•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Research Aims: Few studies have taken into consideration transformational leadership's influence on employee retention via work satisfaction and organisational commitment, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated to positively affect organisationally relevant employee attitudes and performance. This paper fills this gap and looks into the serial mediation of these two variables in the relationship between transformational leadership and retention of employees in BPOs in Metro Manila.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative serial-mediation design was used, with a sample of 400 purposively selected respondents having at least 6 months of tenure. The PLS-SEM method was used to estimate direct and indirect relationships.

Research Findings: The results showed that transformational leadership enhances job satisfaction and organizational commitment, both of which contribute to employee retention. However, the full serial mediation pathway was not statistically supported, indicating very limited effects in series.

Theoretical Contribution/Originality: The findings accentuate further how transformational leadership impacts employee attitudes, while also suggesting the necessity to look beyond for organizational-wide intervention for retention.

Managerial Implication in the South East Asian Context: This study provided substantial data about transformational leadership. The study specifically pointed out that job satisfaction and organizational commitment are significant factors in retaining employees. The results give credence to the idea that organizations can reduce attrition and stabilize their workforce over a longer term if they nurture leadership styles that embrace empathy, communication, and empowerment.

Research Limitation & Implications: Implications point to leadership training and improved working conditions as important strategies for ensuring that BPOs can sustain their workforce over the long term.

References

Ali, R. S., Rianto, B., Sriwidadi, T., & Prabowo, H. (2023). How Do Transformational Leadership and The Work Environment Affects Employee Retention?. In 2023 8th International Conference on Business and Industrial Research (ICBIR) (pp. 1056-1061). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBIR57571.2023.10147695

Alrefaei, F. (2020). Job satisfaction: Analysis of the institute of public administration. International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research, 8(12), 80-83. https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0349.0812008

Aman, A., Rafiq, M., & Dastane, O. (2023). A cross-cultural comparison of work engagement in the relationships between trust climate – Job performance and turnover intention: Focusing China and Pakistan. Heliyon, 9(9), e19534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19534

Amiruddin, J. H., & Yudiarso, A. (2023). Application of transformational leadership method to increase job satisfaction. Psikostudia: Jurnal Psikologi, 12(1), 92-98. https://doi.org/10.30872/psikostudia.v12i1.9749

Arun, K., & Kahraman Gedik, N. (2022). Impact of Asian cultural values upon leadership roles and styles. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 88(2), 428-448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320935982

Avunduk, Y. (2021). The relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Issues, 7(2), 146-158. https://doi.org/10.5296/jei.v7i2.18966

Azmy, A., & Arifin, A. L. (2025). Employee retention factor at IT startup company: Job satisfaction as mediating variable. Media Ekonomi dan Manajemen, 40(1), 12-41. https://doi.org/10.56444/mem.v40i1.5231

Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Improving Organizational Effectiveness through Transformational Leadership. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Bernardo, A. L., Lacap, J. P., Talon, C., Bolante, P., Aumentado, Z. J., Capalao, M. W., ... & Dubrea, E. M. (2023). The mediating role of employee engagement on the link between person-organization fit and turnover intention: evidence from business process outsourcing companies in the Philippines. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business, 11(2), 69-94. https://doi.org/10.17687/jeb.v11i2.1025

Cabaluna, A. Y., & Mbaw, O. N. (2021). Lived experience of leadership styles on employee job satisfaction in selected BPO companies in the Philippines an intervention of behavioral performance. Journal of Psychology and Behavior Studies, 1(1), 30-40. https://doi.org/10.32996/jpbs.2021.1.1.5

Chen, X., Al Mamun, A., Hoque, M. E., Hussain, W. M. H. W., & Yang, Q. (2023). Work design, employee well-being, and retention intention: a case study of China's young workforce. Heliyon, 9(5), e15742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15742

Choudhary, V., & Saini, G. (2021). Effect of job satisfaction on moonlighting intentions: mediating effect of organizational commitment. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 27(1), 100137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2020.100137

Dahlgaard-Park, S. M. (Ed.). (2015). The SAGE encyclopedia of quality and the service economy. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346366.n226

Ekhsan, M., Parashakti, R. D., & Sudiro, A. (2020). Talent management and employee retention: The partial mediating role of organizational commitment. Proceedings of The International Conference on Environmental and Technology of Law, Business and Education on Post-Covid-19 (ICETLAWBE). https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.26-9-2020.2302690

Escortell, R., Baquero, A., & Delgado, B. (2020). The impact of transformational leadership on the job satisfaction of internal employees and outsourced workers. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1837460. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1837460

Fahed-Sreih, J. (2020). Introductory Chapter: Job Satisfaction and Career Development. Career Development and Job Satisfaction. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93088

Fardiansyah, I. E., Jumady, E., & Djaharuddin, D. (2025). Leadership and organizational commitment in improving employee performance: The role of job satisfaction as a mediator. Golden Ratio of Human Resource Management, 5(1), 221-231. https://doi.org/10.52970/grhrm.v5i1.862

