The Influence of Transformational Leadership Style, Work Motivation, and Work Culture on Employee Performance Mediated by Internal Communication at the Pidie Regency Regional Secretariat

Abstract

Employee performance is a crucial factor in supporting the effectiveness of local government administration. Performance improvement is influenced not only by leadership, motivation, and work culture but also by the internal communication processes within the organization. Objective: This study aims to analyze the influence of Transformational Leadership Style, Work Motivation, and Work Culture on Employee Performance—both directly and indirectly through Internal Communication at the Pidie Regency Regional Secretariat. Method: This study employs a quantitative approach using a survey method. The research population consists of all employees at the Pidie Regency Regional Secretariat, with a sample of 115 respondents determined through a census sampling (saturated sampling) technique. Data were collected via questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with the aid of SmartPLS software. Results: Transformational Leadership Style has a positive and significant influence on Employee Performance (β = 0.271; t = 3.103; p = 0.002) and Internal Communication (β = 0.315; t = 4.224; p < 0.001), as well as an indirect influence on Employee Performance through Internal Communication (β = 0.096; t = 2.932; p = 0.004). Work Motivation also has a positive and significant influence on Employee Performance (β = 0.166; t = 2.279; p = 0.023) and Internal Communication (β = 0.264; t = 3.500; p = 0.001), and exerts a significant indirect influence on Employee Performance through Internal Communication (β = 0.081; t = 2.182; p = 0.030). Work culture has a positive and significant influence on employee performance (β = 0.262; t = 3.821; p < 0.001) and internal communication (β = 0.344; t = 4.665; p < 0.001), and it exerts a significant indirect influence on employee performance through internal communication (β = 0.105; t = 2.756; p = 0.006). Internal communication has a positive and significant influence on employee performance (β = 0.305; t = 3.433; p = 0.001). The R² values are 0.547 (54.7%) for employee performance and 0.438 (43.8%) for internal communication. Conclusion: Internal communication acts as a partial mediator in the relationship of transformational leadership style, work motivation, and work culture with employee performance