The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Positional Promotion on Employee Performance with Work Motivation as an Intervening Variable
JEL Classification: M12, M54, D23, J24, O15
Abstract
This study aims to examine the direct influence of transformational leadership, job promotions, and work motivation on employee performance, as well as the indirect influence of transformational leadership and job promotions, mediated by work motivation, in the Elementary School Directorate of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. This is due to frequent leadership changes, with each leader having a different leadership style, which impacts employee performance. Lack of employee motivation is caused by employees feeling they rarely receive motivation during their work, which impacts employee performance. Lack of appreciation for employees impacts employee performance. Unclear career paths for job promotions impact employee performance. The research method used is an associative quantitative method with a correlational approach. The target population in this study was employees in the Elementary School Directorate of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. The sample used in this study was all 61 employees in the Elementary School Directorate of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. This study used linear regression analysis using SPSS software. The results showed that Transformational Leadership had a significant influence on Employee Performance. Job Promotion has a significant effect on Employee Performance, Work Motivation has a significant effect on Employee Performance, Transformational Leadership has a significant effect on Work Motivation, Job Promotion has a significant effect on Work Motivation, Work Motivation cannot mediate the effect of Transformational Leadership on employee performance, and Work Motivation cannot mediate the effect of Job Promotion on employee performance.
References
Ahmad, S. (2021). Motivation and performance: A psychological process. International Journal of Business and Management Research, 9(2), 104-112. https://doi.org/10.37391/IJBMR.090201
Akbar, R., Sukmawati, U. S., & Katsirin, K. (2023). Analisis Data Penelitian Kuantitatif: Pengujian Hipotesis Asosiatif Korelasi. Jurnal Pelita Nusantara, 1(3), 430-448. https://doi.org/10.59996/jurnalpelitanusantara.v1i3.350
Alkaabi, S. A. R., Alkaabi, W., & Vyver, G. (2017). Researching Student Motivation. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 10(3), 193-202.
Baloch, Q. B., Maher, S., Iqbal, N., Shah, S. N., Sheeraz, M., Raheem, F., & Khan, K. I. (2022). Role of organizational environment in sustained organizational economic performance. Business Process Management Journal, 28(1), 131-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-02-2021-0084
Boselie, P., Van Harten, J., & Veld, M. (2021). A human resource management review on public management and public administration research: stop right there… before we go any further…. Public Management Review, 23(4), 483-500. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1695880
Boyne, G., Jenkins, G., & Pools, M. (1999). Human resource management in the public and private sectors: An empirical comparison. Public Administration, 77(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00160
Casteel, A., & Bridier, N. L. (2021). Describing populations and samples in doctoral student research. International journal of doctoral studies, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.28945/4766
Dar, A. T., Bashir, M., Ghazanfar, F., & Abrar, M. (2014). Mediating role of employee motivation in relationship to post-selection HRM practices and organizational performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 4(3), 224-238.
Ferris, G. R., Buckley, M. R., & Allen, G. M. (1992). Promotion Systems in Organizations. Human Resource Planning, 15(3).
Grant, A. M., & Shandell, M. S. (2022). Social motivation at work: The organizational psychology of effort for, against, and with others. Annual review of psychology, 73(1), 301-326. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-060321-033406
Ibrahim, A. U., & Daniel, C. O. (2019). Impact of leadership on organisational performance. International Journal of Business, Management and Social Research, 6(2), 367-374. https://doi.org/10.18801/ijbmsr.060219.39
Ingrams, A. (2020). Organizational citizenship behavior in the public and private sectors: A multilevel test of public service motivation and traditional antecedents. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 40(2), 222-244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X18800372
Jensen, U. T., & Bro, L. L. (2018). How transformational leadership supports intrinsic motivation and public service motivation: The mediating role of basic need satisfaction. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(6), 535-549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074017699470
Jin, M. H., McDonald, B., & Park, J. (2018). Does public service motivation matter in public higher education? Testing the theories of person–organization fit and organizational commitment through a serial multiple mediation model. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(1), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016652243
Jindal‐Snape, D., & Snape, J. B. (2006). Motivation of scientists in a government research institute: Scientists' perceptions and the role of management. Management Decision, 44(10), 1325-1343. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740610715678
Kalogiannidis, S. (2021). Impact of employee motivation on organizational performance. A scoping review paper for public sector. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 8 (3), 984, 996(3).
