Leadership styles, employee engagement, and job performance: Evidence from real estate frontline employees in Hefei, China

Abstract

This study examines how transformational leadership (TFL) and transactional leadership(TL) influence job performance (JP) among frontline employees in China’s real estate industry, and whether employee engagement (EE) functions as a key mediating mechanism. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that leadership styles shape performance both directly and indirectly by strengthening employees’psychological investment in their work. Survey data were collected from 500 frontline employees in Hefei across developers, real estate agencies, and asset management firms. Using CB-SEM in AMOS with bootstrap mediation tests (5,000 resamples), the results show that both TFL and TL have significant positive effects on JP, with similar effect sizes. EE is positively related to JP and significantly mediates the relationships between both leadership styles and JP. These findings suggest that in high-pressure and volatile frontline settings, leaders can improve performance by combining inspirational support with clear goals, timely feedback, and transparent reward rules, while actively cultivating employee engagement. The study contributes context-specific evidence from a high-competition city setting and clarifies the mechanism through which leadership translates into performance via engagement.