The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/0143-7739.htm LODJ 43,6 928 Received 27 October 2021 Revised 15 January 2022 1 May 2022 21 June 2022 Accepted 9 July 2022 The relationship between emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, and performance: a test of the mediating role of job satisfaction Joather Alwali Independent Researcher, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Wafaa Alwali University of Derby, Derby, UK Abstract Purpose – This paper examines the effect of job satisfaction on job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals. It also determines the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. It further unveils the mediating role of job satisfaction on the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance. As physicians form the bulk of health-care professionals, their performance at work is crucial in determining patient satisfaction regarding care quality. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach with structural equation modelling via partial least squares (PLS-SEM) and bootstrapping estimation was used to test the hypotheses developed. A total of 157 responses were utilized in the data analysis. Findings – Evidence from the study indicates that job satisfaction has a positive relationship with job performance. The study also provides evidence that job satisfaction plays a positive mediating role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. Similarly, job satisfaction has a positive mediating effect on the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between physician job satisfaction and job performance in Iraqi public hospitals. Studies using Eastern samples are scarce, so the findings of this study will add to the body of knowledge from a cross-cultural standpoint. Keywords Emotional intelligence, Transformational leadership, Job satisfaction, Job performance Paper type Research paper Leadership & Organization Development Journal Vol. 43 No. 6, 2022 pp. 928-952 © Emerald Publishing Limited 0143-7739 DOI 10.1108/LODJ-10-2021-0486 1. Introduction The importance of job performance among physicians in public hospitals cannot be overemphasized since the provision of basic public health services as well as the delivering of quality patient care necessitates attitudes toward practice, knowledge and skills (Li et al., 2017; Hou et al., 2020). For instance, the current form and delivery of health care is a timeconsuming and labor-intensive service (Nasurdin et al., 2020). Hence, the attitudes, knowledge and skills of the physicians are critical components of their job performance in the healthcare industry. It has been asserted that the healthcare industry represents one of the economy’s most labor-intensive service sectors (Ozcan et al., 1996). Specifically, public hospitals in Iraq provide free or low-cost health care to the Iraqi people. This care is heavily subsidized by the government. Patients who use public hospitals are disproportionately low-income and government employees. The provision of quality healthcare services to the people depends on the job performance of the physicians in the hospitals. Thus, it is important to determine the factors that drive physicians’ job performance in public hospitals. The human resource management (HRM) functions in healthcare organizations and health systems have become increasingly important, as fundamental issues of administration and organizational behavior (such as job satisfaction, emotional intelligence, transformational leadership and job performance) have emerged. For instance, job satisfaction is considered as one of the factors that drives job performance. Robbins (2006) stated that though awards and achievements are important, job satisfaction is a common behaviour in work performance. Furnham et al. (2009) defined job satisfaction as the degree to which employees were happy with their jobs. The two concepts are often discussed together since a person could be satisfied at work because there is a factor or condition that motivates him or her. In other words, job satisfaction is linked to job performance because employees who are happier at their jobs tend to be more effective and productive at their jobs. Furthermore, employees who are satisfied with their jobs are less likely to leave (Chen, 2006). According to Top et al. (2015), in order to provide insights into the quality of care and performance outcomes in hospitals, researchers should examine the employee levels of job satisfaction and job performance, as well as the effects of such factors on employee motivation, productivity and effectiveness. Job satisfaction is often considered as an attitude indicator that shows how much people enjoy their jobs, and it is positively connected with employee’s health and performance (Spector, 1997). For several physicians, job satisfaction depends on their positive relationships with staff and colleagues, control over vacation time, adequate resources, and clinical autonomy (Williams et al., 2003). The primary source of job stress for physicians is probably increased in workload while the consequences of dissatisfaction are increased physician turnover, decreased continuity of patients care, increased medical system costs as well as increased patient dissatisfaction (Murray et al., 2001). Therefore, job satisfaction could have influence on the physician’s job performance (Platis et al., 2015) since higher job satisfaction is related to better doctor-patient relationship (Deng et al., 2018), lower burnout (Natasha et al., 2015) and lower job turnover (Deng et al., 2018; Brawley and Pury, 2016). Besides, it is fundamental to examine the employee’s perceptions of their hospital administration within the context of emotional intelligence, and how the latter influences job performance. Healthcare organizations’ HRM policies and practices should foster work environment that promote emotional intelligence to generate positive effects on creativity, motivation, employees’ cooperation, job performance and organization’s effectiveness. As management studies undergo an “affective revolution,” emotional intelligence has emerged as a critical predictor of important organizational outcomes. The fact that emotions are a part of the workplace is well-known, but research into them is limited (Bande et al., 2015; Sony and Mekoth, 2016). According to Ashforth and Humphrey (1995), emotions are an important part of organizational life, and managing them effectively can lead to happier employees. Despite the controversy surrounding the use of emotional intelligence in the workplace, it has been reported that emotional intelligence has positive outcomes such as a decrease in turnover intention (Tett and Meyer, 1993), an increase in organisational citizenship behaviours (Fassina et al., 2008), a higher level of organisational commitment (Meyer et al., 2002), as well as an increase in job performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985). Empirically, some studies have argued that employees with a higher emotional intelligence perform better than employees with a lower emotional intelligence partly because they are more satisfied with their jobs, which results in improved performance (Alonderiene and Majauskaite, 2016; Brunetto et al., 2012; Li et al., 2018; Wong and Law, 2002). Moreover, Akkoc et al. (2022) noted that emotional labour has a positive effect on life satisfaction albeit the effect varies with the level of affective commitment. They emphasized the need to understand and transform the surface emotional setting that can cause emotional conflict in order to enhance a satisfactory life. The mediating role of job satisfaction 929 LODJ 43,6 930 Apart from the direct relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance, there could be a dynamic relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. The empirical outcomes from some studies showed that job satisfaction has a positive relationship with behavior, attitude and health (Winton, 2021). Improvements in employee job satisfaction offer a productive way to help generate positive attitudes and behaviors among employees, as organisations are constantly seeking new ways to improve shareholder value. Hence, job satisfaction could mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance in the health sector. Wong and Law (2002) posited that emotional intelligence is positively associated with both job satisfaction and job performance while Brunetto et al. (2012) noted that emotional intelligence promotes job satisfaction, organisational commitment and employee’s engagement. Moreover, Javed et al. (2020) noted a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction while Winton (2021) confirmed that improvement in emotional intelligence will increase the level of job satisfaction. Furthermore, another factor that could drive job performance is leadership style. The extensive research on the relationship between leadership styles and workplace performance nowadays, focuses on transformational and transactional leadership styles (Advani and Abbas, 2015). Essentially, a system of changing and transforming people is considered as transformational leadership (Hall et al., 2002). Some previous studies have indicated that transformational leadership has the capacity to improve employee’s performance (Al-Amin, 2017; Mangkunegara and Huddin, 2016; Manzoor et al., 2019). Besides, Arun et al. (2020) found a positive relationship between paternalistic leadership and organizational performance albeit organizational culture (i.e. cultural tightness/looseness) has insignificant moderating role on the efficacy of leadership on organizational performance. Essentially, transformational leaders with idealized influence can create employee’s trust and respect, express confidence in the organization’s vision, as well as emphasize the critical nature of a shared understanding of the organization’s mission (Yukl, 2013). These characteristics motivate subordinates to work diligently and creatively. By fostering an environment of collaboration and teamwork, leaders can motivate followers to perform at a high level. They shape the vision, inspire optimistic commitment to it, and foster an environment conducive to innovation. For example, Iraq is confronted with rapidly changing challenges that necessitate exceptional leadership (Al-Husseini et al., 2019). The country is investing heavily in human resource development. The educational policy of the country is to re-organize the educational system and to connect education to the country’s national development plans, with a particular emphasis on scientific, professional, and technical studies (Sikhi, 2008). Besides, transformational leadership and job satisfaction could have significant relationship, as job satisfaction is critical for local government institutions to provide services to meet citizens’ ever-growing and sometimes conflicting needs in rural areas or local level of governance. This is because contented employees are more productive than their dissatisfied counterparts (Riketta, 2008). Hence, numerous studies have examined the impact of leadership behaviors (transformational and transactional) on job satisfaction, and majority of these studies have reported a positive impact (Alonderiene and Majauskaite, 2016; Mickson et al., 2021). Given the dynamic relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction on the one hand, and between transformational leadership and job performance on the other, job satisfaction could mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. This issue has not been thoroughly examined especially among physicians in public hospitals in developing countries. Therefore, the specific objectives of this research are to: (1) examine the effect of job satisfaction on job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals; (2) determine the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals; (3) unveil the mediating role of job satisfaction on the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals. Our study makes some contributions to the extant literature. First, our study reveals the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals, unlike most previous studies that typically focused on western or affluent cultures. Besides, our analysis enables us to account for the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance as well as the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance in single framework. The literature on the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance is extensive, as numerous studies have found a strong link between one’s attitude toward his/her job (job satisfaction) and job performance (Judge et al., 2001). Our research extends the extant literature by integrating emotional intelligence and transformational leadership in the framework. Second, our study represents a novel idea that unveils the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals. Given the dynamic relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance on the one hand, and the nexus between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction on the other, job satisfaction could mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. This issue has not been thoroughly explored in the empirical literature especially in developing countries. Most previous studies on emotional intelligence are conducted in western and affluent cultures. Henrich et al. (2010) and Sony and Mekoth (2016) emphasized the importance of using non-western samples in research, particularly when the focus of the study is the nature of humans. Consequently, our research was carried out in Iraq, which is a society that is distinct from western societies. Emotional intelligence has been proposed as a significant predictor of job satisfaction since employees with a high level of emotional intelligence are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs compared to their peers with low level of emotional intelligence (Petrides, 2001; Petrides and Furnham, 2006). As a result, job satisfaction could act as a mediator between physicians’ emotional intelligence and job performance. Third, our study also contributes to the extant literature by unveiling the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance among physicians in Iraq’s public hospitals. Transformational leaders have a profound effect on their employees’ cognition and behavior patterns (Lord et al., 2017). As a result, we can reasonably hypothesize that job satisfaction (achievement, motivations and coping styles) may have a significant impact on the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Numerous studies have been conducted over the last century to investigate the relationship between work-related motivations and job performance (Cerasoli et al., 2014) and to demonstrate that achievement, motivations, benefit work life and outcomes (Suarezlvarez et al., 2013). Meanwhile, leadership in medical settings has effect on health worker motivations (Musinguzi et al., 2018). Transformational leadership that serves a greater purpose motivates public health staff to efficiently perform their work (Ree and Wiig, 2020), and their motivations alter their behavioral styles and productivity (Ree and Wiig, 2020; Judson et al., 2015). Despite the mounting evidence of transformational leadership’s beneficial effects in public health settings, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. As a result, managers continue to emphasize the importance of transformational leadership. However, a more precise and effective method of leadership