The findings suggest that school reputation is more than a public-relations issue. A respected institutional image can become part of a school’s human-resource strategy by strengthening educators’ sense of pride, satisfaction, and motivation.
Why School Reputation Matters to Educators
Educators work in an environment shaped by teaching responsibilities, administrative demands, relationships with students and parents, and expectations from the wider community. These pressures can influence how motivated educators feel in carrying out their professional responsibilities.
The study focuses on perceived organizational reputation, which refers to educators’ perceptions of how their institution is viewed by external stakeholders such as parents and the community.
A school that is perceived as credible, ethical, and successful may strengthen educators’ sense of pride and belonging. In contrast, a negative reputation can weaken morale and affect how employees identify with their institution.
The researchers also examined job satisfaction, which describes how positively educators evaluate their work environment, professional relationships, recognition, and overall work experience.
According to the study, reputation and satisfaction are connected. Educators who believe they work for a respected institution may experience greater satisfaction, which can then contribute to stronger motivation.
The issue is particularly relevant in Indonesia’s education sector. The study cites national data showing approximately 3.47 million educators in the 2025/2026 school year. In Tangerang City, vocational secondary institutions employed approximately 2,324 teachers across 120 schools serving 45,810 students.
Study Involved 125 Educators
Karsten Asliasatya, Margareta, and Christy Ayu Sarah Panjaitan used a quantitative research design to examine the relationships between organizational reputation, job satisfaction, and job motivation.
The researchers distributed structured questionnaires through Google Forms and printed forms to active educators and instructional staff working in public and private primary and secondary educational institutions in Tangerang City.
Participants were required to be active in a formal educational institution and have at least six months of work experience. The researchers initially received 132 questionnaires, but seven were excluded because the respondents did not meet the study criteria.
The final analysis therefore included 125 valid respondents. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.
Among the respondents, 51 percent identified as teachers, 34 percent worked in tutoring, and 15 percent were lecturers. About 53.6 percent were permanent employees, while 46.4 percent had contract status. Most respondents, or 81.6 percent, held a bachelor’s degree.
The researchers also reported that 55.2 percent of respondents met students’ parents several times a week, while 31.2 percent interacted with parents daily.
Positive Reputation Has a Strong Link to Motivation
The study found a significant positive relationship between perceived organizational reputation and job motivation.
The statistical coefficient for the relationship was 0.602, with a p-value of 0.000. This indicates that educators who perceived their institution more positively tended to report stronger motivation at work.
Organizational reputation also had a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction. The coefficient was 0.618, with a p-value of 0.000.
Job satisfaction itself was significantly associated with job motivation, with a coefficient of 0.398 and a p-value of 0.004.
In simpler terms, the findings point to a three-part relationship:
- A positive institutional reputation is associated with stronger educator motivation.
- A positive institutional reputation is associated with greater job satisfaction.
- Greater job satisfaction is associated with stronger job motivation.
The statistical model showed that perceived organizational reputation explained 38.2 percent of the variation in job satisfaction. Organizational reputation and job satisfaction together explained 46.1 percent of the variation in job motivation.
Job Satisfaction Acts as a Bridge
One of the study’s key findings is that job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between organizational reputation and job motivation.
The indirect relationship between perceived organizational reputation, job satisfaction, and job motivation produced a coefficient of 0.246, with a p-value of 0.009.
This means organizational reputation can influence motivation in two ways. It can directly strengthen motivation, but it can also work indirectly by improving educators’ satisfaction with their jobs.
The researchers from Bunda Mulia University explain that when educators believe their school is viewed positively by parents and the wider community, that perception can foster institutional pride and strengthen their identification with the school. The resulting sense of recognition and belonging can contribute to greater satisfaction and motivation.
This interpretation is consistent with the study’s use of Self-Determination Theory, which emphasizes the importance of psychological needs such as competence, autonomy, and relatedness in sustaining motivation.
Reputation Management Could Become an HR Strategy
The findings have practical implications for school leaders and education managers.
Rather than treating reputation solely as a marketing concern, schools could consider it part of their human-resource management strategy. Building public trust may have an internal effect by strengthening educators’ pride in their workplace.
The researchers recommend that schools strengthen transparent communication with parents and the community about academic achievements and ethical practices. Recognizing and communicating educators’ accomplishments may also reinforce institutional pride.
Professional development and support systems are another important area. Such programs can help educators manage the demands of teaching and communication with parents while supporting greater satisfaction with their work.
For school leaders, the broader message is straightforward: a school’s external reputation can influence how its educators experience their work internally.
Findings Have Some Limitations
The researchers caution that the findings should not automatically be generalized to all educators in Indonesia.
The study focused specifically on educators in Tangerang City, meaning conditions in other cities or regions may produce different results. The sample also did not proportionally distinguish between civil servants, non-civil servants, and honorary teaching staff.
Future research could examine educators across a wider geographic area and compare different employment-status groups. The researchers also recommend combining surveys with in-depth interviews to better understand how educators interpret organizational reputation, job satisfaction, and motivation.
Author Profiles
Karsten Asliasatya — Bunda Mulia University. The article does not specify an academic degree or detailed field of expertise.
Margareta — Bunda Mulia University and corresponding author of the study. The article does not specify an academic degree or detailed field of expertise.
Christy Ayu Sarah Panjaitan, — Bunda Mulia University. The specific field of expertise is not stated in the article.
Research Source
Article title: The Influence of Perceived Organizational Reputation and Job Satisfaction on Job Motivation among Educators in Tangerang
Authors: Karsten Asliasatya, Margareta, and Christy Ayu Sarah Panjaitan
Affiliation: Bunda Mulia University
Journal: International Journal of Economic, Finance and Business Statistics (IJEFBS)
Volume: 4, No. 4
Publication year: 2026
Pages: 371–382
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijefbs.v4i4.15
URL: https://journalijefbs.my.id/index.php/ijefbs
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