Transformational leadership and job performance of Maldives Civil Service employees, mediated by organisational commitment

Abstract

PurposeEmerging research on public administration theory has highlighted the need for public sector managers to become better leaders by inspiring and motivating them to align themselves with their organisation's mission and vision. Therefore, transformational leadership has become increasingly appealing in public administration. This study investigates how transformational leadership affects the job performance of those in the Maldives' civil service. Furthermore, it tests the mediation effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between transformational leadership and the job performance of those working in the Maldives' civil service.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative and cross-sectional design to collect data from 370 employees from different Maldives civil service offices. Data were collected through an online questionnaire, and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The mediating effect was tested using bootstrapping.FindingsThe results reveal that transformational leadership did not significantly affect job performance. While a mediation effect was present, the effect size was within a small range.Originality/valueThe results of this study has important implications for the Maldives' civil service from a human resource management perspective and provides insights to policymakers on how to improve leadership in Maldives' civil service institutions. Furthermore, this study contributes significantly to the existing research in understanding the effect of transformational leadership on public sector organisations in Asia and from a developing country's perspective.

Relationship Motivation and Job Performance among Public Sector Employee: A Systematic Literature Review

“…It is proven that there a relationship between motivation and job performance among public sector employees, which the employee has a good motivation, the job performance can be increase. The studies such as (Syamsir, 2020;Stefurak et al, 2020;Uka & Prendi, 2021;Schwarz et al, 2020;Maryani et al, 2021;Anisya et al, 2021;Almawali et al, 2021;Amha & Brhane, 2020;Mariana, 2020;Wahyudi et al, 2023;Sunarsi et al, 2021;Alam et al, 2021;Widarko & Anwarodin, 2022;Kurniasih et al, 2022;Adetola et al, 2022;Dharmanegara et al, 2021;Tenrisanna et al, 2021;Sudha et al, 2023;Kuswati, 2020;Riwukore et al, 2022;Riwukore et al, 2021: Ratnawati et al, 2020Niati et al, 2021;Suriyanti, 2020;Rivaldo, 2021;Sumaiti, 2021;Virgiawan et al, 2021;Sukhumvito et al, 2020;Noor et al, 2020;Al-Jedaia & Mehrez, 2020;Guo et al, 2021;Syaharudin et al, 2022;Andika & Darmanto, 2020). These findings may have consequences for the government, which has to recognise the value of employee motivation to boost output and enhance performance.…”

“…However, study by Jufrizen et al (2021) found motivation is not a moderator in relationship between organizational culture and job performance. Most of studies shown that there a significantly positive relationship between motivation and job performance such as studies by (Syamsir, 2020;Schwarz et al, 2020;Stefurak et al, 2020;Uka & Prendi, 2021;Maryani et al, 2021;Anisya et al, 2021;Almawali et al, 2021;Amha & Brhane., 2020;Mariana, 2020;Wahyudi et al, 2023;Sunarsi et al, 2021;Alam et al, 2021;Widarko & Anwarodin, 2022;Kurniasih et al, 2022;Adetola et al, 2022;Dharmanegara et al, 2021;Tenrisanna et al, 2021;Sudha et al, 2023;Kuswati, 2020;Riwukore et al, 2022;Riwukore et al, 2021;Ratnawati et al, 2020: Niati et al, 2021Suriyanti, 2020;Rivaldo, 2021;Sumaiti, 2021;Virgiawan et al, 2021;Sukhumvito et al, 2020;Noor et al, 2020;Al-Jedaia & Mehrez, 2020;Guo et al, 2021;Syaharudin et al, 2022;Andika & Darmanto, 2020). Some studies such as Apex-Apeh et al (2020); Andika and Darmanto (2020); Sultana et al (2021); Noviani (2021) found that intrinsic motivation has significant influence on job performance, however extrinsic motivation does not have significant with job performance (Apex-Apeh et al, 2020).…”