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Transformational leadership and Maldives Civil

Service
job performance of Maldives Civil Employees

Service employees, mediated by

organisational commitment 271
Aminath Sudha Received 14 September 2022
Revised 22 February 2023
MNU Business School, The Maldives National University, Male’, Maldives and 22 March 2023
Postgraduate Centre, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Accepted 13 April 2023
Malaysia, and
S.M. Ferdous Azam and Jacquline Tham
Postgraduate Centre, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – Emerging research on public administration theory has highlighted the need for public sector
managers to become better leaders by inspiring and motivating them to align themselves with their organisation’s
mission and vision. Therefore, transformational leadership has become increasingly appealing in public
administration. This study investigates how transformational leadership affects the job performance of those in the
Maldives’ civil service. Furthermore, it tests the mediation effect of organisational commitment on the relationship
between transformational leadership and the job performance of those working in the Maldives’ civil service.
Design/methodology/approach – This study adopted a quantitative and cross-sectional design to collect
data from 370 employees from different Maldives civil service offices. Data were collected through an online
questionnaire, and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The mediating effect was
tested using bootstrapping.
Findings – The results reveal that transformational leadership did not significantly affect job performance.
While a mediation effect was present, the effect size was within a small range.
Originality/value – The results of this study has important implications for the Maldives’ civil service from a
human resource management perspective and provides insights to policymakers on how to improve leadership
in Maldives’ civil service institutions. Furthermore, this study contributes significantly to the existing research
in understanding the effect of transformational leadership on public sector organisations in Asia and from a
developing country’s perspective.
Keywords Transformational leadership, Task performance, Adaptive performance, Commitment
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Leadership is an essential element vis-
a-vis influencing employee attitude and behaviour and
plays a significant role in achieving a competitive edge and organisational goals (Park et al.,
2021). In this regard, transformational leadership has emerged as a dominant leadership
theory (Peng et al., 2020) and is considered an important determinant of job performance
(S€
ur€
uc€u et al., 2022). Therefore, research on public administration has presented critical
empirical findings on how transformational leadership affects employee motives, attitudes
and behaviours, especially how it can improve job performance (Belle, 2013; Caillier, 2014;
Moynihan et al., 2014; Fan et al., 2023; Wright et al., 2012).
Although the impact of transformational leadership on employee attitude and
performance has been explored, limited research has been conducted in different
contextual settings, especially in Asia (Fan et al., 2023). Additionally, the public sector in a
International Journal of Public
small island nation faces challenges, such as a lack of resources, bureaucracy and frustrated Sector Management
employees. Furthermore, the state of democracy observed in the context of the Maldives has Vol. 36 No. 3, 2023
pp. 271-287
created a more politicised environment, resulting in appointing political appointees to the © Emerald Publishing Limited
0951-3558
ministerial hierarchy to oversee the job functions of civil service employees (Faizal and DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-09-2022-0198
IJPSM Laking, 2019). This creates an interesting scenario unique to the context of the Maldives to
36,3 understand the impact of transformational leadership on performance dimensions in the
context of the Maldives Civil Service, where both civil service and political managers exist in
the hierarchy of the Maldives Civil Service. Therefore, examining the direct effect of
transformational leadership on the job performance of Maldives’ civil service employees will
address the research gap in a different context, in which the public sector is apparently more
politically charged. The boundaries between politics and administration seem blurred,
272 particularly when Senior civil service officials may lack the authority in personal
management functions such as recruitment, promotion and termination, as this is subject
to political influence, as argued by Faizal and Laking (2019).
Additionally, researchers in the public administration literature call for more empirical
research on leadership in a different cultural context (Lauritzen et al., 2022) and from a South
Asian perspective (Hameduddin and Engbers, 2021), which is more diverse. However, most
South Asian Nations follow the Westminster Model of Government. When most countries in
South Asia often emphasise that collectivism and neutrality are compromised, although they
want to make public administration efficient (Jamil et al., 2019), it raises an important research
question of whether transformational leadership will be effective in this particular context,
which is apparently very different from Western developed countries. Thus, this study is an
important breakthrough in analysing this relationship in the context of a South Asian
country with a small island economy.
On the other hand, although previous research has explored the relationship between
transformational leadership and job performance/organisational commitment, limited research
has examined how these three variables jointly affect one another (Park et al., 2021).
Accordingly, this research addresses this limitation from the perspective of a South Asian
country and small island economy to analyse how transformational leadership affects
organisational commitment and the job performance of civil service employees in the Maldives.

