PhD Scholar The Mediating Role of Organizational Commitment: Linking Transformational Leadership to Job Performance in the Ethiopian Electric Utility

Abstract

In recent years, much scholarship has been dedicated to the impact of transformational leadership on the creation of positive work behaviors in workers. While there have been many findings made on this issue, there is still lack of information on how this style of leadership affects job performance through psychological mechanisms. This problem becomes even more evident when one considers the field of public utilities functioning in developing countries. In this regard, the current research is dedicated to the impact of transformational leadership on employee job performance, with organizational commitment being used as a mediating factor in the context of operations at Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU). The current study is based on a quantitative method, which involved collecting data from a sample of employees selected based on their department and geographical location through random sampling techniques. 454 questionnaires were distributed, 440 out of which were found to be complete and usable, leading to a response rate of 96.9%. Results of analysis showed that transformational leadership has a significant impact on organizational commitment (β = 0.464, p < 0.001) as well as on employee job performance (β = 0.409, p < 0.001). The findings obtained through mediation analysis have further shown that the concept of organizational commitment serves as a complementary mediator between transformational leadership and performance, with a significant indirect effect being observed (β = 0.138, p < 0.001). Altogether, the findings obtained strongly support the idea that transformational leadership should be strategically integrated in the EEU as a tool to enhance employee commitment and improve performance levels.