Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 1

The Role of Strategic Leadership in Mediating the Improvement

of the Organizational Performance of the Indonesian Navy

Military Sea Lift Command Warship

Yudah Trismoyo 1*, Willy Arafah 2, Sarfilianty Anggiani3

Universitas Trisakti, Indonesia

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT This research aims to analyze the influence of esprit de corps,

organizational climate, and professionalism on organizational

performance in the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command

Warship, with both direct and indirect effects mediated by strategic

leadership. This research employs a quantitative approach with

hypothesis testing to examine the relationships between independent,

dependent variables and the effect of mediating variables. Data collection

is cross-sectional through primary data sources in the form of

questionnaires distributed online to 147 respondents from the population

of officers in the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship.

The sampling technique uses the total sampling, while data analysis uses

Partial Least Square–Structural Equation Model Version 3.0. A total of

ten hypotheses were tested in this study, with results showing significant

direct effects of esprit de corps, organizational climate, professionalism,

and strategic leadership on organizational performance. On the other

hand, indirect effects were observed through the role of strategic

leadership as a significant mediating variable that links esprit de corps,

organizational climate, and professionalism to organizational

performance. The most significant direct effect was found in the

relationship between organizational climate and strategic leadership,

while the strongest indirect effect occurred with the organizational

climate’s influence on organizational performance through the mediation

of strategic leadership. Future research could expand the variables or

explore other factors influencing organizational performance, with a

larger sample size and a qualitative or mixed-method approach.

Keywords: esprit de corps, organizational climate, professionalism, organizational

performance, strategic leadership

INTRODUCTION

The Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command is the Main Operational

Command of the Indonesian Armed Forces which is positioned and directly

responsible to the Indonesian Armed Forces Commander who has the task of

organizing Indonesian Armed Forces sea transportation operations in the context of

Military War Operations and Military Operations Other Than War as well as sea

transportation assistance in accordance with the Indonesian Armed Forces

Commander's policy. In 2023, The Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command

has carried out 29 sea transportation operations in support of the shifting of

personnel and materials of the Task Force using the strength of 11 the Indonesian

Warships as transport elements (Kolinlamil, 2024). The high level of the Indonesian

Yudah Trismoyo, Willy Arafah, Sarfilianty Anggiani

Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 2

Navy Military Sea Lift Command operational activities requires the responsibility

of each personnel in maintaining and improving organizational performance,

especially Indonesian Navy Warship crews.

Indonesian Navy Warship as the implementing element of the Indonesian

Navy Military Sea Lift Command operations is manned by soldiers who have

different corps and vocational backgrounds, for this reason perception and

understanding of the same goals are needed. Some of the problems faced by the

Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warships are that the number of crew

personnel does not match the personnel list, so that several positions are carried out

by other personnel who are not in their vocation or expertise. In addition, most of

the Indonesian Warships in the The Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command

have exceeded their service life of over 35 years (Karadona, et al., 2023), so that

there is a decline in technical conditions and accommodation for crews.

According to Enoch and Tende (2022), the success of organizational

performance can be influenced by esprit de corps, organizational performance (He

et al., 2022) and professionalism (Kamaruddin, et al., 2023). The achievement of

The Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command’s performance through the

implementation of operations is thought to be partly influenced by several factors,

including esprit de corps, organizational climate, and professionalism to improve

organizational performance to succeed in the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift

Command’s duties.

Esprit de corps is described as the selfless devotion and enthusiasm of group

members towards the group or its goals. In Military Science, esprit de corps

generally evokes military associations (Okoro, 2019). Blaufarb (1989) describes

esprit de corps as an individual-level concept, described as the enthusiasm, passion,

dedication, zeal, or devotion felt by an individual towards a goal or objective.

Kayworth (2020) argues that esprit de corps or teamwork allows organizations to

bring together perspectives from different cultures and business customs to avoid

counterproductive ethnocentric bias but instead encourage "groupthink" and

develop innovative solutions to various problems. This study adopts the

measurement dimensions according to Boyt et al., (2005) namely leadership,

communication, public image, mutual trust and training, these dimensions are

considered appropriate to the object of research. The esprit de corps that arises in

the Indonesian Warship is influenced by leadership and communication between

crew members, in addition to public image and mutual trust as motivation and pride,

training is an implementation of the spirit and cooperation as crews which is

teamwork.

