Unpacking the Influence of Job Satisfaction on Lecturers’ Performance: Evidence Among Private Higher Educational Sector

  • Sopheng Tep Lincoln University College
  • Rozaini Binti Rosli Lincoln University College
Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Lecturers’ Performance, Private Higher Educational Sector

Abstract

Purpose of the study: This research defines lecturers’ perception of job satisfaction and explores the influence of job satisfaction on lecturers’ performance in the private higher educational sector in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Methodology: The researcher applied descriptive statistics (M, S.D.) to assess lecturers’ perceptions of their job satisfaction levels. At the same time, multiple linear regression was employed to explore the influence of job satisfaction on lecturers’ performance. Furthermore, the researcher used the questionnaire of 36 items to survey lecturers physically in four private higher educational sector. A total of 304 lecturers teaching during the 2024–2025 academic year participated in this survey.

Main Findings: The study revealed a moderate positive relationship between job satisfaction and lecturers’ performance (R = 0.67, Adjusted R² = 0.445, p = 0.000, N = 304). These findings align with previous research, indicating that job satisfaction plays a vital role in enhancing lecturers’ performance. Furthermore, the results displayed that extrinsic job satisfaction factors, such as negotiable salaries and proper working conditions, were found to have a more significant impact on performance compared to intrinsic job satisfaction.

Novelty/Originality of this study: This study makes a significant contribution by expanding on previous research that highlights the critical role of job satisfaction in enhancing lecturers’ performance. It uniquely identifies the impact of extrinsic job satisfaction factors—such as salary, working conditions, and interpersonal relationships—as key drivers of higher lecturers’ performance. The research also suggests that future studies explore additional influences, such as leadership styles and external factors, in promoting lecturers’ performance.

Author Biographies

Sopheng Tep, Lincoln University College

Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor DarulEhsan, Malaysia

Rozaini Binti Rosli, Lincoln University College

Lincoln University College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor DarulEhsan, Malaysia

References

P. S. Aithal and A. K. Maiya, “Development of a New Conceptual Model for Improvement of the Quality Services of Higher Education Institutions in Academic, Administrative, and Research Areas.,” Int. J. Manag. Technol. Soc. Sci. IJMTS, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 260–308, 2023, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4770790.

I. S. Lubis, “Exploring the mediating role of job satisfaction in enhancing lecturer performance: A study of competence and work environment in higher education.,” Int. J. Sci. Res. Arch., vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 2354–2362, 2024, doi: 10.30574/ijsra.2024.12.2.1547.

S. Tep, “An examination of extrinsic motivation effects on students in learning English in higher education.,” Proj. Prof. J. Engl. Educ., vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 1270–1278, 2022, doi: 10.22460/project.v5i6.p1270-1278.

M. M. Marhil, K. A. R. Masaud, and N. A. Majid, “The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction on the Relationship Between Human Resources Management Strategies and Employees Performance in Waha Oil & Gas Company in Libya.,” Am. J. Econ. Bus. Innov., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 63–69, 2023, doi: 10.54536/ajebi.v2i1.1437.

X. Ran, R. B. Rosli, and D. A. Ali, “The Impact of Transactional Leadership on Work Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement.,” Int. J. Recent Trends Bus. Tour. IJRTBT, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 38–46, 2024, doi: 10.31674/ijrtbt.2024.v08i03.003.

S. Tep, L. Ratana, and P. Visalboth, “How Principals’ Instructional Leadership Influence Teachers’ Self-Efficacy.,” J. Basic Educ. Res., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 47–56, 2025, doi: 10.37251/jber.v6i1.1421.

A. D. Tufa, “The principals’ leadership styles and teachers performance in secondary school of east hararghe zone oromia regional state,” Dissertation, Addis Ababa University, 2021.

T. Ban and K. Heng, “Improving the quality of Cambodian higher education: Key challenges and suggestions.,” Cambodian J. Educ. Res., vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 35–61, 2023, doi: 10.62037/cjer.2023.03.02.03.

K. Heng and K. Sol, “Understanding stakeholders’ perspectives on recent initiatives to promote research and development in higher education in Cambodia,” Int. J. Educ. Res., vol. 126, no. 102378, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102378.

N. L. A. V. Lokaninda, N. Sudja, and N. Landra, “The Role of Job Satisfaction in Mediating the Influence of Leadership and Organizational Culture on Lecturer Performance at the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahasaraswati University Denpasar.,” Val. Int. J. Digit. Libr., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 6074–6088, 2024, doi: 10.18535/ijsrm/v12i03.

