Authentic Leadership and Task Performance in Public Organizations from Sustainability Perspective: The Mediating Role of Supportive Organizational Culture

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of authentic leadership on task performance in public organizations from sustainability perspective and to test whether supportive organizational culture plays a mediating role in this relationship. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. A questionnaire form was used to collect data. Authentic leadership, task performance, and supportive organizational culture were measured using standard scales. After scale adaptation and factor analyses, one authentic leadership item was removed, resulting in a 15-item structure. Data were collected via Google Forms from 452 civil servants and contracted employees working in a metropolitan municipality in Turkey using convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 22 for CFA. Construct validity was established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA). Internal consistency coefficients were found to be high. Common method bias was assessed using Harman's single-factor test. Hypotheses were tested using PROCESS Macro Model 4 with 5000 bootstrap resamples. The findings indicate that authentic leadership does not have a significant direct effect on task performance. However, authentic leadership significantly and positively predicts supportive organizational culture, and supportive organizational culture significantly enhances task performance. Moreover, the effect of authentic leadership on task performance occurs indirectly through supportive organizational culture, indicating a full mediating role. The results suggest that, in public organizations, leadership effects are more likely to be transferred into performance outcomes when it is embedded in cultural norms and supportive practices. From a sustainability perspective, in the absence of direct measures of sustainability outcomes, self-reported task performance is interpreted as a proximal organizational outcome rather than a direct indicator of sustainability. Therefore, the study offers theoretically grounded sustainability implications for institutional continuity via supportive organizational culture, efficiency in the use of resources and service quality with the practices of green HR in the public sector. Future research should employ multi-source and multi-indicator measures of sustainability.