Ivancevich et al., (2008) stated that organizational climate is a collection and

pattern of the environment that determines the emergence of motivation and focuses

on principles that are reasonable or can be assessed, so that it directly affects

organizational performance. This study uses the measurement dimensions of Abun

et al., (2023), namely clarity, standards, individual responsibility, flexibility, reward

and recognition and team commitment. Organizational climate at the Indonesian

Warship reflects how the crew perceives the workplace and the fulfillment of

supporting facilities and infrastructure for work, clarity in regulatory guidelines,

understanding the meaning of contribution to work and getting rewards or awards

and interpreting a challenge at work.

The Role of Strategic Leadership in Mediating the Improvement of the Organizational Performance Of the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship

Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 3

Professionalism in the military is rooted in the work of Samuel Huntington

who described military professionalism as a type of functional group with

specialized characteristics, with expertise, responsibility, and corporate nature that

make up professionalism. Expertise refers to the special talents of military

personnel, as well as the education and training needed to develop those skills

(Budeci, 2023). Yansheng et al., (2018) a person is said to be professional if his

work shows the technical or moral requirements of the profession he chooses. The

dimensions of measuring professionalism in this study use five dimensions

explained by Morrow and Goetz, namely dedication, social obligation, autonomy

demands, belief in self-regulation, and professional community affiliation (Cohen,

1999), with considerations that are considered appropriate to the object of research.

The professionalism of the Indonesian Warship crews is not only obtained from

education and training, but requires dedication to carry out tasks according to the

rules and good cooperation between crews

Organizational performance is the achievement of performance achieved by

an organization compared to previously set targets or goals that can be measured

based on financial and non-financial aspects (Kalambo, et al., 2024). According to

Nyathi et al., (2023) organizational performance is a collection of financial results,

organizational results, and human resource results. Organizational performance is

related to how an organization performs in terms of profit levels, market share, and

product quality of other organizations in the same or different industries. Sinnaiah

et al., (2023) stated that organizational performance is interpreted as analyzing a

series of improvements to achieve organizational goals. The dimensions developed

by Barreda et al., (2023) are considered appropriate to the research object, namely

self-motivation, competencies and effectiveness. For the crew of the Indonesian

Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship, these dimensions can be implemented

to improve organizational performance in order to achieve the assigned tasks.

Guillot (2003) from the United States Air Force defines strategic leadership

as the ability of an experienced leader who has the wisdom and vision to create and

implement plans and make important decisions in an unstable, uncertain, complex,

and ambiguous strategic environment. Strategic leadership is a person's ability to

anticipate, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate

changes that will create a good future for the organization a successful strategic

leader is a leader who can easily adapt and manage risk effectively. Barreda et al.,

(2023) define strategic leadership as the capacity that characterizes people who are

responsible for several areas or entities, to lead a group of people, motivate them,

to achieve expected achievements, which are based on improving teamwork. The

study used the dimensions of strategic leadership measurement by Eqwakhe and

Adeoye (2019), namely: risk taking, communication, decision making, strategic

intent, and ethical practices. The advancement of sensor, weapon and control

technology is currently developing along with the demands of technological

advances. This is a challenge faced by every Indonesian Warship Commander,

marked by increasing work volume, efficiency and more complex interactions

between individuals that can cause problems, so leadership is needed that is able to

answer these challenges.

The research gap in this study is based on previous research, where strategic

leadership is used as a mediator variable that mediates esprit de corps,

organizational climate and professionalism on organizational performance. In the

Yudah Trismoyo, Willy Arafah, Sarfilianty Anggiani

Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 4

context of this research, the implementation of strategic leadership at both the

regulatory and operational levels related to operations and training at the Indonesian

Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship and has a direct impact on the success

of the tasks given when faced with existing problems.

METHOD

The research design used is a quantitative approach that emphasizes the use

of formal questions with predetermined respondent choices in a questionnaire or

survey given to several respondents (Hair et al., 2019). The study uses primary data

sources through the distribution of questionnaires (google forms) to respondents.

The individual analysis unit used consisted of the officers from ten of the

Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship. Data collection was carried

out in one time period (cross sectional) from November 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025.

