ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AS A MEDIATOR IN MANAGERIAL PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL APPARATUS IN PAPUA

Abstract

This study investigates the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between budget participation, leadership style, motivation, job satisfaction, and managerial performance in the regional government apparatus (OPDs) of Merauke, South Papua. As one of Indonesia's newly autonomous provinces, South Papua faces significant administrative challenges, especially in implementing decentralization policies and managing special autonomy funds effectively. This research employs a quantitative explanatory design with data collected from 386OPD employees through structured questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. The findings reveal that budget participation, motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment have significant direct effects on managerial performance. In contrast, leadership style does not directly influence performance. Motivation, while negatively affecting performance directly, contributes positively to organizational commitment, which subsequently enhances performance. Organizational commitment also plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between budget participation, motivation, and job satisfaction with managerial performance. However, it does not significantly mediate the effect of leadership style on performance.This study is grounded in Organizational Behavior Theory, Path-Goal Theory, Expectancy Theory, and Contingency Theory, offering a robust theoretical lens to understand how internal organizational dynamics affect public sector performance. The results underscore the importance of participatory leadership, strategic human resource management, and job satisfaction in fostering emotional attachment and performance-enhancing behaviors among civil servants.Theoretically, the research enriches public administration literature; practically, it informs policymakers and administrators seeking to optimize human capital in underdeveloped regions with unique cultural and political contexts.