Literature review and hypothesis development

Transformational leadership has become necessary in the public sector due to the emergence
of new public management practices and the complexity of public institutions. Therefore, it is
vital to understand how transformational leadership can be used as an effective tool to align
public sector employees’ behaviours with the mission and vision of these public institutions.
A comprehensive analysis of the development of the transformational leadership theory is
presented, and the use of job performance in the specific context of this study is discussed.
The hypotheses of this study are as follows.

Transformational leadership and job performance

Burns (1978) claims, as stated in Bass et al. (1987), that the leadership process is either
transactional or transformational. Transactional leadership is contingent on rewards,
whereby the leader promises employees rewards based on their performance, provided that
they meet their performance targets (Bass et al., 1987). However, transformational leadership
focuses on increasing employee morale by intimating employees their value and significance
to the organisation. When long-term employment diminishes, work values shift towards
short-term employment and job shifts are expected. Transformational leadership is vital in
engendering responsible individuals who know their organisational role.
Bass (1999) made an interesting claim that transformational leadership enables employees
to move beyond the point of self-actualisation, which is to know the larger cause of one’s
existence. The claim that leadership can create a lasting impact on employees is debatable
(Gang et al., 2011). The theory of transformational leadership by Bass (1985), presented in his
book “Leadership and Performance”, elaborates on the four aspects of leadership that Maldives Civil
contribute towards going the extra mile (Gang et al., 2011): idealised influence (charisma), Service
inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration (Rawashdeh
et al., 2020; Bass, 1999).
Employees
Idealised influence refers to trust and confidence in a leader’s vision and values due to
emotional attachment to the leader (Bass et al., 1987; Buil et al., 2019). Through inspirational
motivation, as Avolio and Bass (1995) posited, transformational leaders can create “loyalty
towards the organisation”. Hence, inspirational motivation implies that a leader can motivate 273
employees to achieve common goals and objectives and accept an organisational mission and
vision. Finally, based on intellectual simulation, leaders can help employees become more
creative when thinking about old problems (Bass et al., 1987). The leader believes that
followers may have solutions to problems and are encouraged to question conventional
methods in the organisation (Rawashdeh et al., 2020), thereby facilitating problem-solving
among employees (Bass et al., 1987).
Several factors may influence employees’ engagement and commitment to work,
including numerous internal and external factors that affect their task performance.
However, transformational leaders can provide challenging and holistic goals, which makes
employees disregard self-interest and work towards achieving a common goal (Lai et al.,
2020). Transformational leaders provide meaning and purpose in the workplace. Several
empirical analyses have validated the argument that transformational leadership increases
employee job performance (Lai et al., 2020; Bastari et al., 2020; Nam and Park, 2019;
Rawashdeh et al., 2020; Sungu et al., 2019).
Job performance is at the centre of human resource management in an organisation, as it
plays an essential role in managing employees (Organ and Paine, 1999), as stated in Choi et al.
(2018). Therefore, job performance has remained an important area of research in both the
public and private sectors. Job performance can be defined as “the total expected value to the
organisation of the discrete behavioural episodes that an individual carries out over a
standard period” (Motowidlo and Kell, 2013). Most studies have focused on task and
contextual models of job performance (Borman and Motowidlo (1993). However, as the nature
of work continually changes, the focus herein is on the task and adaptive performance. Task
performance refers to how effectively an employee performs an activity that is clearly defined
in his/her job description and how this contributes to the technical core of the organisation,
either through the execution of the technical process or by maintaining and improving its
technical requirements (Uraon and Gupta, 2020). Adaptive performance refers to an
individual’s ability to alter work-related behaviour in line with changes in the work
environment (Pulakos et al., 2000; Charbonnier-Voirin and Roussel, 2012).
A previous analysis of the effect of transformational leadership on the public sector has
shown a beneficial impact on achieving individual performance, such as in the case of public
sector employees in Iran (Karimi et al., 2023), nurses (Belle, 2013), Danish high school teachers
(Jacobsen and Bøgh Andersen, 2015), Danish nursing homes (Lauritzen et al., 2022) and
Chinese civil servants (Fan et al., 2023). As leadership is context-driven and there is a need to
study the impact of transformational leadership from a perspective other than the Western
context, we propose the following hypothesis.
H1. Transformational leadership positively affects Maldives civil service employees’ job
performance.