has yet to be discovered. By omitting possible processes of cognitive and behavioral changes in physicians, the practical implications of the research are limited, and the issue of causality remains unresolved. To gain a better understanding of transformational leadership’s application in Iraq’s public hospitals, the current study examines the relationship between transformational leadership, job performance, and the mediating effect of job satisfaction in Iraq’s public hospitals. The mediating role of job satisfaction 931 LODJ 43,6 932 2. Literature review and hypotheses 2.1 Job satisfaction and job performance Job satisfaction refers to people’s attitudes toward their jobs and various aspects of them. It establishes the degree to which people value and appreciate their jobs. It is a result of a combination of physiological, psychological and environmental factors. Job satisfaction is typically viewed as an attitude indicator that shows how much people enjoy their jobs, and it is positively associated with employee’s health and performance (Spector, 1997). Reliable measures of physicians’ job satisfaction aid the explanation of physicians’ behavior in clinical, economic and organizational domains. They could also enhance the redesign of medical workplaces to better meet the needs of physicians and patients (Konrad et al., 1999). Conversely, the consequences of job dissatisfaction include increased physicians’ turnover, decreased continuity of care for patients, increased medical system costs, and increased patient dissatisfaction (Murray et al., 2001). Theoretically, the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance can be described by the theory of equity, which emphasizes the balance between the inputs and outputs of the employees in a workplace (see Adams and Freedman, 1976). The inputs are considered as the effort, time, tolerance, loyalty, flexibility, personal sacrifice, enthusiasm, skills as well as trust in superiors. The employees’ outputs include the salary, benefits, job security, sense of achievement, as well as reputation and praise. Adams and Freedman (1976) noted that an employee can be dissatisfied when his/her input is not appropriately rewarded compared to other individuals doing similar work. Hence, the employee’s inputs and outputs should be balanced. Consequently, since the physicians receive outputs for the inputs they invest in public hospitals, a study on the nexus between job satisfaction and job performance is fundamental to enable the hospitals to understand the need to enhance physicians job satisfaction in order to boost their job performance. It will also inspire the hospitals management (particularly the departmental heads) to raise the level of physicians’ job satisfaction. The job satisfaction of several physicians depends on the positive relationships with colleagues, adequate resources, control over vacation time, as well as clinical autonomy (Williams et al., 2003). Empirically, some studies have examined the effect of job satisfaction on job performance and concluded that job satisfaction and job performance have a strong positive relationship (e.g. Shooshtarian et al., 2013; Fu and Deshpande, 2014; Javed et al., 2015). For instance, Judge et al. (2001) reported a positive relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. According to Grunfeld et al. (2005), the primary sources of job satisfaction for Canadian oncology physicians were patient care and contact while increased workloads were identified as significant sources of job stress. Judge et al. (2017) analyzed the relationship between job attitudes, job satisfaction and job affect in a century of continuity and change. They noted that the literature on job attitudes has experienced significant improvement in the use of methods and theory as a basis for providing insights into work psychology. Recent research has emphasized the critical role of job satisfaction in influencing different aspects of job performance. For example, Yousef (2017) examined employee’s commitment and satisfaction in relation to organizational change. Similarly, other researchers have examined job satisfaction as a significant construct in recent years (Alessandri et al., 2017; Gul et al., 2018; Huo and Boxall, 2018). Job satisfaction may have effect on how well a physician performs in his or her job (Platis et al., 2015). Higher job satisfaction has been linked to lower burnout (Natasha et al., 2015), and lower job turnover (Brawley and Pury, 2016). Deng et al. (2018) stressed the need to improve the doctor-patient relationship, balance work and family life in order to boost job satisfaction and job performance. Hou et al. (2020) noted that psychological resilience and job satisfaction are significant predictors of job performance while Nasurdin et al. (2020) reported that job satisfaction has a positive connection with high-performance work practice (e.g. participation, compensation, training) and job performance. Mickson et al. (2021) also emphasized the need to improve job satisfaction through the appropriate leadership styles while Winton (2021) stressed emotions’ management to facilitate job satisfaction. However, no research has been conducted in Iraq to determine whether job satisfaction has an impact on physician job performance. Hence, we hypothesized the following: The mediating role of job satisfaction H1. Job satisfaction is positively associated with job performance. 933 2.2 Emotional intelligence and job performance The human resource management’s policies and practices in healthcare organizations should foster work environment that promote emotional intelligence in order to enhance employees’ creativity, motivation, co-operation and job performance. The “affective revolution” in management studies has necessitated the emergence of emotional intelligence as a critical predictor of important organizational outcomes since emotions are considered a part of the workplace or organizational life (Bande et al., 2015; Sony and Mekoth, 2016). Theoretically, the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance can be explained by the mutualism model of general intelligence, which opines that “intelligence is based on the underlying cognitive processes” (Van Der Maas et al., 2006). It states that the mutual beneficial relationships between these processes enhance the growth of other processes associated with this intelligence (Van Der Maas et al., 2006). Essentially, the positive connection between processes could be direct or indirect (via other processes). These mutual relationships have been explained in previous studies for different cognitive processes (Gibson, 1986; Van Der Maas et al., 2006). According to the mutualism model, certain cognitive processes mutually affect one another within certain environmental circumstances. Van Der Maas et al. (2006) noted that cognitive processes are viewed in a general sense (together with abilities), and that the mutual relationships between these cognitive abilities are not confined to only intellectual intelligence but are also applicable to emotional and social intelligence. Commenting on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction, some studies have argued that managers who possess high emotional intelligence can boost the employees job performance since they can effectively manage employees’ emotions that stimulate greater resilience, creativity, and performance (Fredrickson, 2003; Sy et al., 2006). Besides, managers who possess high emotional intelligence could be more proficient at fostering greater positive interactions between employees which are capable of intensifying better coordination, cooperation, organizational behaviours, and job performance (Barsade, 2002; Sy et al., 2005; Wong and Law, 2002). Furthermore, some scholars have