The population used in this study were all officers serving in the the

Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship as many as 147 officers. In

this study, sampling was done using total sampling, where all populations were

sampled. This method usually has high-quality samples, because there are certain

criteria or provisions for who the samples are (Hair et al., 2017) these criteria

include: respondents were taken from the Indonesian Warship officers and

respondents were taken from officers serving in the Indonesian Navy Military Sea

Lift Command Warship with the positions of Commander, Executive Officer, Chief

of Department and Division. The analysis method used in the study is the Structural

Equation Model Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS), data processing is carried out

using SmartPLS software version 3.0.

The work system in the Indonesian Warship is formed from the combination

of various qualifications demanding the performance of soldiers to be able to carry

out their duties and responsibilities well. The key success factor of a the Indonesian

Navy Military Sea Lift Command is the factor "The man behind the gun" which

greatly determines the success of organizational performance. The research

framework is depicted in the form of a relationship as shown in the following

scheme:

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of Research

The Role of Strategic Leadership in Mediating the Improvement of the Organizational Performance Of the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship

Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 5

The hypothesis in this research are:

H1 : The positive effect of esprit de corps on organizational performance

H2 : The positive effect of organizational climate on organizational

performance

H3 : The positive effect of professionalism on organizational performance

H4 : The positive effect of esprit de corps on strategic leadership

H5 : The positive effect of organizational climate on strategic leadership

H6 : The positive effect of professionalism on strategic leadership

H7 : The positive effect of strategic leadership on organizational performance

H8 : The effect of the mediating role of strategic leadership between esprit de

corps on organizational performance

H9 : The effect of the mediating role of strategic leadership between

organizational climate on organizational performance

H10 :The effect of the mediating role of strategic leadership between

professionalism on organizational performance

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of the hypothesis test of the effect of independent variables on the

dependent can be seen in table 1. The required quality requirement is 5%

significance if the p-values exceed 0.05. According to applicable provisions, if the

p-value < 0.05, it indicates that the requirements have been met so that “Ho” is not

supported or “Ha” is supported.below.

Table 1. Hypothesis Testing Results

Hypothesis Coefficiancy p-

Value Decision

H1 Esprit de corps has a positive effect on

organizational performance 0.403 0.000 supported

H2` Organizational climate has a positive effect on

organizational performance 0.175 0.001 supported

H3 Professionalism has a positive effect on

organizational performance 0.362 0.000 supported

H4 Esprit de corps has a positive effect on strategic

leadership 0.094 0.188

not

supported

H5 Organization climate has a positive effect on

strategic leadership 0.418 0.000 supported

H6 Professionalism has a positive influence on

strategic leadership 0.101 0.176

not

supported

H7 Strategic Leadership has a positive effect on

organizational performance 0.368 0.000 supported

H8

The mediating role of strategic leadership has a

positive effect between esprit de corps on

organizational performance.

0.117 0.007 supported

H9

The mediating role of strategic leadership has a

positive effect between organizational climate

on organizational performance.

0.172 0.001 supported

H10

The mediating role of strategic leadership has a

positive effect between professionalism on

organizational performance.

0.358 0.000 supported

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Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 6

The Effect of Esprit De Corps on Organizational Performance

The results of this test indicate that the esprit de corps variable has a

significant positive effect on organizational performance in the Indonesian Navy

Military Sea Lift Command. The findings of this study indicate that when the level

of togetherness and mutual support among members in the Indonesian Navy

Military Sea Lift Command Warship increases, this has a direct impact on

improving overall organizational performance. Thus, it can be concluded that esprit

de corps has an important role in driving better performance in the Indonesian Navy

Military Sea Lift Command. Strong esprit de corps in the Indonesian Warship can

also influence better and faster decision-making because team members feel more

confident in each other. This is very important in a military environment that

requires high speed, accuracy, and coordination. This finding is in line with research

conducted by Enoch and Tende (2022), who stated that esprit de corps has a

significant effect on organizational performance, including in the context of

military organizations.

