06-202019-06-172019-06-20Bibliographically approved