Fayed, H., & Fathy, E. A. (2022). The impact of transformational leadership on front office employees' satisfaction and organisational commitment. Pharos International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 1(1), 49-63. doi: 10.21608/pijth.2022.264824

Ferdiana, S., Khan, Z., & Ray, S. (2023). Investigating the impact of career development, organizational commitment, and organizational support on employee retention. Journal of Management Studies and Development, 2(02), 117-128. https://doi.org/10.56741/jmsd.v2i02.108

Firdaus, A., Noor, M. A., Safkaur, T. L., Suprayitno, D., & Setiawan, A. (2025). Job Satisfaction as a Mediation of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Commitment and Employee Performance. Journal of Lifestyle and SDGs Review, 5(2), e03140-e03140. https://doi.org/10.47172/2965-730X.SDGsReview.v5.n02.pe03140

Gayathri, B. (2023). Employee Retention and Its Impact on Organisational Productivity. International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management, 7(8). 1-6. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsrem25261

Gelencsér, M., Szabó-Szentgróti, G., Kőmüves, Z. S., & Hollósy-Vadász, G. (2023). The holistic model of labour retention: The impact of workplace wellbeing factors on employee retention. Administrative Sciences, 13(5), 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13050121

Grant-Oyeye, L. (2024). Full Range Leadership Approach: An Actionable Framework for Developing Resilient Public Health Leaders. International Journal of Translational Medical Research and Public Health, 8, e012. https://doi.org/10.25259/ijtmrph542024

Hauer, G., Quan, T. A. J., & Liang, Y. K. (2021). Leadership as an influencing factor in employee retention-a case study analysis in East Asian multinational corporations in the digital age. Romanian Journal of Information Technology & Automatic Control/Revista Română de Informatică și Automatică, 31(1), 89-100. https://doi.org/10.33436/V31I1Y202107

Herminingsih, A. (2020). Transformational leadership positive influence toward employee engagement through job satisfaction and its effect on improving organizational commitment. Jurnal Manajemen Dan Pemasaran Jasa, 13(2), 281-296. https://doi.org/10.25105/jmpj.v13i2.6290

Hernandez, A. A., & Ona, S. E. (2014). Exploring green IT adoption: A case of a business process outsourcing firm. International Journal of Green Computing (IJGC), 5(2), 13-28. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGC.2014070102

Huang, C., & Huang, T. (2020). The relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment: Mediating effect of job satisfaction. In 4th International Conference on Culture, Education and Economic Development of Modern Society (ICCESE 2020) (pp. 1559-1564). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200316.330

Hussain, M. (2023). Influence of leadership styles on organizational learning: Case study of private and public universities in Pakistan. Minhaj International Journal of Economics and Organization Sciences, 3(2), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.58932/MULE0019

Hüttemann, D., Härtel, T. M., & Müller, J. (2025). Examining the extended full-range leadership model and leadership effectiveness in remote work contexts: the moderating role of VUCA environments. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 46(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-07-2024-0475

Ibrahim, A., Yaaba, B. N., & Shaba, Y. (2016). Employee commitment and retention among medical doctors and nurses in university teaching hospitals in North-Western Nigeria. European Journal of Business and Management, 8(23), 122-132. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5005671

Ibrahim, N., Ismail, A., Mat, N., & Erhan, T. (2023). Relationship between transformational leadership and employees' creativity with psychological empowerment as mediator. The South East Asian Journal of Management, 17(2), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.21002/seam.v17i2.1321

Jiatong, W., Wang, Z., Alam, M., Murad, M., Gul, F., & Gill, S. A. (2022). The impact of transformational leadership on affective organizational commitment and job performance: the mediating role of employee engagement. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 831060. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.831060

Khan, S. U. R., Anjam, M., Abu Faiz, M., Khan, F., & Khan, H. (2020). Probing the effects of transformational leadership on employees’ job satisfaction with interaction of organizational learning culture. Sage Open, 10(2), 2158244020930771.. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020930771

Kirkbride, P. (2006). Developing transformational leaders: the full range leadership model in action. Industrial and commercial training, 38(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850610646016

Lee, C. C., Li, Y. S., Yeh, W. C., & Yu, Z. (2022). The effects of leader emotional intelligence, leadership styles, organizational commitment, and trust on job performance in the real estate brokerage industry. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 881725. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.881725

Li, M., Wang, W., Zhang, J., Zhao, R., Loban, K., Yang, H., & Mitchell, R. (2024). Organizational culture and turnover intention among primary care providers: a multilevel study in four large cities in China. Global Health Action, 17(1), 2346203. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2024.2346203

Maldonado, C., & Goll, S. (2020). Transformational leadership. In The SAGE encyclopedia of higher education (Vol. 4, pp. 1563-1564). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529714395.n591

Memon, A. H., Khahro, S. H., Memon, N. A., Memon, Z. A., & Mustafa, A. (2023). Relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance in the construction industry of Pakistan. Sustainability, 15(11), 8699. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118699

