The mediating role of managerial capabilities in local governments: Leadership style and strategy execution

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Leadership style and managerial capability remain critical yet understudied factors influencing strategy execution in local governments. This quantitative study examines how paternalistic, transactional, and transformational leadership shape managerial capability and strategy execution, and whether managerial capability mediates these relationships. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 382 civil servants (ASN) across 10 regencies, cities, and the provincial government in North Maluku, and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The statistical results show that all three leadership styles significantly enhance managerial capability, with paternalistic (β = 0.291), transactional (β = 0.283), and transformational (β = 0.282) leadership demonstrating positive effects (p < 0.05). Paternalistic and transformational leadership also positively influence strategy execution, whereas transactional leadership shows no significant direct effect (β = –0.004, p = 0.473). Managerial capability significantly improves strategy execution and serves as a meaningful mediator, supported by indirect path coefficients ranging from β = 0.109 to 0.112 (p < 0.05). These findings reinforce the role of managerial capability as a strategic public-sector resource within the RBV framework. Practically, the results highlight the importance of leadership development programs that integrate paternalistic and transformational behaviors, supported by selective transactional practices, to strengthen managerial capability and improve strategy implementation in local governments.

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    • Figure 1. Research model
    • Figure 2. PLS path model – Standardized path coefficients and significance
    • Table 1. Respondent characteristics
    • Table 2. Employee perceptions on transformational, paternalistic and transactional leadership, managerial capabilities, and strategic execution
    • Table 3. Measurement model evaluation
    • Table 4. Discriminant validity results
    • Table 5. Collinearity test results (VIF)
    • Table 6. Hypotheses testing results
    • Conceptualization
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim, Abdullah W. Jabid, Johan Fahri
    • Data curation
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Formal Analysis
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Investigation
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Methodology
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Project administration
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Resources
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim, Abdullah W. Jabid, Johan Fahri
    • Supervision
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim
    • Validation
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Johan Fahri
    • Visualization
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Johan Fahri
    • Writing – original draft
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim, Abdullah W. Jabid, Johan Fahri
    • Writing – review & editing
      Nirwan M.T. Ali, Abd. Wahab Hasyim, Abdullah W. Jabid, Johan Fahri