Enhancing Lecturer Performance through Perceived Organizational Support and Visionary Leadership: Evidence from Private Higher Education in Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines how perceived organizational support and visionary leadership influence lecturer performance, with work motivation as a mediating variable. This quantitative explanatory survey included 147 lecturers from private universities, selected through proportional random sampling from a reachable population of 232. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using path analysis to test causal relationships. This analysis was complemented by the SITOREM (Scientific Identification Theory to Conduct Operation Research in Education Management) method to translate statistical findings into practical and prioritized managerial recommendations. The results showed that perceived organizational support (β = 0.278) and visionary leadership (β = 0.212) each had a positive and significant direct effect on lecturer performance. Both factors also positively influenced work motivation, which in turn significantly improved performance (β = 0.297); the mediation analysis confirmed that work motivation mediated the effects of organizational support (indirect β = 0.093) and visionary leadership (indirect β = 0.142). This study advances the theory of perceived organizational support (POS) and the visionary leadership framework by showing that work motivation serves as a key psychological mechanism linking institutional resources and leadership direction to academic performance outcomes.