In the context of international integration and fierce competition, improving competitive advantages (CA) is a decisive factor to the competitiveness of any economy and each business organization. It is a general belief that there is a connection between leadership and organizational culture (OC), between OC and CA, or CA and firm performance (FP). However, no study investigates the relaionship among these factors simultaneously. To fill the gap, we collected data from 119 firms located in Ho Chi Minh City by survey questionnaires and processed by using SmartPLS. The findings indicate that authentic leadership (AL) has a positive direct and indirect impact on CA through OC significantly at 5%. OC has a positive direct and indirect impact on FP through CA at the signiicance level of 1%. We also found the positive relationship among our factors (AL, OC, CA, and FP) at the signiicance level of 5%. The findings imply that AL drives positive OC, then enhances CA, and finally results in high FP.

Keywords: Authentic leadership, competitive advantages, organizational culture, firm performance, Ho Chi Minh City