The Impact of Leadership Capability, Job Stress and Work-Life Balance on Job Satisfaction in Vietnamese Logistics Industry: An Analysis Based on the Second-Order Constructs

Abstract

Logistics industry is being an important industry in Vietnam with the contribution from 8-10% of GDP recently. This industry employs about 15 millions people. Increasing the employees' job satisfaction is become one of the most concerns of managers in logistics companies to strengthen the employee engagement and improve their business performance. The aim of this study is to investigate how employees' perceptions of job satisfaction are influenced by factors such as job stress, leadership capability, work-life balance, and demographics. 426 workers in the logistics sector in Vietnam were surveyed online. The acquired data was analyzed using a structural equation model. In total 16 hypotheses were established, 13 of which were deemed to be significant. The results demonstrate how the literature-informed second-order constructs can potentially explain the overall job stress, leadership capability, and work-life balance of employees in the Vietnamese logistics industry. These variables account for 54.8% of job satisfaction. This study makes a theoretical contribution to the extant literature by showing how researching second-order constructs can improve the theory's capacity to predict employees' job satisfaction. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for the management of logistics firms in Vietnam.

1. Introduction

Internal perception and the emotional states that a person brings to their work environment are integral aspects of job satisfaction (Atefi et al., 2015; Hayes et al., 2015; Spector, 1997). According to Spector (1997), job satisfaction is “how people feel about their employment and other aspects of their jobs”. It is well known that job satisfaction is directly correlated with labor productivity and value generation (Harter et al., 2002; Hoboubi et al., 2017; Rahaman & Uddin, 2022; Spector, 1997). The fact that there is evidence of a causal link between contentment and productivity may provide insight into why businesses seek to increase employee productivity in a variety of ways, including by increasing employee job satisfaction.

Numerous management studies claim that both intrinsic (such as personality and emotions) and extrinsic (such as communication and working circumstances) variables influence an employee’s job satisfaction (Aruldoss, 2021; Castillo & Cano, 2004; Chun et al., 2016; De Cremer, 2003; Kiarie et al., 2017; Marta et al., 2021). This complex relationship between variables can make it quite challenging to influence job satisfaction. In today’s dynamic, ever-changing climate, firms must prioritize employee satisfaction if they hope to grow their businesses. Further studies are required in this area, particularly in the logistics service sector where there is well-known pressure from international rivals.

Prior research has examined the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction (Hoboubi et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2021), employee satisfaction and organizational performance (Meneghel et al., 2016; Rachmawati et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2021), leadership personality and job satisfaction (Kiarie et al., 2017), work-life balance and job satisfaction (Aruldoss et al., 2021; Malik & Allam, 2021; Wolor et al., 2020). Additionally, previous studies have attempted to develop frameworks that provide insights into the variables that impact employee happiness in the healthcare, education, public administration, and tourist industries. Sila and Irok (2018) claimed that one area often ignored in studies on employee satisfaction is the field of logistics service business. Given that the logistics sector experts may encounter even bigger obstacles that have an impact on their job satisfaction than employees in alternative industries, this gap needs to be closed (Sendall et al., 2016; De Croon et al., 2002). As a result, more research on the significance of these elements in the logistics business is required (Sila & Širok, 2018). Additionally, utilizing the same frameworks that have been successfully applied within other sectors, employees’ job satisfaction in the logistics sector may be examined from a holistic viewpoint covering job stress, leadership capacity, and work-life balance. For these reasons, this study aims to extend the existing body of literature on job satisfaction, which, according to the author, applies many of its key results to the logistics sector.

Recent research studies have shown that job satisfaction promotes the growth of innovative skills and improves business performance (Liaudanskienė et al., 2010). These satisfaction analysis techniques have also been discussed in the literature on quality management in logistics and transportation (Sila & Sirok, 2018). The goal of the author of the current study is to apply a cognitive theory approach to develop an explanatory model that can provide meaningful insights into the variables that influence employee satisfaction with the underlying objective of putting forward recommendations as to how transportation and logistics service companies can enhance employee satisfaction (Sila & Širok, 2018).

