Unearthing the Moral and Authentic Leader: Understanding the Impact of Transcendental Leadership, Workplace Spirituality, and Corporate Social Responsibility on Performance

December 3, 2025

Unearthing the Moral and Authentic Leader: Understanding the Impact of Transcendental Leadership, Workplace Spirituality, and Corporate Social Responsibility on Performance

Mignon Sparks Burton | 2017

Abstract

This study assessed a variable that might counteract a growing contemporary trend of immoral, corrupt, and self-serving leaders. It was posited that the spiritual nature of a transcendental leader promotes a work environment where spirituality is fostered, so corporate behaviors positively guide workers’ communal responsibility, which results in improved organizational performance in both the spheres of task and contextual outcomes. This study asked: Is there a positive relationship between transcendental leadership (TL) and organizational performance, and what effect do workplace spirituality (WS) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have on this relationship? The relationships between the constructs of TL (independent variable), WS (moderator), CSR (mediator), and organizational performance (dependent variables: task and contextual) were reviewed. Two hierarchical regression analyses examined the criteria variables on their relationship with the two dependent variables (organizational performance task [OPT] and organizational performance contextual [OPC]), as well as the related descriptive statistics. The results detailed participants’ perceived TL positively predicts with both the organizational performance task and contextual variables at significant levels. Therefore, Hypothesis 1a, There is a positive relationship between TL and OPT, and Hypothesis 2a, There is a positive relationship between TL and OPC, were supported. The hypotheses relating to the WS’s moderating effect between TL and CSR as a mediating variable for the criterion variables (OPT and OPC)—Hypothesis 1b, WS moderates the relationship between TL and CSR such that at higher levels of WS the relationship is stronger; Hypothesis 1c, CSR mediates the relationship between TL and OPT such that higher levels of CSR the relationship is stronger; Hypothesis 2b, WS moderates the relationship between TL and CSR such that at higher levels of WS the relationship is stronger; and Hypothesis 2c, CSR mediates the relationship between TL and OPC such that at higher levels of CSR the relationship is stronger—were not supported.

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