W. Wahyudi, “The influence of job satisfaction and work experience on lecturer performance of Pamulang University.,” Sci. J. Reflect. Econ. Account. Manag. Bus., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 221–230, 2018, doi: 10.37481/sjr.v1i2.140.

S. S. Hamedani and A. A. Bawazir, “The Impact of Working Environment, Salary, and Job Security on Job Satisfaction among Workers in Sarawak’s Government Linked Company: The Case of Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation.,” J. Entrep. Bus. Innov., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 20–36, 2024, doi: 10.5296/jebi.v11i1.21623.

A. Raziq and R. Maulabakhsh, “Impact of working environment on job satisfaction.,” Procedia Econ. Finance, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 717–725, 2015, doi: 10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00524-9.

D. A. Al-maaitah, M. Alsoud, and T. A. Al-maaitah, “The role of leadership styles on staffs job satisfaction in public organizations.,” J. Contemp. Issues Bus. Gov., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 772–783, 2021, https://cibgp.com/au/index.php/1323-6903/article/view/598/565

D. T. Bevins, “Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation: A generational study.,” Honor Thesis, Eastern Kentucky University, 2018, https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/530/

D. Kumar and H. Vasudevan, “The mediating effect of job satisfaction in the relationship between wages, appreciation, recognition, and promotion on employee performance,” Int. J. Hum. Cap. Urban Manag., vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 697–714, 2024, doi: 10.22034/IJHCUM.2024.04.10.

R. Awoitau, M. Y. Noch, and K. Khotimah, “The influence of motivation, training and compensation on employee performance.,” Adv. Hum. Resour. Manag. Res., vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 153–165, 2024, doi: 10.60079/ahrmr.v2i3.376.

P. Siburian, “The Influence of Leadership Style, Work Motivation, and Job Satisfaction on the Performance of Lecturers in Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia.,” Eurasian J. Educ. Res. EJER, no. 111, 2024, doi: 10.14689/ejer.2024.111.01.

A. Jamali, A. Bhutto, M. Khaskhely, and W. Sethar, “Impact of leadership styles on faculty performance: Moderating role of organizational culture in higher education.,” Manag. Sci. Lett., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1–20, 2022, doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2021.8.005.

E. Elpisah and H. Hartini, “Principal leadership style and its effect on teachers performance.,” J. Apl. Manaj., vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 506–514, 2019, doi: 10.21776/ub.jam.2019.017.03.15.

H. A. Mohamed, E. Datche, and T. Kisingu, “Effect of leadership styles on employee performance in the Somali national civil service commission.,” Int. J. Nov. Res. Humanity Soc. Sci., vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 56–69, 2018, https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/EFFECT%20OF%20LEADERSHIP-1394.pdf

P. G. Altbach, “Responding to massification: Differentiation in postsecondary education worldwide,” in Global Perspectives on Higher Education., SensePublishers, 2017, pp. 1–12. doi: 10.1007/978-94-6351-083-7_1

P. L. Maki, Assessing for learning: Building a sustainable commitment across the institution. Routledge, 2023.

S. Yan, L. Ping, X. Feng, and X. Jin, “Highest order moderation of extraversion and neuroticism into the relationship between job stress and flourishing: Mediated by readiness to change among Chinese medical teachers.,” Heliyon, vol. 10, no. 13, pp. 1–11, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33405.

A. J. Khan, M. A. Bhatti, A. Hussain, R. Ahmad, and J. Iqbal, “Employee job satisfaction in higher educational institutes: A review of theories.,” J. South Asian Stud., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 257–266, 2021, doi: 10.33687/jsas.009.03.3940.

S. Tep, “The correlation between instructional leadership and efficacy among the Cambodian public lower secondary school teachers.,” J. -Salam, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 163–180, 2022, doi: 10.37249/assalam.v6i2.437.

P. N. D. Nguyen, l. L. K. Nguyen, and D. N. T. LE, “The impact of extrinsic work factors on job satisfaction and organizational commitment at higher education institutions in Vietnam.,” J. Asian Finance Econ. Bus., vol. 8, no. 8, pp. 259–270, 2021, doi: 10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no8.0259.