theorized that job performance can be enhanced by the ability of employees to utilize emotions to promote performance (George and Brief, 1996). Both negative and positive emotions can be used by employees to their benefits in order to boost performance. Specifically, positive emotions (e.g. enthusiasm or excitement) can inspire employees to complete their task, offer greater customer service, as well as assist the organization. On the other hand, negative emotions (e.g. anxiety) can inhibit or enhance the ability of employees to focus on their assignments. Employees who possess greater emotional intelligence could be more skilful in fostering greater productive interactions that can promote job performance (Wong and Law, 2002). Some studies have also stressed the need to manage emotions effectively to ensure happier employees (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1995), decrease in turnover intention (Tett and Meyer, 1993), greater level of organisational commitment (Meyer et al., 2002), and increase in job performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky, 1985). Besides, employees with greater emotional intelligence can perform their works effectively relative to employees with lower emotional intelligence (Alonderiene and Majauskaite, 2016; Brunetto et al., 2012). Essentially, Wong and Law (2002) noted that emotional intelligence has a positive influence on job performance while Li et al. (2018) LODJ 43,6 showed that emotional intelligence is a significant predictor of job performance. Similar empirical outcomes have been reported in some studies (Brunetto et al., 2012; Javed et al., 2020; Winton, 2021). Based on the foregoing discussion, our study proposes the following hypothesis: H2. Emotional intelligence is positively associated with job performance. 934 2.3 Transformational leadership and job performance Nowadays, the extensive research on the relationship between leadership styles and workplace performance focuses on transformational and transactional leadership styles (Advani and Abbas, 2015). Transformational leaders with idealized influence can establish employee’s trust and respect, express confidence in the organization’s vision, as well as emphasize the critical nature of a shared understanding of the organization’s mission (Yukl, 2013). Hall et al. (2002) summarized the four factors to transformational leadership as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. Leaders can motivate followers to perform effectively by creating an environment of collaboration and teamwork where subordinates can work diligently and creatively. Transformational leaders can shape the vision, inspire optimistic commitment to it, and foster an environment conducive to innovation. Transformational leadership theory began with the ideas of Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) who asserted that transformational leaders motivate the subordinates to create leadership perceptions with novel perspectives due to intellectual stimulations. Leaders can create perceptions since they are people who have the capacity to support or inspire the subordinates with personalized consideration via charisma and motivation (Bass, 1985). In contrast, transactional leadership gives priority to supervising, assigning, organizing, monitoring and controlling each employee’s performance. Leaders that operate transactional leadership styles are interested in monitoring subordinates’ jobs, rewarding outstanding workers, and providing punishment or warnings to subordinates who stray from the predetermined goals. Several theories have been identified to explain the nexus between leadership style and job performance (Vigoda-Gadot, 2007). Transformational leadership has the capacity to boost job satisfaction because it can provide tasks, intellectual motivation and sense of responsibility. Essentially, leaders who adopt transformational leadership style can encourage their workers to have greater accountability and autonomy, which ultimately enhance workers’ sense of accomplishment and job satisfaction (Long et al., 2014). Under transformational leadership, the workers can optimally explore themselves, thereby raising their job performance level. Besides, the workers can have the opportunity to enhance their job satisfaction factors (such as increase in skills, salary, promotion opportunities, etc.) Transformational leaders who understand workers’ thoughts are better trainers, and possess the capacity to relate the workers’ objectives with the organizational goals (Horwitz et al., 2008). Some previous studies have noted that transformation leadership has a positive influence on employees’ job satisfaction, productivity and performance (Al-Amin, 2017; Mangkunegara and Huddin, 2016; Manzoor et al., 2019). Specifically, Mangkunegara and Huddin (2016) investigated the effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and job performance, and the results showed that transformational leadership has a positive influence on employees’ job performance. Besides, transformational leadership qualities (especially individualized considerations) have significant relationship with optimum employees’ performance (Long et al., 2014). By adopting the appropriate leadership style (e.g. transformational leadership style), managers can have significant influence on employees’ commitment, efficiency, productivity as well as job contentment. Al-Amin (2017) noted that transformational leadership has a positive influence on employee’s performance while Buil et al. (2019) reported a positive connection between transformational leadership and job performance. Manzoor et al. (2019) also stressed the importance of transformational leadership in promoting job performance. Mickson et al. (2021) also emphasized the role of transformational leadership in enhancing job outcomes. Based on the discussion above, we develop the following hypothesis: The mediating role of job satisfaction H3. Transformational leadership is positively associated with job performance. 935 2.4 Job satisfaction as a mediator Based on the relationships between physicians’ emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and job performance, we expect that job satisfaction will act as a mediator on the impact of physicians’ emotional intelligence on job performance. This is consistent with the findings of Li et al. (2018), who discovered an indirect positive relationship between physicians’ emotional intelligence and job performance via job satisfaction. They argued that physicians with a higher emotional intelligence perform better than physicians with a lower emotional intelligence partly because they are more satisfied with their jobs, which results in improved performance. Furthermore, there is evidence that job satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between physicians’ emotional intelligence and performance-related variables (Alonderiene and Majauskaite, 2016). Wong and Law (2002) and Brunetto et al. (2012) found that physicians’ emotional intelligence positively predicted job satisfaction, which in turn, promoted employee engagement. On the basis of the existing literature, we propose in the current study that job satisfaction acts as a mediator on the relationship between physicians’ emotional intelligence and job performance. A review of the literature on emotional intelligence in healthcare settings established that emotional intelligence has a broad application in medicine, encompassing domains such as interpersonal skills and communication, patient care, professionalism, medical knowledge, and practice-based learning and improvement (Arora et al., 2010). As a result, there has been an increasing call for incorporating emotional intelligence development into medical education (Arora et al., 2010; Lewis et al., 2005; Pilkington et al., 2012). Hence, the following hypothesis is proposed: H4. Job satisfaction mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. Employees’ interest in completing their assigned tasks increases when they are satisfied with their jobs (Mangkunegara and Huddin, 2016; Mujkic et al., 2014). Besides, Rezvani et al. (2016) found that when employees are satisfied with their job, they are more likely to perform better, make better decisions, and solve problems. As a result, satisfied employees at work usually perform better (Rezvani et al., 2016). Leadership, on the other hand, is a management function that focuses on public relations, people and techniques to motivate employees to achieve higher levels of performance and organizational success (Voon et al., 2011; Mangkunegara and Huddin, 2016). In order to achieve job satisfaction, effective leadership is crucial. According to several studies conducted in various countries, transformational leadership has a positive correlation with job satisfaction, which leads to higher employee performance and organizational success (Berson and Linton, 2005; Seo et al., 2004). Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and empowerment are all characteristics of transformational leadership (Shaw et al., 2018). Transformational leaders in medical settings generally inspire public health workers to share the sacred mission, stimulate their intelligence, and provide personalized care (Fischer, 2016; Pearson, 2020). Employees (particularly those with high need for leadership) are more likely to engage in work and perform better when leaders demonstrated a greater capacity for transformational leadership (Breevaart et al., 2016). Public health leadership can help with the professional development of the public health workforce. The cognition and behavior patterns of their employees are LODJ 43,6 profoundly influenced by transformational leaders (Lord et al., 2017). As a result, achievement, motivation and coping styles may have a significant impact on the relationship between transformational leadership and performance. Based on the discussion above, the following hypothesis is proposed: H5. Job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance (see Figure 1). 936 3. Methodology 3.1 Procedure and sample A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from employees working in Iraq’s public hospitals. The justification for choosing the survey method is because it allows us to collect a large quantity of data within a short time (Al Wali et al., 2022b). Unlike other data collection techniques, the survey method is extensive because it can provide different information about the population or sample. Moreover, the survey method is less costly relative to other techniques. Another justification for using the survey method is that the method is flexible since it can be administered in various modes such as face-to-face, email, online, telephone, etc. The survey method is also dependable because its’ anonymity allows the respondents to provide valid, honest, as well as unambiguous responses (Al Wali et al., 2022a). Prior to conducting the survey, two medical professionals working in public hospitals in Iraq and two academic professionals working in universities reviewed the questionnaire for wording, content, and question ambiguity issues. The professionals suggested a few minor changes to the questionnaire. We collected data from full-time healthcare professionals (physicians) recording their opinions on emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and job performance using a convenience sampling technique. Data was collected from seven public hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, between June and July 2021 (Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Al Kindi General Teaching Hospital, Al Yarmuk General Teaching Hospital, Al Nuaman General Hospital, Al Qadisiya General Hospital, Al Karkh General Hospital, and Ibn Sina Hospital). The questionnaires were administered to the physicians who had direct interaction with the patients (e.g. in emergency and OPD). Public hospitals were chosen for this study because they receive a high volume of patients seeking free medical treatment. A total of 157 responses were utilized in the data analysis. This study employs the Structural Equation Model (SEM) through Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) to ascertain the relationship between the variables. The justification for choosing the PLS-SEM relative to other techniques (e.g. Covariance-Based Structural Equation Model) is that our research model seeks to predict and explain the variance in fundamental target constructs (Chin, 2010; Al Wali et al., 2022b). The PLS-SEM is appropriate for a study that seeks to predict important target constructs or seeks to identify fundamental driver construct. Moreover, the PLS-SEM is appropriate for exploratory research or a research that extends an existing structural theory. Also, the relationships examined in our study are still in the early stages of theoretical development, which opens the door to the exploration of Emotional Intelligence Job Satisfaction Figure 1. Conceptual framework Transformational Leadership Job Performance novel ideas in future research (Al Wali et al., 2022a). Besides, the structural model is capable of revealing the relative effects of exogenous variables on endogenous variables (Richter et al., 2016). Table 1 shows the profile of respondents. 3.2 Measures In this study, items were adapted from previously well-established and published studies. All items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “1” “strongly disagree” to “5” “strongly agree”. 3.2.1 Emotional intelligence. This variable was determined through the use of sixteen items adapted from Wong and Law (2002). “I usually have a good sense of why I have certain feelings,” and “I can always tell my friends’ emotions based on their behaviour.” Although the scale was developed in 2002, it has been widely used in recent studies (Acosta-Prado and Zarate-Torres, 2019; Di et al., 2020), and its validity has been confirmed in a variety of different countries and markets (Acosta-Prado and Zarate-Torres, 2019; Iliceto and Fino, 2017). For these reasons, it was included as a component of the research instrument in this study. In this study, the Cronbach alpha value for emotional intelligence was 0.968. 3.2.2 Transformational leadership. The seven items from Carless et al. (2000) were used to assess the participants. For example, “My leader encourages me to think about problems in new ways and to question assumptions,” and “My leader treats us as individuals, supports, and encourages our development,”. According to this study, the Cronbach alpha for transformational leadership was 0.957. 3.2.3 Job satisfaction. The six-item scale used in this study provides a one-dimensional measure of overall job satisfaction (Agho et al., 1992). In this study, the Cronbach alpha for job satisfaction was 0.894, which is very high. 3.2.4 Job performance. This variable was measured by using five items adapted from Williams and Anderson (1991). Sample items include “I adequately complete assigned duties”, “I meet the formal performance requirements of the job”. Cronbach alpha for this measure was 0.923 in this study. The mediating role of job satisfaction 937 3.3 Common method bias The data for this study were collected from a single source through the use of a selfadministered questionnaire. As a result, it has the potential to introduce the possibility of Demographic variable Categories N % Gender Male Female Bachelors Masters Doctors 20–30 years 31–40 years 41–50 years Over 50 years Less than 1 year 1–5 years 6–10 years 11–15 years More than 15 years Single Married 101 56 42 64 51 26 42 52 37 15 36 33 46 27 43 114 64.3 35.7 26.8 40.8 32.5 16.6 26.8 33.1 23.6 9.6 22.9 21 29.3 17.2 27.4 72.6 Education Age Experience Marital status Table 1. Profile of respondents LODJ 43,6 938 common method variance (CMV) into the data. Because of this, both procedural and statistical methods were used in this study to address the common method bias that was observed (Schwarz et al., 2017). The data set was subjected to Harmon’s single factor analysis in order to determine the presence of common method bias. According to the findings, the first factor explains 28% of the variance, indicating that common method bias had no effect on the current study’s findings (Babin et al., 2016). 