The mediating effect of organisational commitment on job performance through

transformational leadership
Transformational leaders can articulate a clear vision and inspire their followers by acting as
role models and increasing their commitment to the organisation. Organisational researchers
IJPSM have used it as a key mediator because of its effect on important human resource-related
36,3 outcomes, such as turnover, motivation, performance, job satisfaction and well-being (Klein
et al., 2021; Kundi et al., 2021). In light of previous research, this study adopts organisational
commitment — specifically, affective commitment — to mediate the relationship between job
performance and transformational leadership.
Organisational commitment refers to the “psychological attachment to an organisation”
O’Reilly and Chatman (1986, p. 492), as stated in Potipiroon and Ford (2017). Allen and
274 Meyer (1990) model shows a strong connection between organisational goals, values and
outcomes. This model identifies three forms of organisational commitment: affective,
normative and continuance. Research has shown that affective commitment is the most
relevant factor for achieving organisation-related outcomes (Kundi et al., 2020). Research in
the public administration field has shown that affective commitment is a strong predictor
of task performance, organisational citizenship behaviour and attendance (Cooper-Hakim
and Viswesvaran, 2005; Meyer et al., 2002), as stated by Potipiroon and Ford (2017).
Previous research has shown the positive impact of transformational leadership on
organisational commitment and job performance; however, research examining the
connections between these three variables is scarce (Park et al., 2021). Thus, this study
shows that organisational commitment mediates the positive relationship between
transformational leadership and job performance. Accordingly, we propose the following
hypothesis.
H2. Transformational leadership positively affects organisational commitment.
H3. Organisational commitment positively affects job performance.
H4. Organizational commitment mediates the relationship between transformational
leadership and job performance.
Figure 1 depicts the conceptual framework of this study.

Methods and data collection

Measures
Transformational leadership was measured using the Global Transformational Leadership
Scale, developed by Carless et al. (2000). Additional items were added considering the context
of the Maldives, which led to 11 items measuring transformational leadership.
Transformational leadership was measured as a unidimensional construct, capturing all
items presented in the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire of Avolio et al. (1996).
Job performance is measured as a multidimensional construct with two dimensions: task
and adaptive performance. Task (adaptive) performance was measured with five (nine) items
using the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire 1.0, developed by (Koopmans et al.,
2013). Organisational commitment, considered affective commitment in this study, was
measured using the six-item scale developed by Meyer et al. (1993).

H02 OrganisaƟonal H03 Job Performance

Commitment
TransformaƟonal - Task Performance
Leadership
- AdapƟve Performance
H01
Figure 1.
Conceptual framework
H04:TL-OC-JP
of the study
Source(s): Author’s own creation/work
Methods Maldives Civil
Data were collected from 24,516 Maldives civil service employees in 2020 (Commission, 2020). Service
According to the information provided by the Maldives Civil Service Commission, there were
13,705 women and 10,818 men. Among these, 9,512 civil servants worked in the capital city of
Employees
the Maldives, while the remaining worked in outer atolls, with 15,004 civil servants
distributed across 20 atolls. There are 662 civil service offices across the Maldives, including
councils, schools, hospitals, government departments, agencies and ministries. All agencies,
atoll councils, hospitals, schools and other relevant offices fall under specific ministries. Of the 275
24,516 employees, 9,968 were taken as the study population, excluding those in the healthcare
and education sectors. This is because this study focuses on the managerial and
administrative sides of the civil service, which perform the executive functions of the
government.
The sample size, as per Krejcie and Morgan (1970), Cohen (1969) and Sekaran and Bougie
(2020), was 370. Data were collected through the Maldives Civil Service Commission, which
shared an online questionnaire with each permanent secretary of the different ministries that
administered it. The online questionnaire was shared with 579 employees working in
different government offices, and 409 completed questionnaires were received via Google
Forms, representing a response rate of 70.63%. The data were collected between January
2021 and June 2021. After editing the data and removing missing and illogical responses, 370
responses were used for data analysis.
After removing outliers and checking for multivariate normality, linearity and
multicollinearity, a demographic analysis was performed. This was followed by
exploratory factor analysis (EFA). After the EFA, Cronbach’s alpha and composite
reliability were assessed for each variable. Confirmatory factor analysis for each variable was
performed using an Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) before proceeding to the
measurement model analysis. The overall measurement model was tested for validity and
reliability before hypothesis testing. A structural equation model was used to test the
hypotheses.