The goal of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between leadership abilities, work-life balance, personnel characteristics, and job satisfaction in Vietnam’s logistics industry. This was accomplished by using a structural equation model (SEM) to evaluate various assumptions about these correlations.

2. Research Model, Hypotheses, and Measurement Instrument

2.1. Research Model and Hypotheses

According to Hoboubi et al. (2017), job satisfaction plays a fundamental role in business development, especially when combined with organizational innovations and dynamic capabilities. Wood et al. (2020) and Katili et al. (2021) found that both work-life balance and leadership have a strong impact on employee job engagement, job satisfaction, and job performance. These findings are aligned with the outcomes of prior studies that have found that job stress, leadership, and work-life balance are directly correlated with job satisfaction (Hoboubi et al., 2017; Kiarie et al., 2017; Aruldoss et al., 2021).

Following a comprehensive literature review, the author of the current study developed a research model to investigate the relationship between job stress, work-life balance, leadership capability, and job satisfaction in the Vietnamese logistics industry (see Figure 1). The current study tested 16 different hypotheses, of which 7 were structural (hypotheses 1–7) and 9 were measurement-based (hypotheses 8–16). The research model was based on the premise that job satisfaction can be calculated primarily in accordance with an individual’s perception of the working environment and personal characteristics. The first four hypotheses were based on this assumption:

Figure 1: Model and Hypotheses

H1: Employees’ overall job stress influences their job satisfaction.

H2: Employees’ perception of their superiors’ leadership capability influences their job satisfaction.

H3: Employees’ level of work-life balance influences their job satisfaction.

H4: Employees’ personal characteristics influence their job satisfaction.

This study incorporates further hypotheses related to how the roles of employees’ leaders and work-life balance can shape the overall job stress of individuals and subsequently influence their job satisfaction (Greenhaus & Allen, 2011; Hadadian & Zarei, 2016; Lovelace et al., 2007). These hypotheses were as follows:

H5: Leadership capability influences employees’ job stress.

H6: Work-life balance and stress levels influence employees’ job stress.

H7: Employees’ characteristics influence their job stress.

This research model incorporates two additional hypotheses related to causal relationships:

H8: Employees’ overall job stress is a combination of job stress (work-related stress) and

H9: pressure from colleagues (colleague-related stress). Each variable directly and positively influences their overall job stress toward reducing job satisfaction (overall job stress toward job satisfaction).

Leadership capability has traditionally been considered to be multi-dimensional (Borman et al., 2001; Daft, 2005; Detert & Burris, 2007; Dubrin, 2004; Grant et al., 2011). Therefore, within the current study, leadership capability was treated as a second-order variable, decomposed into leader extraversion, leader agreeableness, leader conscientiousness, leader emotional stability, and leader openness to new experiences. The hypotheses related to these variables were as follows:

H10: Employee job satisfaction is positively determined by the degree to which they perceive leader extraversion.

H11: Employee job satisfaction is positively determined by the degree to which they perceive leader agreeableness.

H12: Employee job satisfaction is positively determined by the degree to which they perceive leader conscientiousness.

H13: Employee job satisfaction is positively determined by the degree to which they perceive a leader’s emotional stability.

H14: Employee job satisfaction is positively determined by the degree to which they perceive a leader’s openness to new experiences.

Work-life balance has also considered a multi-dimensional construct (Aruldoss et al., 2021; Gounder & Govinder, 2018; Johari et al., 2018). Work-life balance was also treated as a second-order variable in this study. The author posited that the employees’ levels of job satisfaction are positively determined by their perceptions of work-family (hypothesis 15), and work-personal development (hypothesis 16).

2.2. Measurement Instrument

The study employed the concept of job satisfaction presented by Hoboubi et al. (2017) as representing “an overall feeling about the job or as a related constellation of attitudes about various aspects of the job”.

Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction was measured using eleven items adapted from the Job Descriptive Index developed by Smith et al. (1996). A sample item is as follows: “I have an opportunity to talk about my work to others in the company.”

Overall job stress: In the current study, overall job stress was treated as a second-order variable that decomposed into work-related stress and colleague-related stress. Work-related and colleague-related stress was measured using eight items adapted from the NIOSH Generic Job Stress Questionnaire (GJSQ). A sample item is as follows “I feel stressed about the amount of work I am required to complete.” Colleague-related stress was measured using three items. A sample item is as follows: “I feel stressed about my relationship with my supervisor.”

Leadership capability: This study decomposed leadership capability as a second-order variable into five constructs: leader extraversion, leader agreeableness, leader conscientiousness, leader emotional stability, and leader openness. The constructs of leadership capability were adapted from The Handbook of Leadership (Bass, 1990). Leader extraversion was measured using five items. A sample item is as follows: “Leaders speak as the representative of the group”. Leader agreeableness was measured using eight items; a sample item is as follows: “Leaders allow team members freedom to decide on their work.” Leader conscientiousness was measured using five items; a sample item is as follows: “Leaders plan and coordinate for effective teamwork.” Leader emotional stability was measured using four items; a sample item is as follows “When decisions have been made, the leader patiently waits until there are results”. Finally, leader openness was measured by five items; a sample item is as follows: “When solving problems, the leaders allow team members to make their own decisions based on their experiences.”

Work-life balance: In this research model, work-life balance was a second-order variable, and the author posited that work-life balance is positively determined by the work-family balance and work-personal development. In this research, the measurement of work-family balance and work-personal development was adapted from previous work by Carlson et al. (2006). Work-family balance was measured using six items; for example, “I have enough time for myself and my family”. Work-personal development was measured by four items; for example, “I am pursuing a job that interests me.”

In addition to the above four main constructs, the study had five control variables: age, gender, marital status, education, and job experience.

3. Research Methods

To achieve the research objectives, this study adopted a quantitative research design that was based on a questionnaire survey. The participants were asked to respond to each item on the survey using a five-point Likert-type scale that ranged from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. SEM was subsequently employed to verify the data’s reliability and validity and to test the hypotheses.

The empirical research to support this study was performed in 2021 in Vietnam, where logistics employs around 14.8 million people and accounts for 8–10% of the GDP (MOIT, 2020). An online survey was distributed to the target population for this study, which consisted of 97 enterprises. Overall, 21% of the enterprises’ approaches had 10 to 49 employees, and 28% had 50 to 199 employees. Data were collected by email over one month. Weekly reminders were issued to the participating enterprises. Of the 426 questionnaires returned, 393 were identified as valid. The respondents were predominantly male (90.8%). Most of the respondents were aged below 40 years old, representing 58% of the entire sample. The majority of respondents—87 percent—were married. The education level of respondents with a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree represented 12.2 percent and 80.9 percent of the sample, respectively. Most respondents had at least six years of work experience, with 22.9 percent having six to ten years of experience, 51.1 percent having eleven to fifteen years, and 21.4 percent having more than fifteen years.

4. Results

The data interpretation process involved two basic steps. First, the author performed descriptive analyses (see Table 1), after which the dispersion measures for each scale item were examined. Then they examined the tendency and dispersion measures for each scale item. According to the data presented in Table 1, the median and mean values for the variables were generally a little below the midpoint of the range for each response. The distributions were fairly symmetrical, as seen by the lack of any notable deviations between the means and medians. The range of standard deviation values was 0.852 to 2.962. The data’s variability with respect to the mean value was typically between 1 and 1.5. The fifth item of the leader conscientiousness scale, or the Kurtosis variable, ranged from −1.207 to 5.855 (the fifth item of leader extraversion). Together with two other instances, this highest positive value exceeds the threshold set to take into account univariate normalcy (2 in an absolute value). Given that the remaining 53 items fell inside the intended range, this variation was not noteworthy. The twelfth component of job satisfaction exhibited a skewness between −1.359 and 53.125 (second item of leader openness). Out of the 56 items that were studied, 50 showed negative asymmetry or a propensity for the mean and median values to be significantly below the measurement range.

