Role of Female Leadership in Employee Job Satisfaction: Transformation or Transaction?
Peranan Kepimpinan Wanita Pada Kepuasan Kerja: Transformasi Atau Transaksi?

Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
UTAR Kampar, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat
31900 Kampar, Perak, MALAYSIA.

vivienwong@utar.edu.my

Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
UTAR Kampar, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat
31900 Kampar, Perak, MALAYSIA.

chenf@utar.edu.my

Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
UTAR Kampar, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat
31900 Kampar, Perak, MALAYSIA.

kuahyc@utar.edu.my

Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
UTAR Kampar, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat
31900 Kampar, Perak, MALAYSIA.

koayyy@utar.edu.my

Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
UTAR Kampar, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat
31900 Kampar, Perak, MALAYSIA.

choongyo@utar.edu.my

Abstract

Females generally experience limited opportunities for promotion to leadership positions. A good model of leadership could motivate subordinates in organizations and hence promote effective and efficient operational performance.  This serves as a crucial point as the demand for emotional and psychological support in the workplace has been increasing among employees. Few studies had emerged in which female leadership placed itself into employee satisfaction and organisational performance as practical and eminent. This study examines the impact of female transformational leadership and transactional leadership on employee job satisfaction in Malaysia, using transformational-transactional leadership theory. It can validate whether majority of the leadership theories developed in the western and developed world are applicable in the context of developing countries like Malaysia. The data collection is sourced from 306 employees who work for female leaders in the Malaysian small and medium sized enterprises. This study employs Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling for data analysis. The results show that both transformational leadership as well as transactional leadership positively affect employees’ job satisfaction. The finding provides implication for an effective female leadership formation as well as recommendation to female entrepreneurs for enhanced employees’ job satisfaction. 

 

Keywords

Female leadership; gender equality; job satisfaction; malaysian small & medium sized enterprises; transactional leadership; transformational leadership

Citation

Wong, Z. W. V., Chen, F., Kuah, Y. C., Koay, Y. Y., & Choong, Y. O. (2026). Role of Female Leadership in Employee Job Satisfaction: Transformation or Transaction?. Jurnal Pengurusan, 76, 101–115. https://doi.org/10.17576/pengurusan-2026-76-7

@article{wong2026role,
  title={Role of Female Leadership in Employee Job Satisfaction: Transformation or Transaction?},
  author={Wong, Zi Wen Vivien and Chen, Fanyu and Kuah, Yoke-Chin and Koay, Ying-Yin and Choong, Yuen-Onn},
  journal={Jurnal Pengurusan},
 

volume={76},
  number={},
  pages={101—115},
  year={2026},
  doi={https://doi.org/10.17576/pengurusan-2026-76-7},
  publisher={Penerbit ¼¯ÃÀÂ鶹},
}

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76 (2026) 101 – 115

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