Common method bias

Biased statistical and procedural methods have been used to reduce the common method.
Participants were clearly informed about the questionnaire, anonymity was ensured, and the
instrument was pretested among a representative group of 50 civil servants to assess the
clarity of the questionnaires to the sampling frame. In addition, the Harman single-factor test
was performed prior to the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), which indicated a 32.58%
variance of the factor analysis which is less than 50% (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Hence it does
not indicate a common method bias.

Results
This section discusses the results of the data analysis. The first analysis was a demographic
analysis of the respondents.
Among the respondents, 56.5% were women, indicating that more women work in civil
services than men (see Table 1). Hence, public sector jobs have become the first choice for
most women in the Maldives. The age structure revealed that many civil service employees
belonged to a younger age group, as 40.3% of the respondents were in the 25–35-year age
group. The educational background data reflect that most people working in civil services
have attained a university education: 28.1% hold a master’s degree, 24.1% have a degree, and
27.8% hold a diploma. Qualification is one of the most important selection criteria in the civil
service; hence, most attempts have been made to obtain a university education prior to joining
IJPSM Frequency Per cent
36,3
Sex
Male 161 43.5
Female 209 56.5
Age
276 18–24 years 52 14.1
25–35 years 149 40.3
36–46 years 109 29.5
46–55 years 56 15.1
56 and above 4 1.1
Education
Completed Grade 10 7 1.9
O level 23 6.2
A level 23 6.2
Diploma 103 27.8
Degree 89 24.1
Master’s 104 28.1
Postgraduate level certificate 18 4.9
PhD 3 0.8
Experience
Less than 1 year 15 4.1
1–4 years 96 25.9
5–9 years 80 21.6
10–14 years 65 17.6
15–19 years 40 10.8
20–29 years 53 14.3
30 and above 21 5.7
Table 1. Total 370
Demographic analysis Source(s): Author’s own creation/work

the civil service. Most respondents had job experience; 25.9% had already worked for one to
four years, while 21.6% had worked for five to nine years. Table 2 summarises the descriptive
analyses of the main variables used in this study.
The overall mean for transformational leadership was 3.51, less than 4, indicating that
most respondents remained neutral or could not decide on the quality of leadership
experience in the Maldives’ civil service. The overall mean for organisational commitment is
3.61, which is less than 4. Hence, it does not indicate commitment towards the organisation
where the respondents work. Notably, the statement “I would be happy to spend the rest of
my career with the organisation” has a mean of 3.25, indicating that many disagree. The
overall mean for job performance was 4.12; most respondents agreed they could undertake
their tasks and exhibited adaptive performance. Cronbach’s alpha for transformational

Variable Items Mean Sd Cronbach’s alpha

Transformational Leadership 11 3.509828 1.043653 0.964

Organisational Commitment 6 3.613964 1.021082 0.92
Table 2. Job Performance 14 4.117477 0.542368 0.935
Descriptive analysis Source(s): Author’s own creation/work
leadership was high as more items were included in the scale, which was later reduced by Maldives Civil
Exploratory Factor Analysis. Service
Employees
Exploratory factor analysis
Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on transformational leadership, job performance
and organisational commitment. Transformational leadership, taken as a unidimensional
construct, had 11 items and was employed to determine how the factors emerged using 277
principal component analysis and varimax rotation. All items were retained at this stage
because adequate thresholds were met to retain a single factor. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin
(KMO) measure for sample adequacy is 0.9661, which is meritorious, as this is more than 0.8
as per Hair et al. (2010), while Bartlett’s test of sphericity is significant at a value less than 0.05.
The total cumulative variance explained by the factor is 74.821%, which is acceptable for
social science research as it is more than 60% (Hair et al., 2010), while the eigenvalue is 8.230,
which is greater than 1. All items had a factor loading of more than 0.70, except for one item,
which had a factor loading of 0.60; hence, it was acceptable. The communality for the items
was greater than 0.70, and the correlations between items were greater than 0.30; thus, all
thresholds were met to retain the factor as is.
Job performance, which has two dimensions—task and adaptive —was retained after
EFA. All threshold values were obtained during the first iteration. Sample adequacy is 0.926,
and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant; hence, it was considered meritorious (Hair
et al., 2010). The total cumulative variance was 59.9%, close to 60% and considered
acceptable in the social sciences. The eigenvalues were greater than 1, and the factor
loadings exceeded 0.60, except for one item, where the factor loading was 0.593. Hence, no
items were removed at this stage, and all items were retained under EFA for the two
dimensions of job performance: task performance with five items and adaptive performance
with nine items. Notably, EFA performance in connection to organisational commitment
revealed a good factor structure, with a KMO measure of 0.907, and Bartlett’s test of
sphericity was significant. The total cumulative variance explained was 73.21%, and the
eigenvalue was 4.387. The organisational commitment had five items, all retained after
the EFA.

