Investigating the Association Between Transformational Leadership and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Gratitude Towards the Organization in the Peruvian Context

Edgardo Muguerza-Florián, Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas, Miluska Villar-Guevara () and Israel Fernández-Mallma
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Edgardo Muguerza-Florián: UPG de Ciencias Empresariales, Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad Peruana Unión, Lima 15102, Peru
Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas: Faculty of Management Science, Universidad Autónoma del Perú, Lima 15842, Peru
Miluska Villar-Guevara: EP de Administración, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales, Universidad Peruana Unión, Juliaca 21100, Peru
Israel Fernández-Mallma: EP de Educación, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Educación, Universidad Peruana Unión, Juliaca 21100, Peru

Administrative Sciences, 2025, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-23

Abstract: Leadership literature suggests that a transformational leadership style can reduce negative employee outcomes, even in challenging work environments such as the education sector, where teachers play a key role in social development. This study aimed to analyze the association between transformational leadership and job satisfaction: the role of gratitude toward the organization in the Peruvian context. A cross-sectional study with an explanatory design was conducted considering 457 men and women who declared themselves teachers, aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 38.63; SD = 10.61), recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. The theoretical model was evaluated using the Partial Least Squares method (PLS-SEM). An adequately fitting measurement model was obtained (α = between 0.893 and 0.969; CR = between 0.897 and 0.971; AVE = between 0.757 and 0.845), demonstrating that transformational leadership is positively associated with the components of gratitude toward the organization and job satisfaction, as well as the association of the components of gratitude toward the organization and job satisfaction. In turn, it was evident how gratitude toward the organization plays a mediating role in these relationships. In this sense, the study provides valuable information for Peruvian educational leaders seeking to improve indicators of satisfaction, gratitude, and leadership in their work environment. These findings enrich educational management, given that it is the first empirical study to demonstrate these links in a challenging sector of an emerging country, offering a solid foundation for the development of more humanized, effective, and sustainable management strategies.

Keywords: leadership; transformational leadership; job satisfaction; gratitude; supportive work environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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