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From Transformational Leadership to Public-Sector Effectiveness: A Conceptual Model of Organizational Learning Culture, Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction in Thai Government Agencies

Authors: Nithit Thongsaard, Tanapol Kortana, Chompoo Saisama 0009-0007-1305-3370, Nathakorn Kumpetch 0009-0004-1996-2522, Surachet Suchaiya 0009-0009-8261-5108
Pages: 371 - 382
Abstract

This conceptual paper develops an integrated model explaining how transformational leadership, organizational learning culture and employee engagement shape the effectiveness of government agencies in Thailand, with job satisfaction positioned as the connecting mediator. Thai public administration is expanding in headcount and budget while international governance indicators point to stagnating perceived quality of public service, which suggests that structural and fiscal levers alone are insufficient and that people-centred managerial capabilities deserve closer attention. Drawing on full-range leadership theory, the learning-organization tradition, the engagement literature and discrepancy-based theories of job satisfaction, the paper synthesises definitions, sub-dimensions and prior empirical evidence into a single causal structure. Five latent constructs, each represented by three observed variables, are specified: transformational leadership (inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration), organizational learning culture (continuous learning, knowledge sharing, skill development), employee engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption), job satisfaction (job characteristics, work environment, coworker relationships) and organizational effectiveness (employee efficiency, organizational outcomes, competitive capability). Seven propositions are advanced covering direct paths from the three antecedents to job satisfaction and to effectiveness, and from job satisfaction to effectiveness. The paper then proposes a mixed-method design combining a survey of public personnel analysed through covariance-based structural equation modelling with in-depth interviews of senior administrators and specialists, together with instrument development procedures, validation criteria and ethical safeguards. The contribution lies in transferring a largely private-sector body of evidence into the Thai bureaucratic context and offering a testable framework for subsequent empirical work and for human-resource policy under the Public Sector 4.0 agenda.

Keywords: transformational leadership, organizational learning culture, employee engagement, job satisfaction, public-sector effectiveness.

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