W. Joanna and K. Jerzy, “Conceptualizing job satisfaction and its determinants: A systematic literature review.,” Экономическая Социология, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 138–167, 2020, https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/conceptualizing-job-satisfaction-and-its-determinants-a-systematic-literature-review

T. A. Judge, S. C. Zhang, and D. R. Glerum, “Job satisfaction,” in Essentials of job attitudes and other workplace psychological constructs, 1st ed., Routledge, 2020, pp. 207–241.

U. Nurjanah and E. Suherman, “Maslow’s Theory Study: Employee work motivation approach,” Enrich. J. Manag., vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1775–1784, 2022, doi: 10.35335/enrichment.v12i2.478.

A. B. Ozturk, M. Hancer, and J. Y. Im, “Job characteristics, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment for hotel workers in Turkey.,” J. Hosp. Mark. Manag., vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 294–313, 2014, doi: 10.1080/19368623.2013.796866.

T. J. Lee, “Relationship between intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, and turnover intentions among internal auditors,” Doctoral Dissertation, Walden, 2017.

G. James, “Relationship between intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, and turnover intentions in luxury hotels,” Doctoral Dissertation, Walden, 2020.

E. M. Babcock, “A Basic Qualitative Study on the Impact Salary Has on Job Satisfaction Among Adjunct Faculty in Higher Education in the United States,” Doctoral Dissertation, National University, 2024.

B. Lukács and M. Antal, “The reduction of working time: definitions and measurement methods.,” Sustain. Sci. Pract. Policy, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 710–730, 2022, doi: 10.1080/15487733.2022.2111921.

N. Rahmadhanti and A. Gustomo, “The influence of communication and social work environment on employees’interpersonal relationships.,” J. Manaj. Dan Bisnis Performa, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 188–198, 2024, doi: 10.29313/performa.v21i2.4468.

T. P. Bhagwandeen, Relationship between intrinsic job satisfaction, extrinsic job satisfaction, and employee turnover intentions. Walden University., 2021.

R. Hogan and D. Shelton, “A socioanalytic perspective on job performance.,” Hum. Perform., vol. 11, no. 2–3, pp. 129–144, 1998, doi: 10.1080/08959285.1998.9668028.

B. Haryanto, A. R. Suprapti, A. Taufik, and R. Maminirina Fenitra, “Moderating role of transformational leadership in the relationship between work conflict and employee performance.,” Cogent Bus. Manag., vol. 9, no. 1, 2022, doi: 10.1080/23311975.2022.2105578.

A. R. Szromek and R. Wolniak, “Job satisfaction and problems among academic staff in higher education.,” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 12, pp. 1–38, 2020, doi: 10.3390/su12124865.

S. Sancoko, R. Yuliawan, B. Al Aufa, and H. Yuliyanto, “The effects of job satisfaction on lecturer performance: case study in faculty x Universitas Indonesia.,” J. Pendidik. Teknol. Dan Kejuru., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 45–58, 2023.

M. R. Angriani, A. Eliyana, H. Fitrah, and P. Sembodo, “The effect of transactional and transformational leadership on lecturer performance with job satisfaction as the mediation.,” Syst. Rev. Pharm., vol. 11, no. 11, pp. 1263–1272, 2020.

K. Yilmaz, “Comparison of quantitative and qualitative research traditions: Epistemological, theoretical, and methodological differences.,” Eur. J. Educ., vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 311–325, 2013, doi: 10.1111/ejed.12014.

J. W. Creswell and J. D. Creswell, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications, 2017.

R. V. Krejcie and D. W. Morgan, “Determining sample size for research activities.,” Educ. Psychol. Meas., vol. 30, 1970.

A. H. Maslow, “A Dynamic Theory of Human Motivation,” in Understanding human motivation, Howard Allen Publishers, 1958, pp. 26–47.

W. C. Borman and S. J. Motowidlo, “Task performance and contextual performance: The meaning for personnel selection research.,” Hum. Perform., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 99–109, 1997, doi: 10.1207/s15327043hup1002_3.

G. Johanson and G. Brooks, “Initial Scale Development: Sample Size for Pilot Studies.,” Educ. Psychol. Meas., vol. 70, pp. 394–400, 2010, doi: 10.1177/0013164409355692.

Published
2025-05-02
How to Cite
[1]
S. Tep and R. B. Rosli, “Unpacking the Influence of Job Satisfaction on Lecturers’ Performance: Evidence Among Private Higher Educational Sector”, Jo. Soc. Know. Ed, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 182-190, May 2025.
Section
Articles