3.4 Analysis strategy For analyzing the data in this study, we used Smart PLS version 3.2.7 to examine both the measurement and structural model. 3.4.1 Measurement model assessment. The measurement model was evaluated in order to determine the validity and reliability of the measurement items (see Table 2). In the first step, the loadings, average variance extracted (AVE), and composite reliability (CR) are evaluated to ensure the measurement model’s convergent validity. According to Hair et al. (2021), each item should have a loading of at least 0.5 to be considered valid. Furthermore, they recommended that items with loadings of less than 0.50 be removed. However, as shown in Table 2, loadings for items with a value of less than 0.5 have been removed from this study. The descriptive statistics reported in Table 3 indicate small variations among the variables. For instance, the mean values of job performance, job satisfaction, emotional Constructs Items Factors loading Emotional intelligence EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5 EI6 EI7 EI8 EI9 EI10 EI11 EI14 EI15 EI16 TL2 TL3 TL4 TL5 TL6 TL7 JS1 JS2 JS3 JS4 JS5 JS6 JP1 JP2 JP3 JP4 JP5 0.833 0.924 0.886 0.825 0.802 0.893 0.845 0.906 0.895 0.853 0.808 0.721 0.738 0.735 0.889 0.914 0.932 0.929 0.887 0.885 0.671 0.811 0.908 0.875 0.804 0.780 0.776 0.863 0.888 0.921 0.914 Transformational leadership Job satisfaction Job performance Table 2. Factors loading No of items deleted EI12, EI13 TL1 None None intelligence, and transformational leadership were 0.871, 0.808, 0.831, and 0.905, respectively. The corresponding standard deviations indicate that the variables are quite dispersed around their means (averages). Additionally, we examined CR values and AVE scores to evaluate the measurement model (Hair et al., 2017). For advanced research, CR values of between 0.7 and 0.9 are considered satisfactory (Hair et al., 2011). The CR values for all constructs (see Table 4) ranged from 0.920 to 0.970, which is greater than the recommended value (Hair et al., 2021; Henseler et al., 2009). Finally, convergent validity was determined using the AVE scores. Acceptable AVE scores are 0.5 or greater (Al Wali et al., 2022b; Hair et al., 2011). The findings indicate that all constructs had AVE scores greater than 0.5, which met the minimum threshold suggested by some authors (Hair et al., 2021), as shown in Table 4. Next, this study assessed HTMT (Henseler et al., 2015) to confirm the discriminant validity for the measurement model. Henseler et al. (2015) suggest an HTMT value of less than 0.9 is acceptable. As shown in Table 5, the values of HTMT were all lower than the criterion of 0.90. Therefore, it suggests that respondents in this study believed and understood that all the constructs used in this study were distinct from each other in practical terms. However, it can be concluded that both the convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement model were confirmed in this study (Table 5). 3.4.2 Structural model assessment. All hypotheses that include both direct and indirect effects can be tested simultaneously using the PLS-SEM (Hair et al., 2021). Figure 2 illustrates Construct N Min. Max. Mean S.D. JP JS EI The mediating role of job satisfaction 939 TL Job performance (JP) 157 1 5 0.871 0.029 1 Job satisfaction (JS) 157 1 5 0.808 0.036 0.682 1 Emotional intelligence (EI) 157 1 5 0.831 0.526 0.721 0.595 1 Transformational leadership (TL) 157 1 5 0.905 0.020 0.257 0.346 0.144 1 Table 3. Note(s): Emotional Intelligence (EI), Job Performance (JP), Job Satisfaction (JS), Transformational Descriptive statistics Leadership (TL) and correlation matrix Constructs Cronbach’s alpha Composite reliability Average variance extracted (AVE) 0.968 0.957 0.894 0.923 0.970 0.965 0.920 0.942 0.698 0.821 0.659 0.764 Emotional intelligence Transformational leadership Job satisfaction Job performance Constructs Emotional intelligence Job performance Job satisfaction Transformational leadership Emotional intelligence Job performance 0.711 0.581 0.126 0.736 0.262 Job satisfaction 0.373 Table 4. Composite reliability, average variance extracted (AVE) Transformational leadership Table 5. Discriminant validity Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio (HTMT) criterion LODJ 43,6 940 Figure 2. Structural model a structural model. Regarding the first hypothesis, the findings reported in Table 6 show that job satisfaction is significantly and positively related to job performance (t-statistic 5 5.882, p-value 5 0.000), thereby supporting hypothesis H1. The results also indicate that emotional intelligence is significantly and positively related to job performance (t-statistic 5 7.939, p-value 5 0.000), thereby supporting hypothesis H2. However, there is no evidence to support hypothesis H3 since transformational leadership is not significantly and positively related to job performance (t-statistic 5 0.910, p-value 0.363). We used Preacher and Hayes’s (2008) method to assess mediating effects. The bootstrapping technique is used to determine the significance of mediation relationships using this method (indirect effects). For mediating relationships, t-values greater than the critical value of 1.96 were considered significant. Additionally, indirect effects established the existence of mediating effects in the absence of a “0” value between confidence intervals, as Preacher and Hayes (2008) suggested. The results of the mediating effects reported in Table 6 revealed that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and Hypothesis relationship Std error t-value Job satisfaction → job performance 0.359 0.061 5.882 Emotional intelligence → job 0.503 0.063 7.939 performance H3 Transformational leadership → job 0.056 0.062 0.910 performance H4 Emotional intelligence → job 0.198 0.043 4.626 satisfaction → job performance H5 Transformational leadership → job 0.096 0.026 3.693 satisfaction → job performance Note(s): p < 0.05 (based on one-tailed test with 5.000 bootstrapping) H1 H2 Table 6. Result of structural model Original sample 95% CI LL 95% CI UL p-value 0.173 0.388 0.364 0.603 0.000 0.000 0.051 0.155 0.363 0.136 0.274 0.000 0.054 0.142 0.000 job performance (t-statistic 5 4.696, p-value 5 0.000), implying that hypothesis H4 is supported. Finally, the results also show that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance (t-statistic 5 4.625, p-value 5 0.05). Therefore, hypothesis H5 is supported. 