THE EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND COMPETENCE ON APPARATUS PERFORMANCE: MOTIVATION AS A MEDIATOR IN PNDS, LIQUICA, TIMOR-LESTE

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of organizational culture and competence on the performance of officers involved in the implementation of the Program Nacional Dezenvolvimentu Suku (PNDS) in Liquiça Regency, Timor-Leste, both directly and through work motivation as a mediating variable. The study is motivated by the persistence of delays in PNDS project implementation, indicating suboptimal officer performance at the local level. This study adopts a quantitative approach with an explanatory research design. The population consists of 42 PNDS officers, all of whom were included as respondents using a census sampling technique. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale and analysed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that organizational culture and competence have positive but statistically insignificant effects on officer performance. In addition, work motivation is not found to mediate the relationship between organizational culture and performance, nor between competence and performance. These findings suggest that although organizational culture, competence, and work motivation are theoretically important, they have not been empirically validated as significant determinants of officer performance in the PNDS context, either directly or indirectly. This condition may be attributed to contextual factors, such as limited institutional support, suboptimal coordination, and the complexity of program implementation at the local level, which constrain the effective translation of these factors into improved performance. The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence from a developing country context and highlights the need for strengthening institutional support systems and improving organizational conditions to enhance the effectiveness of village development programs in Timor-Leste.

Keywords: Organizational Culture, Competence, Work Motivation, Officer Performance, PNDS, Timor-Leste.