The Effect of Organizational Climate on Organizational Performance

The test results prove that organizational climate has a direct positive effect

on organizational performance. The results of this study are in line with the research

findings of Abun et.al., (2023) which state that organizational climate has an

important role in influencing organizational performance. This shows that a

conducive and supportive work atmosphere greatly influences the level of

individual and organizational performance. In the context of the the Indonesian

Navy Military Sea Lift Command, improving a good organizational climate can

improve cooperation between members, encourage better collaboration, and

increase job satisfaction which has an impact on overall performance. In addition,

the results of the influence of organizational climate on performance also show that

positive changes in work environment factors can have a major impact on

productivity. Therefore, the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command must

continue to pay attention to and develop a supportive organizational climate to

improve the performance of personnel at every level, create a productive and

harmonious work atmosphere, and encourage the achievement of organizational

goals optimally.

The Effect of Professionalism on Organizational Performance

Professionalism is closely related to the mastery of work-relevant skills and

knowledge, as well as ethical and responsible behavior, all of which contribute to

better performance. Mulyadi, et al., (2020); Haryati and Suhermin (2020) revealed

that professionalism in an organization has a significant impact on achieving

organizational goals because it motivates members to work with high quality and

efficiency. This also applies in the context of the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift

Command, where professionalism in carrying out tasks and responsibilities greatly

affects the overall performance of the organization. The results of this test indicate

that to improve organizational performance, the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift

Command must pay attention to the development of professionalism of its

members, through training, skill development, and the implementation of a strict

code of ethics.

The Effect of Esprit De Corps on Strategic Leadership

The test results show that esprit de corps does not have a positive effect on

strategic leadership. The results of this study contradict several studies by Affandi,

The Role of Strategic Leadership in Mediating the Improvement of the Organizational Performance Of the Indonesian Navy Military Sea Lift Command Warship

Journal of Management, Economics and Finance, Vol. 3, No. 3. March, 2025 7

et al., (2019); Okoro, (2019) which show that esprit de corps, which refers to the

spirit of togetherness and solidarity in a group or organization, can influence

leadership style and decision-making in the context of strategic leadership. Most

crews may be more focused on daily tasks and carrying out routines according to

their responsibilities without seeing a direct link between esprit de corps and

strategic decision-making. This suggests the need for a deeper understanding of

how esprit de corps is translated into the context of strategic decision-making in the

military environment. In addition, another factor that can influence this result is the

dominance of a larger hierarchical structure of superiors in strategic decision-

making. In a military organizational structure, strategic decisions are often more

influenced by decisions from leaders who have high authority, not just the collective

spirit of members that can lead to such decisions.

The Effect of Organizational Climate on Strategic Leadership

The test results prove that organizational climate has a positive effect on

strategic leadership. The results of this study are in line with the findings of research

by Toma et al., (2019); Hasbi et al., (2020); Latif (2023) which show that a positive

organizational climate can encourage the creation of effective leadership in an

organization. Openness in communication, recognition of performance, and support

in strategic decision-making are factors that can improve the quality of strategic

leadership. In the Indonesian Warship, which has a high disciplinary structure, the

creation of a conducive organizational climate is very important to facilitate

adaptive and responsive leadership to changes that occur. This condition reflects

the importance of the role of organizational climate in facilitating the

implementation of more effective strategies. A positive organizational climate not

only provides encouragement for strategic leadership but also strengthens the

relationship between leaders and members of the organization in achieving long-

term goals. Thus, good organizational climate management is the main key to

improving the quality of strategic leadership at the Indonesian Warship.

The Effect of Professionalism on Strategic Leadership

The test results show that professionalism does not have a positive effect on

strategic leadership. This finding indicates that although professionalism is

considered an important element in individual performance in an organization, it

does not directly affect the quality of strategic leadership. This may be caused by

other factors that are more dominant in influencing strategic leadership such as

organizational climate, leadership vision, and the organization's ability to respond

to change. As explained by Mau and Wooley (2019), strategic leadership requires

more than just professionalism because it requires clarity of vision, effective

communication skills, and the capacity to make decisions that are relevant to the

organizational context. Strategic leadership is more influenced by the integration of

various factors, including leadership experience, organizational values, and the

ability to deal with stressful situations.

The Effect of Strategic Leadership on Organizational Performance

The test results show that strategic leadership has a positive effect on

organizational performance. This finding confirms the importance of the role of

strategic leadership in improving organizational performance. Effective strategic

leadership can help organizations formulate a clear vision, manage