Linking Goal Ambiguity, Role Conflict, and Communication: The Moderating Role of Authentic Leadership
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(Purpose) Public organizations increasingly operate in environments characterized by competing values, ambiguous goals, and fragmented responsibilities. Against this backdrop, this study examines how goal ambiguity and role conflict influence internal communication in public organizations and investigates whether authentic leadership can buffer these negative effects. (Design/methodology/approach) Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model and Social Exchange Theory (SET), this study conceptualizes goal ambiguity and role conflict as job demands and authentic leadership as a key job resource. Using data from the 2016 Public Employee Perception Survey of 2,070 Korean civil servants, the study employs multiple regression analyses with interaction terms. (Findings) The results show that both goal ambiguity and role conflict are negatively associated with internal communication, whereas authentic leadership demonstrates a strong positive association with communication. Authentic leadership alleviates the negative influence of role conflict on communication, suggesting that leaders who act transparently, ethically, and consistently can help employees navigate competing expectations and relational strains. However, authentic leadership unexpectedly strengthens the negative relationship between goal ambiguity and communication. (Research implications or Originality) These findings extend the JD–R model by demonstrating that the effectiveness of leadership as a job resource is context-dependent rather than uniformly beneficial. They also contribute to the growing debate on authentic leadership by highlighting not only its positive but also its potentially constraining aspects in environments characterized by high goal ambiguity. Practically, the study underscores the importance of establishing a coherent mission, vision, and core values framework in public organizations while encouraging leaders to adopt leadership styles that are appropriate to organizational context.
Abstract
(Purpose) Public organizations increasingly operate in environments characterized by competing values, ambiguous goals, and fragmented responsibilities. Against this backdrop, this study examines how goal ambiguity and role conflict influence internal communication in public organizations and investigates whether authentic leadership can buffer these negative effects. (Design/methodology/approach) Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model and Social Exchange Theory (SET), this study conceptualizes goal ambiguity and role conflict as job demands and authentic leadership as a key job resource. Using data from the 2016 Public Employee Perception Survey of 2,070 Korean civil servants, the study employs multiple regression analyses with interaction terms. (Findings) The results show that both goal ambiguity and role conflict are negatively associated with internal communication, whereas authentic leadership demonstrates a strong positive association with communication. Authentic leadership alleviates the negative influence of role conflict on communication, suggesting that leaders who act transparently, ethically, and consistently can help employees navigate competing expectations and relational strains. However, authentic leadership unexpectedly strengthens the negative relationship between goal ambiguity and communication. (Research implications or Originality) These findings extend the JD–R model by demonstrating that the effectiveness of leadership as a job resource is context-dependent rather than uniformly beneficial. They also contribute to the growing debate on authentic leadership by highlighting not only its positive but also its potentially constraining aspects in environments characterized by high goal ambiguity. Practically, the study underscores the importance of establishing a coherent mission, vision, and core values framework in public organizations while encouraging leaders to adopt leadership styles that are appropriate to organizational context.