Munfaqiroh, S., Mauludin, H., & Suhendar, A. (2021). The influence of transformational leadership on employee job satisfaction with organizational commitment as intervening variable. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 11(1), 250265-250265.. https://doi.org/10.5296/IJHRS.V11I1.18270

Mustaqim, H., & Sabri, S. (2021). Transformational leadership, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Psychology and Education Journal, 58(1), 5254-5259. https://doi.org/10.17762/PAE.V58I1.1779

Naz, S., Li, C., Nisar, Q. A., Khan, M. A. S., Ahmad, N., & Anwar, F. (2020). A study in the relationship between supportive work environment and employee retention: Role of organizational commitment and person–organization fit as mediators. Sage Open, 10(2), 2158244020924694. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020924694

Nelson, A., & Fitriana, A. (2024). What do explore employee retention factors: The mediating role of job satisfaction. JBTI: Jurnal Bisnis: Teori dan Implementasi, 15(2), 125-142. https://doi.org/10.18196/jbti.v15i2.20492

Pereira, M. V., Spiri, W. C., Spagnuolo, R. S., & Juliani, C. M. C. M. (2020). Transformational leadership: Journal club for emergency and intensive care nurse managers. Revista brasileira de enfermagem, 73, e20180504. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2018-0504

Prihadini, D., Nurbaity, S., Rachmadi, H., & Krishantoro, K. (2021). The importance of job satisfaction to improve employee performance. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 18(1), 367–377. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v18i1.3059

Putri, N., & Meria, L. (2022). The effect of transformational leadership on employee performance through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital Innovation (ITSDI), 4(1), 8-21. https://doi.org/10.34306/itsdi.v4i1.565

Repaso, J. A. A., Capariño, E. T., Hermogenes, M. G. G., & Perez, J. G. (2022). Determining factors resulting to employee attrition using data mining techniques. International Journal of Education and Management Engineering, (12) 3, 22-29. https://doi.org/10.5815/ijeme.2022.03.03

Rockstuhl, T., Dulebohn, J. H., Ang, S., & Shore, L. M. (2012). Leader–member exchange (LMX) and culture: A meta-analysis of correlates of LMX across 23 countries. Journal of applied psychology, 97(6), 1097–1130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029978

Rodriguez, J. M. P., & Ducut, R. L. (2025). The correlation between job attitude and employee job performance for strategic retention: A Moderating Effect of Motivating Factors. The Rizalian Pioneer, 1-20.

Rodriguez, J. M. P., Orejola, M. B., & Palallos, L. Q. (2023). Relationship between job attitude and promotions: Basis for career advancement. International Journal for Novel Research in Economics, Finance and Management, 11(6), 11-24. https://doi.org/10.61463/ijnrefm.vol.1.issue1.103

Rodriguez, J. M., Flores, J. J., & Palallos, L. (2025). The impact of transformational leadership in job quality and mediating role of job attitude in manufacturing sector: a key to enhance organizational success. Diversitas Journal, 10(2), 0918–0947. https://doi.org/10.48017/dj.v10i2.3197

Sari, S. Y., Yenni, Z., & Aima, M. H. (2024). Determinants of turnover intention: Job satisfaction, employee retention, work-family conflict and organisational commitment. International Review of Management and Marketing, 14(6), 26–36. https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.16979

Sood, I., Sharma, R., & Mohapatra, M. (2024). Fostering employee retention in the education sector: the role of transformational leadership. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5). https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i5.3506

Sutio, M. (2024). Impact of transformational leadership on employee performance in startups: Mediating role of job satisfaction and commitment. International Journal of Current Science Research and Review, 7(12), 9366-9374. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijcsrr/v7-i12-78.

Tanuwijaya, J., & Jakaria, J. (2022). The transformational and toxic leadership effect on employee retention. Jurnal Manajemen Dan Pemasaran Jasa, 15(1), 123-134. https://doi.org/10.25105/jmpj.v15i1.13348

The, H. V. (2025). Analysis of the effect of job satisfaction on employee performance with organizational commitment as a mediating variable. Journal of Economic, Bussines and Accounting (COSTING), 7(6), 9657-9669. https://doi.org/10.31539/costing.v8i1.13885

Thomas, S. R., & Aurora, S. R. (2024). The dynamic effects of transformational leadership on employee retention and employability over time: An agent-based model. Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 30(4), 350-380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10588-024-09385-y

Yuan, Y., Kong, H., Baum, T., Liu, Y., Liu, C., Bu, N., ... & Yin, Z. (2022). Transformational leadership and trust in leadership impacts on employee commitment. Tourism Review, 77(5), 1385-1399. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-10-2020-0477

Yusra, Y., Salju, S., Goso, G., Rahma, R., & Risma, R. (2024). Influence of organizational culture, employee development, and communication on retention via job satisfaction. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Management Practices, 7(27), 176-188. https://doi.org/10.35631/ijemp.727014

Share

COinS