Kim, W., Kolb, J. A., & Kim, T. (2013). The relationship between work engagement and performance: A review of empirical literature and a proposed research agenda. Human resource development review, 12(3), 248-276. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484312461635
Lai, F. Y., Tang, H. C., Lu, S. C., Lee, Y. C., & Lin, C. C. (2020). Transformational leadership and job performance: The mediating role of work engagement. SAGE Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019899085
Latham, G. P., & Budworth, M. H. (2014). The study of work motivation in the 20th century. Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology, 383-412.
Lee, M. T., & Raschke, R. L. (2016). Understanding employee motivation and organizational performance: Arguments for a set-theoretic approach. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 1(3), 162-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2016.01.004
Lesmana, D., Rosadi, B., Hermana, D., Liu, R., & Winarno, A. (2022). Analyzing the effect of bureaucratic leadership on public service motivation and job performance. Journal of Local Government Issues, 5(2), 114-127. https://doi.org/10.22219/logos.v5i2.20904
Lestari, A., Rijal, S., Prameswari, Y., Tjahyanto, T., & Budiman, D. (2023). The Effect of Position Promotion, Training, Leadership Style on Employee Career Development in One of the Start Up Companies. West Science Business and Management, 1(03), 157-168. https://doi.org/10.58812/wsbm.v1i03.86
Linder, S. (2016). Fostering strategic renewal: monetary incentives, merit-based promotions, and engagement in autonomous strategic action. Journal of Management Control, 27(2), 251-280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-015-0227-9
Mareny, R. (2021). The relationship of leadership and motivation to the performance of Bah Kapul Puskesmas employees in the working area of Siantar Sitalasari Sub-District Pematangsiantar City. MEDALION JOURNAL: Medical Research, Nursing, Health and Midwife Participation, 2(2), 76-80. https://doi.org/10.59733/medalion.v2i2.29
Martin, A. W., Lopez, S. H., Roscigno, V. J., & Hodson, R. (2013). Against the rules: Synthesizing types and processes of bureaucratic rule-breaking. Academy of management review, 38(4), 550-574. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0223
Miner, J. B., Crane, D. P., & Vandenberg, R. J. (1994). Congruence and fit in professional role motivation theory. Organization Science, 5(1), 86-97. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.5.1.86
Nugroho, S. A. (2024). Transformational leadership in public sector innovation: A bibliometric and empirical perspective. Journal of Public Sector Studies. https://doi.org/10.59888/ajosh.v2i6.266
Pane, S. M., Yamali, F. R., & Akbar, A. (2025). The Influence of Job Promotion and Work Environment on Employee Performance Through Organizational Commitment at the Housing and Settlement Areas Service of Merangin Regency. Journal of Accounting and Finance Management, 6(4), 1833-1842. https://doi.org/10.38035/jafm.v6i4.2315
Realdi, R. (2024). Transformational leadership and organizational behavior in government institutions: A multi-agency Indonesian case study. Malaysian Journal of Economics and Business (MJEB). https://doi.org/10.47652/mjeb.v1i1.892
Rojak, J. A. (2024). The influence of transformational leadership and organizational culture on employee performance. Jurnal Edukasia, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.62775/edukasia.v5i1.926
Rukmana, I. J. (2020). The Influence of Leadership and Motivation on Employee Performance. Almana: Jurnal Manajemen Dan Bisnis, 4(2), 190-196. https://doi.org/10.36555/almana.v4i2.1352
Setyawati, N. W., Woelandari, I., & Rianto. (2022). Career development, motivation, promotion and employee performance. East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (EAJMR), 1(9). https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v1i9.1453
Sharma, D., Borna, S., & Stearns, J. M. (2009). An investigation of the effects of corporate ethical values on employee commitment and performance: Examining the moderating role of perceived fairness. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(2), 251-260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9997-4
Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). The future of work motivation theory. Academy of Management review, 29(3), 379-387. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2004.13670978
Theofanidis, D., & Fountouki, A. (2018). Limitations and delimitations in the research process. Perioperative Nursing-Quarterly scientific, online official journal of GORNA, 7(3 September-December 2018), 155-163. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2552022
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal La Bisecoman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
