Abstract
Orientation: The world of work has become unstable and precarious, thereby accentuating the need to maintain dynamic capabilities such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring to adapt and thrive. Associated challenges potentially threaten the well-functioning of organisations and their employees. This problem might be alleviated by encouraging the leaders to be more authentic, resulting in various positive outcomes. Research purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the associations authentic leadership (AL) have with trust in organisation (TO), trust in colleagues (TC) and dynamic organisational capabilities (DC) such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring as these manifest within a context of extreme volatility. Motivation for the study: Having a high level of DC might contribute to the feasibility of successful organisations in the struggling manufacturing industry, as it could enhance their sustainability and competitiveness. Research approach/design and method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used. The Authentic Leadership Inventory, Workplace Trust Survey and Dynamic Capabilities questionnaire were administered. Main findings: AL positively associates with TO, TC and DC. The direct effect of AL on DC was further enhanced through both TO and TC as underlying mechanisms. Practical/managerial implications: Manufacturing industry organisations should promote an AL style as it will contribute to higher levels of TO, TC and eventually improved DC. Contribution/value-add: Our study highlights the association of AL with DC as an important outcome. Insight into the underlying mechanisms by which AL achieves effect is advanced through trust, simultaneously targeting interpersonal as well as organisational levels as foci.
Highlights
OrientationThe world of work, as we know it, has transformed dramatically during the last decade and is characterised by continuous renewal and change (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2016). Henryhand (2009) maintained that organisations find it increasingly difficult to remain competitive as new economic and business challenges continue to emerge
There is no single statistical test that could comprehensively test for common method variance (CMV) (Spector, 2006, 2019), we, employed Harman’s Single-Factor Test for CMV (Tehseen, Ramayah, & Sajilan, 2017) to perform an exploratory factor analysis on the data
A CFA in Mplus showed that the single-factor model did not fit the data well, as none of the indicators met the criteria for http://www.sajip.co.za acceptable model fit (χ2 = 1756.65, df = 464, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.66, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.63, SRMR = 0.11 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.11)
Summary
OrientationThe world of work, as we know it, has transformed dramatically during the last decade and is characterised by continuous renewal and change (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2016). Henryhand (2009) maintained that organisations find it increasingly difficult to remain competitive as new economic and business challenges continue to emerge. Henryhand (2009) maintained that organisations find it increasingly difficult to remain competitive as new economic and business challenges continue to emerge. The economic turbulence and the rapid pace of change in the business environment exacerbate uncertainty and are throwing many leaders off-balance as they find it increasingly difficult to give direction under these circumstances (Raghuramapatruni & Kosuri, 2017). The South African manufacturing industry, the steel-making sector, has been plagued by challenging economic, market and operational challenges. In order to stay afloat, the sector had to embark on numerous restructuring and staff reduction initiatives over the past few years. This resulted in leaders finding it increasingly difficult to maintain employee trust and secure organisational competitiveness
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