Measurement model
The first check examined the unidimensionality of the constructs. Unidimensionality was
assessed by considering the factor loadings, where factor loadings of more than 0.6 were
desirable, as per Awang (2015). The measurement model is evaluated based on the reliability
and validity of the constructs. Therefore, the internal consistency of the measures was used to
assess the reliability and composite reliability. The validity was assessed using discriminant,
convergent and construct contexts. Table 3 summarises the results of the
measurement model.
The factor loadings of all items were greater than 0.6. Four items regarding
transformational leadership were dropped because the modification index was high;
therefore, these items were considered redundant. Similarly, two items from the adaptive
performance dimension were excluded as they seemed redundant. According to Hair et al.
(2010), a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.7 and above is desirable to assess the internal
consistency of the items. All variables had alpha values greater than 0.7.
Similarly, a composite reliability of 0.7, obtained for all the constructs of the measurement
model, is desirable. The goodness of fit indices such as the chi-square ratio (χ 2/df),
comparative fit index (CFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were used
to assess construct validity. Marsh and Hocevar (1985) suggested that a chi-square ratio
(χ 2/df) of less than 5 has parsimony in the model; our model reports a value of 1.914. The CFI, a
IJPSM Standardised factor
36,3 Construct loading t-value

Transformational Leadership (CR 5 0.8376); α 5 0.95

My supervisor communicates a clear and positive vision for the 0.824 18.983
future (TL1)
My supervisor provides encouragement and recognition to the staff (TL4) 0.919 22.562
278 My supervisor fosters trust, involvement, and cooperation among team 0.912 22.28
members (TL5)
My supervisor encourages us to think about problems in new ways and 0.905 22.008
questions assumptions (TL6)
My supervisor is clear about the values and practices that he/she 0.887 21.299
preaches (TL8)
My supervisor is fair and just in treating employees in the 0.817 **
organisation (TL11)
Job Performance (CR 5 0.868); α 5 0.908
Task Performance (CR 5 0.646); α 5 0.836
I was able to plan my work, so I was able to finish within the given 0.63 **
deadline (TP_1)
I kept in mind the work results I needed to achieve my targets while doing 0.774 14.54
the task assigned (TP_2)
I was able to distinguish main issues from side issues and hence tackle the 0.704 11.366
important ones first (TP_3)
I was able to carry out my work with minimum time and effort (TP_4) 0.669 10.898
I planned my work optimally before actually attempting my task (TP_5) 0.695 11.247
Adaptive Performance (CR 5 0.834); α 5 0.893
I worked at keeping my job knowledge up to date (AP_1) 0.719 **
I have demonstrated flexibility (AP_3) 0.736 13.71
I recovered fast after facing difficult situations or setbacks at work (AP_4) 0.779 14.596
I was able to cope well with difficult situations and setbacks at 0.767 14.438
work (AP_5)
I came up with creative solutions to new problems (AP_6) 0.706 13.132
I was able to cope well with uncertain and unpredictable situations at 0.781 14.647
work (AP_7)
I easily adjusted to changes in my work (AP_8) 0.641 11.941
Organisational Commitment (CR 5 0.924); α 5 0.923
I would be happy to spend the rest of my career with the 0.651 14.517
organisation (OC_1)
I feel as if my organisation’s problems are my own (OC_2) 0.687 15.686
I feel like part of the family in my organisation (OC_3) 0.86 23.21
I feel emotionally attached to my organisation (OC_4) 0.886 24.718
My organisation has a great deal of personal meaning for me (OC_5) 0.913 26.381
I feel a strong sense of belonging to my organisation (OC_6) 0.887 **
Note(s): Model Fit Statistics ((Chi-Square) χ 2 5 467.012, (Degrees of Freedom) df 5 244; (Comparative Fit
Index)CFI 5 0.965, (Tucker Lewis Index) TLI 5 0.960,(Root Mean Square Error of Approximation)
RMSEA 5 0.050)
Table 3. ** 5 Items constrained for identification purposes
Confirmatory factors CR 5 composite reliability
and reliability analyses Source(s): Author’s own creation/work