4. Discussion This study seeks to investigate the association between job satisfaction and job performance among physicians in public hospitals in Iraq. It also examines the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance as well as the mediating role of job satisfaction on the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance. This study focuses on a particular sector of health professionals who play a central role in the health system. Furthermore, it investigates the relationships between these variables in this population at a time of particular need and vulnerability such as the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). The information for this study was gathered from physicians working in Iraqi public hospitals during the peak period of the pandemic (second wave) in Iraq, which occurred between June and late July 2021. These circumstances afforded us the opportunity to provide better insights into the relationship between these variables and physicians’ job performance. Besides, we can design future research programmes aimed at improving the physicians’ performance in this sector. Unfortunately, the crisis triggered by COVID-19 is not yet under control, either in Iraq or around the world, and it is necessary to understand how different variables that influence the job performance of physicians are related in the context of a pandemic. The research was conducted in response to repeated requests for information on how the various components of a transformational leadership style influence various workplace behaviors and attitudes (Yammarino, 1990; Yammarino and Bass, 1990). According to existing research, the components of a transformational leadership style have similar effects on various work outcomes, leading to the transformational leadership style being conceptualized as a global construct. This research also discovered that organizational leaders should align their leadership behaviors with individual followers’ identity and orientation differences. As a result, the organization will be able to get the most out of its employees’ assigned tasks, improve their job and life satisfaction, and reduce their desire to leave. For example, a leader who wants his followers to believe in him and have a strong sense of mission should use idealized influence to be a role model in moral and workplace ethics. From the first hypothesis, our study shows that job satisfaction has a significant and positive influence on the job performance of physicians in public hospitals in Iraq. This positive and significant relationship indicates that the more employees are satisfied with their jobs, the more likely they are to perform well at work. The effect of job satisfaction on job performance is supported by some previous studies in various fields or industries. For instance, Maaitah et al. (2018) and Tsai et al. (2010) reported that job satisfaction is positively correlated with job performance. Bakan et al. (2014) also confirmed that job satisfaction has a positive impact on job performance and job commitment among academic staff in Turkey. Using data from a study of non-executive workers in the Kalutara district of Sri Lanka, Perera and Weerakkody (2016) discovered a positive relationship between job satisfaction and their performance. The results of the second hypothesis show that emotional intelligence is significantly and positively related to job performance among the physicians in Iraq public hospitals. This implies that employees with greater emotional intelligence can perform their works effectively relative to employees with lower emotional intelligence (see Alonderiene and Majauskaite, 2016; Brunetto et al., 2012). This empirical outcome is consistent with some The mediating role of job satisfaction 941 LODJ 43,6 942 previous studies (e.g. Li et al., 2018; Javed et al., 2020; Wong and Law, 2002) who posited that emotional intelligence is a significant and positive determinant of job performance. The results of the third hypothesis indicate that transformational leadership has no significant relationship with job performance among the physicians in Iraq public hospitals. This implies that transformational leadership cannot predict physicians’ performance. This empirical outcome is consistent with Brewer et al. (2016) who reported that transformational leadership has insignificant relationship with intent to stay and job satisfaction of nurses albeit it has small direct positive impact on organizational commitment. Though transformational leadership can be seen in medical settings in Iraq, our study found no evidence to show that it can positively influence physicians job performance in public hospitals. The low level or degree of transformational leadership in Iraq public hospitals could possibly be responsible for the insignificant relationship between transformational leadership and physicians job performance. For instance, some studies have argued that transformation leadership (as a fundamental factor in the workplace) can only stimulate job performance if it engenders employee’s creativity, innovation and job satisfaction (Cheung and Wong, 2011; Miao and Cao, 2019; Vecchio et al., 2008). Besides, transformational leadership can contribute to employees’ job performance and quality improvement if it reduces attrition, enhances employees’ retention and creates a positive work environment for employees (Brewer et al., 2016; Boamah et al., 2018). In this regard, it may be necessary to strengthen medical leadership (especially transformational leadership) in Iraq public hospitals in order to promote the physicians’ personal development and performance. The results of the fourth hypothesis show that job satisfaction has a significant mediating role on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance of physicians in Iraqi public hospitals. In this case, job satisfaction becomes an important factor to consider in an effort to improve employee performance. Job satisfaction is a powerful motivator that can influence the relationship between emotional intelligence and performance (Chin and Yusof, 2017; Schlaegel et al., 2020). Physicians are expected to have good acceptance and emotional control over how they deal with changes by optimizing the aspects of job satisfaction. According to the fifth hypothesis, job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Job satisfaction is extremely important in transformational leadership because it has a direct impact on employee performance. Theoretically, transformational leadership could play a role in improving the performance of physicians by increasing their level of job satisfaction (Paracha et al., 2012; Risambessy et al., 2012; Elgelal and Noermijati, 2015). These previous studies showed that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance albeit it has no significant mediating role on the nexus between transactional leadership and employee performance. 4.1 Theoretical implications This study makes some contributions to the theoretical literature by integrating the literature on the nexus between job satisfaction and job performance, emotional intelligence and job performance, as well as transformational leadership and job performance in single framework. It emphasizes the fundamental roles of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence in promoting job performance in the health sector albeit transformational leadership has tenuous effect. It indicates that employees with high job satisfaction are likely to perform well in their jobs relative to employee with low job satisfaction. Besides, the job performance of employees with high emotional intelligence is greater than the job performance of employee with low emotional intelligence. Apart from the direct effects, this study indicates that job satisfaction has a significant mediating role on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. This finding reveals important theoretical clues that emotional intelligence as a personal capability may influence job performance not only directly but also indirectly through its positive effect on job satisfaction. This further emphasizes the value of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Essentially, emotional intelligence probably influences physicians’ emotional labor strategies and job satisfaction which ultimately affects their job satisfaction. Though the direct impact of transformational leadership on job performance is tenuous, there is robust evidence that job satisfaction enhances the impact of transformational leadership on job performance. Precisely, job satisfaction has a significant mediating role on the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. Hence, organizations that want to strengthen the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance should promote employee’s job satisfaction. Employees who work with transformation leaders can improve their job performance if they have greater job satisfaction. The causal mediation analysis in this study confirms that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance as well as the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance among physicians in public hospitals. In other words, job satisfaction should be considered when investigating the impacts of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership on physicians’ job performance. Therefore, this research extends the social cognitive theory and social exchange theory [1]. 