This study aims to investigate the impact of leadership style on organizational
commitment in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, thereby
proposing some implications to enhance the engagement between employees and SMEs.
This study adopted the Multiple Leadership Styles scales and Organizational
Commitment Questionnaire to develop a survey questionnaire in the context of Can Tho -
Vietnamese SMEs. Primary data was then collected by distributing 300 questionnaires to
employees, who are working at SMEs in Can Tho - Vietnam. There were 217 valid
questionnaires that were eligible for further analysis including Cronbach's alpha
reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and multivariate regression analysis. Our
estimated results indicated that transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant
leadership styles had a significant relationship with organizational commitment.
Specifically, transformational and transactional leadership style has a positive impact on
organizational commitment, which is denoted by loyalty, effort, and pride of employees.
Meanwhile, passive/avoidant leadership style has both a negative impact and a positive
impact on employee commitment. This is a new contribution found from the study that
leadership style has a considerable impact on organizational commitment