A Work Motivation Mediation Model On Relationship Between Compensation, Competence, Transformational Leadership, And Lecturer Performance

This study aims to examine the role of work motivation as a mediator in the effects of compensation, competence, and transformational leadership on lecturer performance. A quantitative approach grounded in positivism was employed, using an ex post facto research design. Data were collected through Likert-scale questionnaires (1–5) administered to 289 lecturers at Muhammadiyah University of Makassar, who were randomly selected from a population of 754 lecturers using the Slovin formula. The research instruments were validated through expert judgment and pilot testing and demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.842 to 0.937). Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS, and the proposed model met the overall goodness-of-fit criteria. The results indicate that compensation has a significant positive effect on work motivation but does not have a significant direct effect on lecturer performance; however, compensation exerts a significant indirect effect on performance through work motivation. Competence significantly influences both work motivation and lecturer performance, and demonstrates a significant indirect effect via work motivation. Transformational leadership has a significant effect on work motivation, shows no significant direct effect on performance, yet has a significant indirect effect through work motivation. These findings confirm that work motivation functions as a central mechanism or primary mediator that converts various organizational inputs into performance outcomes. This study emphasizes that lecturer performance is more appropriately understood as an outcome formed through prior psychological processes. Consequently, compensation and transformational leadership are more effective when strategically directed toward strengthening work motivation, while competence development emerges as the most fundamental strategy, as it operates simultaneously through both ability-based and motivational pathways.