The Mediating Effect of Transformational Leadership in The Relationship Between Distributive Justice and Affective Commitment

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between distributive justice, affective commitment, and transformational leadership, focusing on transformational leadership as a mediating variable among leaders at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) in Malaysia. Leaders play a crucial role in shaping distributive justice within organizations, particularly in addressing challenges such as unequal task distribution and ensuring 'equal rights' and 'balanced workloads.' Addressing these issues is critical for maintaining organizational performance, morale, and commitment. Resolve these inequalities to ensure quality standards, requiring leaders to demonstrate exceptional commitment and capabilities beyond existing job roles. Given its potential for positive and negative organizational outcomes, transformational leadership is a critical area of exploration within the educational and organizational context. The study develops and tests a conceptual framework and hypotheses, examining the predominant leadership style of MRSM leaders and its effect on organizational outcomes. A quantitative approach was applied, utilizing an online questionnaire to collect data from a population of 463 MRSM leaders with a sample size of 210 respondents. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure representation across job positions, including principal, vice principal, and head of departments. The results reveal that transformational leadership functions as a mediator and fully mediates, amplifying the effect of distributive justice and underscoring the importance of leadership style in fostering affective commitment in MRSM.