Impact of Leader-Member Relationship Quality on Job Satisfaction, Innovation and Operational Performance: A Case in Vietnam

This study examines the relation between the quality of leader-member relationship and operational performance of processing enterprises employees in Vietnam, while job satisfaction and innovation are as a mediator variable. In depth interviews are first conducted with five managers and professional workers in five processing enterprises to determine the latent variables and build the structured questionnaire with observed variables. A quantitative survey with 438 employees and managers from 300 processing enterprises was carried out. The method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Cronbach's alpha analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the reliability, the convergent nature, and the consistency of the concepts. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the proposed model. The result shows that job satisfaction, innovation and operational performance have positive effects on the quality of leader-member relationship. The relationship between leaders and members had indirect impact on employee's operational performance via their job satisfaction and innovation, which illustrates a mediator role of job satisfaction and innovation for employees' performance. The findings of this study suggest that managers need to focus on developing relationship with employees to improve their satisfaction, innovation and performance.