SULA ISLANDS — Transformational leadership has been proven to have a positive and significant effect on employee performance at the Personnel and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM) of Sula Islands Regency. The influence occurs not only directly but also indirectly through Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as a mediating variable. This finding comes from research conducted by Fitra Nita Nur, Edi Sugiono, and Hasanudin of Universitas Nasional Jakarta and published in the East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (EAJMR) in 2026.
The study was motivated by conditions at BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency, where the competence of some employees remains relatively low, resulting in suboptimal organizational performance. These challenges are reflected in the quality and quantity of work, timeliness in completing tasks, and work initiative, which have not fully met expectations. At the same time, the implementation of transformational leadership has not yet generated optimal performance improvements due to centralized decision-making and insufficient support from effective organizational policies.
Transformational leadership in this study is based on Bass's concept, which consists of four main characteristics: idealized influence or charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Transformational leaders do not merely function as administrative supervisors but also inspire employees, pay attention to individual needs, encourage critical and creative thinking, and build commitment toward organizational goals.
Meanwhile, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) refers to voluntary employee behavior that falls outside formal job requirements and is not directly associated with formal reward systems but collectively contributes to organizational effectiveness. The study measures OCB through five dimensions: altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy, and civic virtue.
Within BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency, these behaviors can be reflected in employees' willingness to help colleagues, perform duties responsibly, remain professional under less-than-ideal conditions, maintain harmonious workplace relationships, and actively participate in organizational activities and development. Transformational leadership is considered capable of encouraging such extra-role behaviors through attention, inspiration, empowerment, and support.
The study employed an explanatory quantitative approach using saturated sampling. The entire population of 42 employees at BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency was included as respondents. Data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed with SmartPLS 4. Transformational leadership served as the independent variable, OCB as the mediating variable, and employee performance as the dependent variable.
The respondent profile shows that the largest age group was 31–35 years, consisting of 18 employees or 42.86 percent. In terms of gender, 23 respondents or 54.76 percent were male and 19 respondents or 45.24 percent were female. Regarding tenure, the largest group had worked for 6–10 years and above, totaling 22 respondents or 52.38 percent. Meanwhile, most respondents held a bachelor's degree (S1), totaling 35 employees or 83.33 percent.
The measurement model results demonstrated that all research indicators met the required validity criteria. The cross-loading values for transformational leadership indicators ranged from 0.740–0.886, OCB indicators from 0.774–0.877, and employee performance indicators from 0.719–0.851. All values exceeded the minimum threshold of 0.70. The Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values also met the required criteria, reaching 0.633 for transformational leadership, 0.622 for OCB, and 0.660 for employee performance.
The hypothesis testing results show that transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The path coefficient was 0.523, with a t-statistic of 6.789 and a p-value of 0.000. This indicates that stronger implementation of transformational leadership is associated with better employee performance at BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency.
A positive and significant relationship was also found between transformational leadership and OCB. The path coefficient reached 0.888, with a t-statistic of 30.109 and a p-value of 0.000. This indicates a very strong relationship. Therefore, leadership that provides inspiration, individualized attention, intellectual stimulation, and exemplary influence can encourage employees to demonstrate positive behaviors beyond their formal duties.
Furthermore, OCB was found to have a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The path coefficient of 0.466, t-statistic of 5.632, and p-value of 0.000 demonstrate that stronger organizational citizenship behavior is associated with better employee performance. Employees who willingly assist colleagues, maintain cooperation, demonstrate responsibility, participate actively in organizational activities, and show initiative can contribute to greater work effectiveness and organizational goal achievement.
The most important finding of the study is that OCB functions as a partial mediator in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance. The indirect effect of transformational leadership on employee performance through OCB produced a path coefficient of 0.414, a t-statistic of 5.814, and a p-value of 0.000. Since both the direct and indirect effects were significant, OCB was categorized as a partial mediator.
These findings demonstrate that transformational leaders can improve employee performance through two pathways. First, leadership directly influences employees' work capabilities and achievements. Second, transformational leadership creates conditions that encourage OCB, including willingness to assist colleagues, adherence to workplace norms, cooperation, and active organizational involvement. These behaviors subsequently contribute to improved employee performance.
From a practical perspective, the study recommends that the leadership of BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency strengthen transformational leadership by moving beyond administrative supervision. Leaders are expected to act as agents of change who build meaningful interpersonal relationships with employees, provide constructive feedback, pay attention to employee development, and create opportunities for employees to develop their ideas and potential.
The study also emphasizes the importance of developing a workplace culture that supports OCB. Leaders can encourage voluntary and extra-role behaviors through exemplary conduct, motivation, individualized attention, empowerment, and a work environment in which employees feel valued and trusted. In this way, OCB can develop beyond individual behavior and become part of an organizational culture that supports sustainable achievement of institutional goals.
Overall, the study concludes that transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on both employee performance and OCB, while OCB also has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. OCB is proven to partially mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance. Therefore, improving employee performance at BKPSDM of Sula Islands Regency can be pursued by strengthening transformational leadership while simultaneously developing an OCB-oriented workplace culture.
The researchers also acknowledge that the study is limited to a single institution with a relatively small sample. Future research is therefore encouraged to expand the geographical and institutional scope and incorporate other variables, such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction, to obtain a broader understanding of the factors influencing employee performance.
Authors
Fitra Nita Nur, Edi Sugiono, and Hasanudin — Universitas Nasional Jakarta, Indonesia.
Research Source
Title: The Influence of Transformational Leadership on Employee Performance is Mediated by Organizational Citizenship Behavior at the Personnel and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM) of Sula Islands Regency
Journal: East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (EAJMR), Vol. 5, No. 8, 2026, pp. 3589–3604.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i8.276
Journal Link: https://journaleajmr.my.id/index.php/eajmr
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