Transformational leadership and employee performance: the mediating role of affective organizational commitment.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between transformational leadership and employee performance and tested whether affective organizational commitment serves as a mediating mechanism. The analysis focused on how meaning, recognition, and individualized support provided by leaders may strengthen employees' emotional attachment to organizational goals and, in turn, relate to performance. METHOD: A quantitative cross sectional survey was conducted with 268 full time employees from manufacturing, service, and technology organizations in mainland China. Transformational leadership, affective organizational commitment, and employee performance were measured with adapted multi item scales. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the measurement and structural models, and the indirect association was evaluated using a bootstrap confidence interval. Anonymity, neutral wording, and confidential data handling were used to reduce response bias. RESULTS: Transformational leadership was positively associated with employee performance and affective organizational commitment, while affective organizational commitment was positively associated with employee performance. The direct and indirect associations were both statistically significant. The results support partial mediation, indicating that commitment explains a substantial, but not exhaustive, part of the leadership performance relationship. CONCLUSION: Affective organizational commitment functions as a distinct psychological pathway through which transformational leadership is associated with employee performance. By isolating this attitudinal mechanism in Chinese organizations undergoing rapid organizational and technological change, the study clarifies why leader behaviors may support sustained performance while also showing that additional motivational and contextual pathways remain relevant.