International Journal of Indonesian Business Review
Vol. 5 No. 2 (2026)

The The Role of Employee Engagement in Mediating Transformational Leadership and Compensation on Employee Performance: A Study at PT Infomedia Nusantara

Riza Ariefiandhi (Telkom University)
Puspita Wulansari (Telkom University)



Article Info

Publish Date
20 Aug 2026

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership and compensation on employee performance through employee engagement as a mediating variable at PT Infomedia Nusantara, a business-process-outsourcing (BPO) company that experienced a three-year decline in employee performance. Methodology/approach – This study employed a quantitative approach using a survey method. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 350 employees of PT Infomedia Nusantara using purposive and accidental sampling with a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) with SmartPLS 4.0 software. Findings – The results indicate that transformational leadership has a positive and significant effect on employee performance, whereas compensation has no significant direct effect. Employee engagement has a positive and significant effect on performance and is the strongest predictor. Employee engagement does not mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and performance, but it fully mediates the relationship between compensation and performance. Novelty – This study contributes to the human resource management literature by revealing an engagement paradox in the BPO industry: although engagement rose, performance declined. It demonstrates that compensation improves performance only when it is translated into employee engagement, while leadership drives performance directly, offering new insight for designing human-capital strategies in service organizations.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

ijibr

Publisher

Subject

Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

International Journal of Indonesian Business Review (IJIBR) is is a peer-reviewed economic journal serving as a forum for Business Economics Scholars concerning to area of Accounting, Banking, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Human Resources Management, and Management. This open accessed ...