Authentic Leadership and Faculty Productivity: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach in Islamic Higher Education

Novebri Novebri; Deden Deni Koswara; Aan Komariah; Dedy Achmad Kurniady; Asep Suryana; Hadiyanto Hadiyanto; Sri Rahayu Retnowulan

doi:10.35445/alishlah.v18i2.9641

Authentic Leadership and Faculty Productivity: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach in Islamic Higher Education

Novebri Novebri, Deden Deni Koswara, Aan Komariah, Dedy Achmad Kurniady, Asep Suryana, Hadiyanto Hadiyanto, Sri Rahayu Retnowulan

Abstract

Lecturer productivity is a key indicator of higher education quality and institutional competitiveness. Authentic leadership has been widely recognized as a leadership approach that fosters trust, transparency, and ethical behavior; however, empirical evidence examining its influence on faculty productivity in Islamic higher education remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the effect of authentic leadership on lecturer productivity and to explain lecturers’ perceptions of leadership practices within an Islamic higher education institution.This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 127 lecturers at STAIN Mandailing Natal using structured questionnaires and analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Qualitative data were subsequently obtained through in-depth interviews with institutional leaders and lecturers and analyzed using NVivo to enrich and explain the quantitative findings.The findings revealed that authentic leadership had a positive and statistically significant effect on lecturer productivity (β = 0.513, p < .001), explaining 26.3% of the variance in productivity. Although the explanatory power was moderate, authentic leadership emerged as an important organizational factor supporting lecturers’ implementation of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education. Qualitative findings further indicated that transparency, fairness, institutional support, and equitable access to research opportunities shaped lecturers’ perceptions of authentic leadership and influenced their motivation to enhance academic productivity.The study demonstrates that authentic leadership contributes to faculty productivity by fostering a supportive and ethical academic environment. Integrating PLS-SEM with qualitative inquiry provides a more comprehensive understanding of how leadership practices influence lecturer productivity in Islamic higher education. Although the findings are limited to a single institution, they offer practical implications for strengthening transparent leadership and developing institutional policies that promote sustainable academic productivity.

Keywords

authentic leadership; lecturer productivity; Islamic universities; Tridharma of higher education; SEM-PLS

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v18i2.9641