Job Satisfaction as a Mediator Between Leadership, Organizational Learning, and Work Outcomes

Annisa Syafira Efrial; Debora Justice Valentina

doi:10.31004/riggs.v4i3.3210

Authors

Annisa Syafira Efrial Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta
Debora Justice Valentina Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31004/riggs.v4i3.3210

Keywords:

Work Performance, Job Satisfaction, Transformational Leadership, Organizational Learning

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of transformational leadership and organizational learning on employee performance, with job satisfaction examined as a mediating variable. The research aims to better understand how leadership behavior and learning culture interact to shape employee outcomes within multinational organizations. Data were collected through self-administered online Forms from 142 employees working in multinational companies across various sectors. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the direct and indirect relationships among the constructs. The results indicate that both transformational leadership and organizational learning have significant positive effects on job satisfaction and employee performance. However, job satisfaction does not mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and performance, while it serves as a mediator between organizational learning and performance. These findings highlight the nuanced interaction between leadership style, learning orientation, and employee outcomes. The study underscores the importance of cultivating a learning-oriented organizational culture that enhances employee satisfaction and drives superior performance. By fostering transformational leadership practices and continuous learning, multinational organizations can sustain long-term competitiveness and improve workforce engagement. This research contributes theoretical insights and practical implications for leadership development and organizational learning strategies in global business contexts.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

S. E. Achi, N. J. A. Maalouf, H. Barakat, and J. L. Mawad, “The impact of transformational leadership and work environment on teachers’ performance in crisis-affected educational settings,” Administrative Sciences, vol. 15, no. 7, p. 256, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15070256

D. O. Almutairi, “The mediating effects of organizational commitment on the relationship between transformational leadership style and job performance,” International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 140–231, 2016.

J. Antonakis and R. J. House, “The full-range leadership theory: The way forward,” in Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead, B. J. Avolio and F. J. Yammarino, Eds. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science, 2002, pp. 3–33.

A. H. Arifin, H. Mulyanto, and A. H. Warso, “The effect of transformational leadership on employee performance mediated by motivation: Evidence from university lecturers,” Linguistics and Culture Review, vol. 6, no. S4, pp. 180–195, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.21744/lingcure.v6nS4.2069

B. M. Bass, Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998.

S. A. Boamah, H. K. Spence Laschinger, C. Wong, and S. Clarke, “Effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes,” Nursing Outlook, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 180–189, 2018.

S. Braun, C. Peus, S. Weisweiler, and D. Frey, “Transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and team performance: A multilevel mediation model of trust,” The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 270–283, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.11.006

A. H. Brayfield and H. F. Rothe, “An index of job satisfaction,” Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 307–311, 1951. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0055617

J. M. Burns, Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1978.

H. Cheng, M. S. Niu, and K. H. Niu, “Industrial cluster involvement, organizational learning, and organizational adaptation: An exploratory study in high technology industrial districts,” Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 971–990, 2014. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/jkm-06-2014-0244

R. Chiva and J. Alegre, “Emotional intelligence and job satisfaction: The role of organizational learning capability,” Personnel Review, vol. 37, no. 6, pp. 680–701, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480810906900

T. Dvir, D. Eden, B. J. Avolio, and B. Shamir, “Impact of transformational leadership on follower development and performance: A field experiment,” Academy of Management Journal, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 735–744, 2002. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.5465/3069307

A. Eliyana, S. Ma’arif, and Muzakki, “Job satisfaction and organizational commitment effect in the transformational leadership towards employee performance,” European Research on Management and Business Economics, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 144–150, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2019.05.001

D. A. Garvin, A. Edmondson, and F. Gino, “Is yours a learning organization?,” Harvard Business Review, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 109–116, 2008.

G. Gebreheat, H. Teame, and E. I. Costa, “The impact of transformational leadership style on nurses’ job satisfaction: An integrative review,” SAGE Open Nursing, vol. 9, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608231197428

J. J. Gonzales, “Merging organizational learning with learning theory – a task for the 21st century,” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, vol. 14, pp. 355–369, 2001.

J. F. Hair Jr, W. C. Black, B. J. Babin, and R. E. Anderson, Multivariate Data Analysis, 8th ed. Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2019.

M. I. Hendri, “The mediation effect of job satisfaction and organizational commitment on the organizational learning effect of the employee performance,” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 68, no. 7, pp. 1208–1234, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm-05-2018-0174

M. N. Islam, F. Furuoka, and A. Idris, “Mapping the relationship between transformational leadership, trust in leadership and employee championing behavior during organizational change,” Asia Pacific Management Review, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 95–102, 2021.

