Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles and Employee Turnover Intentions in Public Services Organizations. A Mediated-Moderation Model

Abstract

The study examines the mediated –moderation relationship between leadership styles and employee turnover intentions through organizational commitment and general self-efficacy in the public sector organizations in Ghana. The data were collected from 330 cross-sectional full-time employees in the public sector  organizations in Ashanti and Bono regions in Ghana. The data were analyzed by the use of SPSS Version 25 and Process Macro 3.5 to determine regression and correlational analysis to evaluate direct and indirect effects of the mediator-moderator variables under consideration. The study found that organizational commitment partially mediates transformational leadership and employee turnover intentions. Transactional leadership was also found to positively relates to employee turnover intentions while lower general self-efficacy was found to cause employee turnover intentions. The study findings bring to bear the need for leaders to adopt strategies that inspire trust and confidence in the employees through which higher commitment levels will be attained thereby reducing turnover intentions. Public sector organizations in the sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing actual turnover of its strategic employees to multinational companies. The study is the first to combine transformational leadership, transactional leadership, organizational commitment, general self-efficacy, and employee turnover intentions in a study model in the sub-Saharan African.