4.2 Practical implication The study’s findings have some intriguing and practical implications for hospital-based medical professionals. To begin with, it demonstrates that physicians’ emotional intelligence can contribute significantly to job performance in the workplace. Earlier research has established that emotional intelligence can be enhanced through targeted training (e.g. Nelis et al., 2009, 2011). Thus, it is suggested that public hospital administrators and policymakers recognize its significance and incorporate it into physician training programs. Second, from a managerial standpoint, physician leadership positions should be filled with physicians who exhibit transformational leadership characteristics. This is important because these leadership characteristics have a positive relationship with employee’s job satisfaction especially when accompanied with job satisfaction. For physicians who lack these characteristics, it is critical to develop organizational practices that foster respect and support equitable treatment. Regardless of individual styles, it may be beneficial for public hospitals to engage actively in training their physicians to develop transformational qualities and skills and to instill them in their interactions with subordinates. Third, transformational leadership must be incorporated into physician recruitment, promotion, and training in healthcare settings. Particularly in healthcare, leadership development would benefit from combining training and coaching approaches based on the transformational leadership concept (Braun et al., 2009). In general, our findings suggest that the healthcare sector can serve as a model for other organizations (in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors) by demonstrating the impact of a culture which is shaped by transformational leadership and trust. 5. Conclusion The results of the current study confirm that the objectives were achieved. The first objective of this study was to examine the association between job satisfaction and job performance. The finding showed that job satisfaction has a significant positive relationship with job performance. The second objective was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. The findings indicate that emotional intelligence is significantly and positively related to job performance. The The mediating role of job satisfaction 943 LODJ 43,6 944 third objective sought to ascertain the nexus between transformational leadership and job performance, and the findings reveal that transformational leadership has no significant relationship with job performance. The fourth objective was to test the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance. The results indicate that job satisfaction mediates the effect of emotional intelligence on job performance. These findings significantly lend support to the mediating role of job satisfaction in emotional intelligence on job performance. The final objective was to determine the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. The findings show that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and job performance. This study has some theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it integrates the literature on the nexus between job satisfaction and job performance, emotional intelligence and job performance, as well as transformational leadership and job performance in single framework. By unveiling the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance as well as between transformational leadership and job performance, this study has extended the theoretical literature. It indicates that employees who have high job satisfaction, emotional intelligence and transformational leaders are likely to perform their job effectively relative to employees who have low job satisfaction and emotional intelligence. Hence, this study extends the social cognitive theory and social exchange theory. Practically, this study emphasizes that job satisfaction is a significant determinant of job performance among physicians in public hospitals. It also plays a favorable mediating role on the effects of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership on job performance in public hospitals. Therefore, public hospitals should create the enabling environment that promotes job satisfaction among physicians in order to attain optimal job performance. This study also demonstrates that physicians’ emotional intelligence can contribute significantly to job satisfaction. Therefore, public hospital administrators and policymakers should recognize the significance of emotional intelligence and incorporate it into physician training programs. Moreover, the leadership of physicians should be filled with people who exhibit transformational leadership characteristics in order to develop organizational practices that foster respect and support equitable treatment. Public hospitals should actively engage in the training of physicians to develop the requisite transformational qualities and skills that will enhance their interactions with subordinates. Transformational leadership should be incorporated into physicians’ recruitment, promotion, and training in healthcare settings. 6. Limitations and future research Every study arguably has limitations, which emphasizes the importance of additional research. To begin with, this study focuses exclusively on the health sector. Hence, future research may extend its findings to other service sectors, such as banking and the hotel industry. Second, this study’s data collection occurred in a single session. The data collected in future research can be collected in two waves. Time one could be devoted to emotional intelligence and transformational leadership while time two could be devoted to job performance and satisfaction. Finally, because the results of this study were obtained during a pandemic, their generalizability to other contexts should be exercised with caution. Despite its limitations, this research data sheds light on a critical issue, such as the impact of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership on physician performance. Additionally, the data reflects these relationships during a period of extraordinary crisis in Iraq, as they were collected during the country’s peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that these data provide an excellent opportunity to investigate this critical issue for physicians, the health system, and society in a setting as unique and difficult to study as a pandemic’s peak. We hope that the data presented here can assist physicians in ensuring their performance in future situations. Note 1. The social cognitive theory stresses the importance of cognition in the interplay between the self, behavior and the environment. 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