The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Civil Servants' Performance: The Mediating Role of Organizational Culture and the Moderating Role of Generational Differences

Abstract

This study examines the effect of transformational leadership on civil servants’ performance, with organizational culture as a mediating variable and generational differences as a moderating variable. The study was conducted among 117 civil servants at the Yogyakarta City Regional Secretariat using a quantitative explanatory approach. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The results show that transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on civil servants’ performance and organizational culture. Organizational culture also has a positive and significant effect on civil servants’ performance and is the most dominant factor in the research model. Furthermore, organizational culture partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and civil servants’ performance, indicating that transformational leadership improves performance both directly and indirectly through organizational culture. However, generational differences do not significantly moderate the effect of transformational leadership on civil servants’ performance. This finding indicates that transformational leadership can be applied inclusively across Generations X, Y, and Z. Overall, enhancing civil servants’ performance requires strengthening transformational leadership and organizational culture simultaneously.