Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture in Enhancing Political Party Leaders’ Performance: The Mediating Role of Communication Strategy on Electoral Outcomes
Abstract
Background: Background: In the competitive landscape of modern Indonesian democracy, political parties must optimize leadership effectiveness and organizational culture to achieve electoral success. Transformational leadership and organizational culture are critical determinants of party leaders' performance, yet their mechanisms of influence remain underexplored, particularly within Islamic political contexts.
Research Gap: Despite extensive leadership literature, empirical studies examining the combined effects of transformational leadership, organizational culture, and communication strategy on political party leaders' performance in Indonesian Islamic political parties are limited. Additionally, the mediating role of communication strategy between these organizational factors and electoral outcomes has received insufficient attention.
Novelty: This study introduces an integrated framework combining transformational leadership theory with Islamic leadership principles (ṣiddīq, amānah, tablīgh, faṭānah) within Indonesia's Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN), offering a unique socio-religious perspective on political leadership effectiveness.
Method: A quantitative approach using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS was employed. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 200 PAN members and administrators selected via purposive sampling.
Results: Transformational leadership significantly influences communication strategy (β=0.45, p<0.001) and leaders' performance (β=0.41, p<0.001). Organizational culture significantly affects communication strategy (β=0.38, p<0.001) and leaders' performance (β=0.35, p<0.001). Communication strategy strongly impacts leaders' performance (β=0.47, p<0.001) and electoral outcomes (β=0.52, p<0.001). Communication strategy partially mediates both relationships.
Conclusion: Integrating transformational leadership, organizational culture, and communication strategy enhances political leaders' performance and electoral outcomes. The findings extend conventional leadership theory by incorporating Islamic governance principles, offering practical implications for developing ethical, professional political organizations in Indonesia's democratic context.
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