W. Jiatong et al., “The impact of transformational leadership on affective organizational commitment and job performance: The mediating role of employee engagement,” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.831060

W. A. Kahn, “Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work,” Academy of Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 692–724, 1990. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.5465/256287

M. N. Khattak, R. Zolin, and N. Muhammad, “Linking transformational leadership and continuous improvement,” Management Research Review, vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 931–950, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/mrr-06-2019-0268

N. N. P. A. T. Kurniawati, N. I. B. U. Putra, and N. I. M. S. Amerta, “The role of job satisfaction in mediating the effect of work stress and democratic leadership on employee performance at Sushimi Restaurant in Bali,” Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis Jagaditha, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 90–93, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.22225/jj.8.1.3130.90-93

I. N. Latifah, A. A. Suhendra, and I. Mufidah, “Factors affecting job satisfaction and employee performance: A case study in an Indonesian sharia property company,” International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 719–748, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm-03-2021-0132

N. Malhotra, Basic Marketing Research, 4th ed. London: Pearson, 2011.

A. P. Mangkunegara and Miftahuddin, “The effect of transformational leadership and job satisfaction on employee performance,” Universal Journal of Management, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 189–195, 2016.

T. Mondiani, “Pengaruh kepemimpinan transformasional dan kompensasi terhadap kinerja karyawan PT PLN (Persero) UPJ Semarang,” Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 49–51, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/janis/article/view/4317

S. Naeem and B. Khanzada, “Role of transformational leadership in employee’s performance with mediating role of job satisfaction in health sector of Pakistan,” Journal of Health Education Research & Development, vol. 6, no. 1, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.4172/2380-5439.1000245

M. U. Paracha, A. Qamar, A. Mirza, I. Hassan, and H. Waqas, “Impact of leadership style transformational & transactional leadership on employee performance & mediating role of job satisfaction: Study of private school (educator) in Pakistan,” Global Journal of Management and Business Research, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 55–65, 2012.

S. Pawirosumarto, P. K. Sarjana, and R. Gunawan, “The effect of work environment, leadership style, and organizational culture towards job satisfaction and its implication towards employee performance in Parador Hotels and Resorts, Indonesia,” International Journal of Law and Management, vol. 59, no. 6, pp. 1337–1358, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/ijlma-10-2016-0085

K. J. Preacher and G. J. Leonardelli, “Calculation for the Sobel test: An interactive calculation tool for mediation tests,” Quantpsy.org, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://quantpsy.org/sobel/sobel.html

P. S. Robbins, Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.

R. C. Rose, N. Kumar, and O. G. Pak, “The effect of organizational learning on organizational commitment, job satisfaction and work performance,” Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR), vol. 25, no. 6, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.19030/jabr.v25i6.995

N. Siangchokyoo, R. L. Klinger, and E. D. Campion, “Follower transformation as the linchpin of transformational leadership theory: A systematic review and future research agenda,” The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 1, art. 101341, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101341

P. J. Simanjuntak, Manajemen & Evaluasi Kerja, 3rd ed. Jakarta: Lembaga Penerbit FE UI, 2011.

S. Siswanto and I. Yuliana, “Linking transformational leadership with job satisfaction: The mediating roles of trust and team cohesiveness,” Journal of Management Development, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd-09-2020-0293

M. E. Sobel, “Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models,” Sociological Methodology, vol. 13, pp. 290–312, 1982. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.2307/270723

G. F. Templeton, B. R. Lewis, and C. A. Snyder, “Development of a measure for the organizational learning construct,” Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 19, pp. 175–218, 2002.

H. Tohidi, S. M. Seyedaliakbar, and M. Mandegari, “Organizational learning measurement and the effect on firm innovation,” Journal of Enterprise Information Management Decision, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 219–245, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1108/17410391211224390

X. Wang, “Learning, job satisfaction and commitment: An empirical study of organizations in China,” Chinese Management Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 167–179, 2007.

S. H. Wijanto, Metode Penelitian Menggunakan Structural Equation Modeling dengan LISREL 9. Jakarta: Lembaga Penerbit FE UI, 2015.

L. J. Williams and S. E. Anderson, “Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors,” Journal of Management, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 601–617, 1991. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700305

I.-L. Wu and J.-L. Chen, “Knowledge management driven firm performance: The roles of business process capabilities and organizational learning,” Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 18, pp. 1141–1164, 2014.