measure of incremental fit, must be more than 0.90 (Bentler, 1990). It was 0.965 for this
measurement model.
The RMSEA, a measure of absolute fit, should be less than 0.08 to have a good model fit, as
per Browne and Cudeck (1992). Hence, the construct validity of the model was confirmed.
Convergent validity was measured using the average variance extracted (AVE), Cronbach’s
alpha and composite reliability, whereas discriminant validity was assessed by comparing Maldives Civil
the square root of the AVE with the correlation of the constructs. Table 4 presents the AVE, Service
composite reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and correlations between the constructs used in
this study.
Employees
The three indicators Hair et al. (2010) recommended are used to assess convergent validity.
A Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.8 (Hair et al., 2010) and above indicates high internal
consistency among items, whereas a 0.95 (Ursachi et al., 2015) and above can indicate
redundant items. For all variables, the alpha value was more than 0.8, and none reported an 279
alpha value greater than 0.95. According to Hair et al. (2010), composite reliability must be
more than 0.7, which was also observed for all variables. The AVE must be greater than 0.5.
However, Fornell and Larcker (1981) stated that an AVE of 0.4 and above is acceptable, given
that the composite reliability score is more than 0.6. Hence, convergent validity was
established for all variables. Discriminant validity was assessed by comparing the square
root of the AVE with the correlation of the constructs, as suggested by Fornell and Larcker
(1981). Table 4 shows that the square root of the AVE, presented in bold diagonal values, is
greater than the correlation of the constructs given in the off-diagonal values. Having
established the validity and reliability of the measurement model, we discuss the structural
model and hypotheses in the next section.

Structural model
Figure 2 depicts the structural model constructed to test the hypotheses.
Three fit indices, namely, RMSEA, chi-square ratio (χ 2/df) and CFI, were used to assess the
model fit. The RMSEA is less than 0.08, the chi-square ratio (χ 2/df) is less than 3, and the CFI is
more than 0.90, meeting the threshold requirement to assess the model fit. Furthermore, 18%
of the job performance variable, which is given by β 5 0.18, can be explained by
transformational leadership.

Hypotheses testing
Table 5 presents the hypothesis testing results.
The first hypothesis–that transformational leadership positively affects job performance–
was not supported, with a t-value of 0.959 and a p-value of less than 0.337. The second
hypothesis that transformational leadership positively affects organisational commitment
was supported by a t-value of 6.856 and a p-value of less than 0.001. The third hypothesis that
organisational commitment positively affects job performance is supported by a t-value of
6.358 and a p-value of less than 0.001. The mediation analysis results are provided in Table 6.
As per the fourth hypothesis, organisational commitment significantly mediates the
relationship between transformational leadership and job performance, and full mediation is
present here. The indirect effect is greater than the direct effect, and the direct effect is
insignificant at a t-value of 0.959, leading to full mediation. The confidence interval for

Convergent validity Discriminant validity

Cronbach’s alpha CR AVE TL JP OC

TL 0.95 0.837628 0.514285 0.717137

JP 0.908 0.86848 0.442517 0.203 0.66522
OC 0.923 0.924079 0.673372 0.358 0.424 0.820593
Note(s): CR 5 composite reliability; AVE 5 average variance extracted; TL 5 transformational leadership; Table 4.
JP 5 job performance; OC 5 organisational commitment Convergent and
Source(s): Author’s own creation/work discriminant validity
IJPSM Normed Chi-sqaure = 1.856
CFI = 0.965
36,3 RMSEA = 0.048
0.69
0.47
0.42
0.67
0.68 0.66

0.83 0.71
0.82
0.81
280 0.82 0.69
0.48

0.30 0.79 0.90 0.66 0.44

0.89 0.68
0.84 0.46
0.83
0.91
0.78 0.06 0.18
0.88
0.90
0.20 0.82 0.53
0.86
0.37
0.81 0.40
0.55 0.59
0.74
0.89 0.73
0.14 0.56
0.66 0.74
0.29
0.75 0.62 0.21
0.80 0.79
0.650.69 0.89
0.86 0.890.91 0.58 –0.13
0.42 0.47 0.74 0.79 0.83 0.79 0.76
0.71 0.50
0.78
0.63 0.60 0.29

0.40

Figure 2. 0.34
Structural model
Source(s): Author’s own creation/work

Construct Path Construct Estimate S.E. CR P

Job Performance ← Transformational Leadership 0.026 0.027 0.959 0.337

Organisational Commitment ← Transformational Leadership 0.37 0.054 6.856 ***
Table 5. Job Performance ← Organisational Commitment 0.182 0.029 6.358 ***
Hypothesis testing Note(s): Standard Error (S.E), critical Ration (C.R), significance value (P)
results Source(s): Author’s own creation/work