Table 1: Scale Items’ Central Tendency and Dispersion Measures

Following the descriptive analyses, the author performed a confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) to determine the measurement model and assess its accuracy, dependability, and convergent and discriminant validity. The author subsequently employed structural equation modeling (SEM), which included an investigation of the structural model’s goodness of fit and the validity of its nomenclature (Field, 2009). The findings of the analysis are discussed in more depth in the following sections.

4.1. Measurement Model

The standardized factorial loads and composite reliability and average variance retrieved were used to examine the reliability and convergent validities. As can be observed in Table 2, all factorial loads exceeded the required threshold of 0.5, the composite reliability values exceeded 0.7 and the average extracted variance exceeded 0.5. The measuring model, therefore, achieved an appropriate level of reliability and convergent validity.

Table 2: Reliability and Convergent Validity

CR: Composite Reliability; AVE: Average Variance Extracted.

4.2. Structural Model

An analysis of the goodness of fit of the proposed model (see Table 3) revealed that all the variables about the absolute, incremental, and frugal modifications complied with the required parameters. Despite the GFI and AGFI parameters falling short of the 0.9 cutoffs, other writers claim that both metrics are still useful if the score exceeds 0.8 (Subhash 1996; Doll, Xia, & Torkzadeh 1994). The structural model showed good goodness of fit.

Table 3: Structural Model^a

Table 4 displays the nomological validity of the original 16 hypotheses, with 13 of them being supported. The third claim, that employees’ perceptions of work-life balance directly and favorably affected their job satisfaction, was not supported by the data. Factorial loads were shown to be insignificant for hypotheses 12 and 14, which were not supported.

Table 4: Hypotheses Testing Results

Significant levels: ***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, * p < 0.1.

Figure 2 shows the factorial loads of the various relations, their level of statistical significance, and the acceptance or rejection of the related hypotheses. The data contained within this figure is useful for better comprehending the structural model. The unimportant paths are depicted by the red dotted lines. The first hypothesis was confirmed when it was discovered that overall job stress has a detrimental impact on employees’ job satisfaction. Leadership skills have a beneficial impact on job satisfaction, supporting Hypothesis 2. Employees’ job satisfaction was not strongly correlated with work-life balance. The third hypothesis was unsupported. Individual factors, including age, gender, marital status, education level, and work experience, were significantly correlated with job satisfaction. As a result, both Hypotheses 4 and 7 were confirmed. Additionally, leadership potential had detrimental consequences on overall job stress; hence, Hypothesis 5 was supported. Additionally, there was a significant impact of work-life balance on employees’ job satisfaction, which lends credence to Hypothesis 6.

Figure 2: Support or Rejection of the Model’s Hypotheses

The endogenous latent variables’ variance is tested. Job satisfaction’s explained variance was 54.8 percent, which is close to the number suggested for the second-order components. Due to the effects of the constructs of leader extraversion, leader agreeableness, leader emotional stability, and leader openness, leadership capacity showed an explained variation of 86.5 percent. With a range of 46.9 percent, work-related stress and colleague stress account for a significant amount of the variation in individuals’ overall job stress. Work-Family and Work-Personal Development explained Work-Life Balance with a 35.4 percent variance.

5. Discussion and Conclusion

The relationship between leader competency, general job stress, work-life balance, and job satisfaction in the Vietnamese logistics industry was examined in this study via an SEM.

