How transformational leadership affects job performance among hospital employees: Does power distance matter?

This study aims to examine the impact of transformational leadership on job performance, emphasizing the mediating roles of work engagement, work motivation, and organizational culture, as well as the moderating effect of power distance. A total of 500 survey questionnaires were distributed in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, with 341 valid responses analyzed using structural equation modeling (Smart-PLS). The findings indicate that transformational leadership has a small direct effect on job performance and work engagement but demonstrates a moderate impact on work motivation and a significant influence on organizational culture. Work engagement, work motivation, and organizational culture mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Additionally, the results reveal that power distance moderates the effect of transformational leadership on work motivation but not on job performance, work engagement, and organizational culture. Employees with a high power distance tend to weaken the positive relationship between transformational leadership and work motivation, thereby reducing job performance. The study provides insights into leadership strategies in hierarchical healthcare environments of Vietnam. AcknowledgmentThis study was carried out within the framework of the doctoral thesis subject to Decision No. 2/QD-DHTD dated January 12, 2020, at Tay Do University, Vietnam.