Confidence
Indirect interval
Relationships Direct effect effect Low High p-value Conclusion

Transformational Leadership → 0.026 (0.959) 0.067 0.039 0.105 0.000 Full

Organisational Commitment → Job Mediation
Performance
Note(s): Unstandardised coefficients are reported. Values in parentheses are t-values. Bootstrap
Table 6. sample 5 5,000
Mediation test results Source(s): Author’s own creation/work
bootstrapping did not cross zero, and the p-value of the bootstrap was less than 0.001, Maldives Civil
indicating that organisational commitment fully mediated the relationship between Service
transformational leadership and job performance. The size of the mediating effect was
tested using the size of the individual path and mediating effect. The results are listed in
Employees
Table 7.
As observed in Table 7, the mediating effect of the mediator (organisational commitment)
on the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance is 0.04; hence,
as per Gignac and Szodorai (2016), referring to the revised version of Cohen (1988), the effect 281
size is small, although there is full mediation.

Discussion
The study’s results indicate that, on the one hand, transformational leadership has no direct
effect on job performance, as the t-value is 0.959; hence, one of the main hypotheses of this
study is rejected. However, transformational leadership significantly affects organisational
commitment; hence, the second hypothesis that transformational leadership positively
affects organisational commitment is accepted at a p-value of less than 0.001. Similarly,
organisational commitment positively affects job performance, with a t-value of less than
0.001. The final hypothesis that organisational commitment mediates the relationship
between transformational leadership and job performance is accepted. However, the
mediation effect is minimal (0.04), as it is within a small range, as per Gignac and Szodorai
(2016) effect size table. Next, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the study.

Theoretical implications
This study makes a significant contribution by responding to calls to explore the effect of
transformational leadership in a different contextual environment to answer whether
transformational leadership could be effective in a politically charged environment. Previous
research undertaken by scholars such as Lopez-Cabarcos et al. (2022) and Nam and Park
(2019) indicated a positive relationship between transformational leadership and individual
performance. Similarly, recent research on teachers’ performance in Vietnam has indicated
that transformational leadership has a positive effect on teachers’ job performance
(Maheshwari, 2021), and research on Chinese Civil Servants also shows that there is a
positive relationship between transformational leadership and service performance (Fan
et al., 2023).

Effect size Conclusion

The effect size of transformational leadership (X) on job 5 0.04

performance (Y)
The effect size of organisational commitment (M) on 5 0.178–0.04
controlling for transformational leadership (r2MY)
r2MY 5 0.138 Effect size is a
medium range
The mediated effect of the mediator (organisational 5 r2MY - (r2XMY -
commitment) in the relationship between transformational r2XY)
leadership and job performance
5 0.18 - (0.18–0.04)
5 0.04 Effect size in a
small range Table 7.
Source(s): Author’s own creation/work Effect size table
IJPSM Although previous research has shown a positive effect of transformational leadership on
36,3 public sector employees’ performance, this study shows that transformational leadership
does not affect the job performance of public sector employees where there are multiple
supervisors. Civil service managers cannot perform well in a political environment, as in
other South Asian countries. Hence, the most important theoretical contribution this research
makes to the literature is that transformational leadership’s effect depends on contextual
factors and that transformational leadership may not bring about the desired outcomes, as
282 public administration scholars argue. Therefore, it may not be the most effective leadership
style among public-sector managers, especially in the less-developed civil service systems of
most South Asian countries. Thus, this study calls for an alternative leadership style,
transactional leadership, to enhance work-related behaviours among maldive civil service
employees.
The next theoretical implication is that transformational leadership increases
organisational commitment. As observed from the results of this study, transformational
leadership increases organisational commitment, which is in line with previous research
(Park et al., 2021), showing that by articulating clear visions, transformational leadership
positively affects organisational commitment. Transformational leadership indirectly affects
job performance through organisational commitment. Leaders who can articulate clear
visions, act as role models and provide intellectual stimulation for those working in the
Maldive civil service can increase their psychological connection with the organisation, which
can also positively impact job performance. In this regard, the significance of
transformational leaders in enhancing job performance through organisational
commitment has been established.