The findings revealed that the model represented a valid approach for generating insights that could better inform understanding of the components underlying leadership, total workplace stress, and work-life balance. According to the model’s findings, job satisfaction and overall job stress are negatively correlated, while leadership ability and job satisfaction are positively correlated in the Vietnamese logistics sector. These findings are consistent with other research on job satisfaction and stress (Hoboubi et al., 2017; Katili et al., 2021; Sendall et al., 2016; De Croon et al., 2002). However, the findings indicate that there is no correlation between job satisfaction and work-life balance in the Vietnamese logistics sector. In the logistics sector in Vietnam, work satisfaction varies by gender, age, marital status, and level of education. Job experience has no bearing on overall job stress in this context.

Findings also indicate that in the Vietnamese logistics business, work-life balance and overall job stress are negatively correlated, as are leadership capacity and job stress. Similar to how job satisfaction varies by gender, age, marital status, and education level, as does general job stress in the logistics sector. In Vietnam’s logistics industry, job experience has no bearing on overall job stress.

According to this study, work-life balance, general workplace stress, and leadership skills are second-order variables. Three constructs—leader extraversion, leader agreeableness, and leader emotional stability—were used to assess leadership abilities.

The findings of the current study were consistent with the results of research performed by Borman et al. (2001), Daft (2005), Detert and Burris (2007), Dubrin (2004), and Grant et al. (2011). However, the current study found that leader agreeableness was the most important construct of the logistics industry in Vietnam (β = 0.735), followed by leader emotional stability (β = 0.354), and then leader extraversion (β = 0.14).

Overall job stress was measured by two constructs: work-related stress and colleague-related stress and colleague-related stress. The findings of the current study were comparable to those of Hoboubi et al. (2017), Kiarie et al. (2017), and Aruldoss et al. (2021). Colleague-related stress was found to be a negative construct on overall job stress in the logistics industry in Vietnam (β = –0.315), and work-related stress was a positive construct on the overall job stress (β = 0.198).

Work-life balance was measured by two constructs: work-family and work-personal development. The findings of the current study were comparable to the outcomes of research performed by Aruldoss et al. (2021), Gou`nder and Govender (2018), and Johari et al. (2018). The work-family construct (β = 0.65) was found to be more important than work-personal development (β = 0.384) in terms of the work-life balance variable.

In conclusion, this study’s theoretical contribution comes from its use of second-order constructs to establish a connection between leader competency, total job stress, work-life balance, and job satisfaction in the Vietnamese logistics sector. Findings showed the importance of further dissecting the constructs of total job stress, work-life balance, and leader competency to boost the model’s potential to predict employees’ job satisfaction. Since concepts like leader capability, overall job stress, and work-life balance are typically treated as unidimensional, we contribute to the literature by demonstrating the advantages of drawing from various works to decompose these concepts into a series of variables that work together to improve the explanatory power of the model and, as a result, help us better understand the variables that contribute to overall job satisfaction.

Based on these findings, this study makes the following suggestions for the management of logistics firms in Vietnam:

Logistics firms in Vietnam should decrease employee stress at work and allocate the correct jobs to the right people so that workers can complete tasks that are appropriate for their skills and competencies to boost job satisfaction. These businesses should create a welcoming workplace culture and narrow the leadership-employee divide so that relations between coworkers and managers, and employees are enhanced and cordial. There should be diverse methods to improve the job satisfaction of male and female employees, young and elder employees, married and unmarried employees, etc., because overall job satisfaction varies by gender, age, marital status, and educational level in the logistics industry.

To reduce total job stress for employees within logistics organizations, firms should focus on improving the team leader’s leadership competencies. The decision-making process should be delegated to the team leaders, who should also be empowered to make creative decisions and solve challenges. Companies should provide team leaders with training to help them become better leaders as needed. To help employees balance work and personal growth and minimize overall stress, it is advised that Vietnamese logistics businesses establish a professional career development program and proper staffing policy. These businesses should also have procedures in place for staffing and job assignment, as well as ensure staff members have access to the professional equipment, materials, and technology they need to meet job requirements. This will help to ensure personnel can have ample time for their families and themselves. Different approaches should be taken to reduce overall workplace stress among male and female employees, young and old, married and single, and employees with varying levels of education.