The mediation effect of motivation on the relationship between leadership styles and employee performance

The relationship between leadership styles and performance has long been discussed. The recent studies show that differences in leadership characteristics have a significant impact on the perceived performance of employees and their overall motivation to accomplish their tasks. This thesis provides a useful study on the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles (TFLS and TCLS) with their effect on employee performance and motivation as a mediator. Data are obtained from 302 employees following non-probabilistic convenience sampling through a survey comprised of Likert scale questions. The single and double regression are applied on the SPSS software to analyze the proposed relationship model and to find the direct and indirect effect of this relationship. Sobel test is also done to show the significant indirect leadership styles effect on employee performance through motivation. The results support that motivation mediates the transformational and transactional leadership styles impact on worker performance. These findings not only contribute to the literature of leadership styles and motivation but also have practical suggestions for businesses.