Practical implications
The theory of transformational leadership has emerged from political studies; however, as
argued by Moynihan et al. (2014), its application is limited to organisational members, and its
possible effect outside public sector organisations is limited. Accordingly, civil service
management faces two challenges: those in leadership positions trying to manage the
political environment and those in an environment with a network of actors. Therefore, to
achieve desired outcomes, civil service managers should be able to manage their political
environment. Thus, transformational leadership was not significant in the Maldives,
probably because civil service managers did not possess the skills necessary to manage the
political environment.
Furthermore, civil services consist of a typical government structure that represents the
type of government agencies reported herein, comprising public actors from different levels
of governmental and quasi-governmental organisations, including the public and private
sectors, as stated by Moynihan et al. (2014). Similar features are observed in Maldives civil
service. Civil service managers are responsible for administrative work, whereas political
appointees are responsible for funding and making decisions concerning different
government policies.
As asked by public administration scholars, the question is, “how effective can a
transformational leader be in such an environment?” As civil service managers may not have
any control over other networks of actors, it is difficult to establish a strong vision or even
establish themselves as leaders in such an environment. In simple terms, the hierarchical
organisational structure does not show civil service managers as leaders in these
organisations. Therefore, rather than simply focusing on providing training on inculcating
leadership skills, the Maldives’ civil service needs to structure these organisations in such a
way that civil service managers can demonstrate and practice exceptional leadership skills to
motivate their employees. This represents one of the practical challenges the Maldives’ civil
service faces while creating a modern public sector, where the network of actors continues to Maldives Civil
change with every new government that steps into office. Service
Furthermore, as argued by Ljungholm (2014), transformational leadership excels in public
organisations with powerful community-oriented missions, and to be effective, the leaders of
Employees
these organisations need to demonstrate how the organisation’s goals contribute to society
(Wright et al., 2012). In this regard, this research calls for government ministries and
departments to have purposeful and meaningful missions, visions and organisational goals
to demonstrate how these organisations could contribute to society, the community and the 283
public in general.
Additionally, it is crucial to understand that transformational leadership alone may be
insufficient as leadership is a broad spectrum and context-dependent concept. This calls for
the use of an alternative style of leadership, along with transformational leadership, such as
leadership contingent on rewards, to enhance the performance of civil service employees.
However, this does not discount the significant effect of transformational leadership in
transforming public institutions and creating an efficient civil service.

Limitations and calls for future research

Notably, specific areas need to be improved and investigated from a future research
perspective, which could perhaps create a deeper understanding of the effect of
transformational leadership on the desired results in the context of the Maldives’ civil
service and public sector in general. As observed, the direct effect of transformational
leadership was lacking, and although an indirect effect was present, it was small. Therefore, it
is recommended that a different mediator be introduced to test this relationship, such as how
public service motivation could mediate or moderate it.
In the context of the Maldives civil service, there are two types of leaders seen at the
management level: political managers appointed by the ruling government and senior
officials working in the Maldives civil service. Therefore, important distinctions can be made
while testing the effect of transformational leadership to distinguish between how political
leaders and civil managers influence job performance. Finally, it is recommended to use
stratified random sampling to appraise how transformational leadership affects different
levels of the organisation, such as administrative and management and at which level the
effect could be greater.

Conclusion
The results of the present study demonstrate the political environment seen in the context of
the Maldives’ civil service, similar to other South Asian countries. It is shown that the impact
created by a network environment where there are different actors from various levels of
government, both civil and political services and quasi-governmental organisations, as well
as public and private sectors, in the delivery of public service. This creates challenges in
terms of accountability, setting performance standards, and, in the context of the Maldives’
civil service, responsibility and delegation. Civil service managers may be visionary and have
the essence of transformational leadership, such as inspirational motivation and idealised
influence; however, they may also lack authority regarding their influence on what is done in
these institutions. Recent changes in the Maldives’ civil service have constrained the
performance of civil service managers.
Transformational leadership is further challenged by a lack of the necessary resources in
public institutions to meet performance targets and motivate civil service employees.
Changes in the hierarchical structure of civil service institutions, which are no longer reflected
in the organisational structure, create further complications, as it may be difficult to
IJPSM understand which actors have authority in such a complex hierarchy. Leadership may be
36,3 further challenged by the inability to align performance with pay, as pay for performance and
proper performance evaluation are lacking in the Maldives’ civil service.
The findings of this study suggest a beneficial effect of transactional leadership, which
could be more relevant in a Maldivian context. Leaders inspire and motivate their employees
to go beyond what is needed. Henceforth, to improve job performance, it is crucial to not only
create visionary leaders but also give them authority and responsibility while providing them
284 with sufficient resources to foster loyal and dedicated civil servants.

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Corresponding author
Aminath Sudha can be contacted at: aiminath.sudha@mnu.edu.mv

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