Integrating Indigenous Culture into Leadership: The Moderating Role of Pela Gandong in Enhancing Employee Motivation within the Construction Education Vocational Sector

This study investigates the moderating influence of the Pela Gandong cultural value system on the relationship between leadership style and employee motivation within the vocational education segment of the construction industry. While transformational and transactional leadership theories have been widely examined, limited research has explored how indigenous cultural frameworks shape motivational dynamics, particularly in construction-related vocational contexts. Grounded in the principles of mutual responsibility, solidarity, and collective identity, Pela Gandong is conceptualized as a moderating cultural factor that enhances organizational cohesion and leadership effectiveness. Employing a quantitative research design, data were collected from employees of construction firms affiliated with vocational education programs and registered with ASPEKINDO Ambon. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), both direct and moderating effects were assessed. The findings demonstrate that Pela Gandong significantly strengthens the positive effects of transformational and transactional leadership on employee motivation, with moral support emerging as the most influential dimension. This research contributes a culturally contextualized leadership model that integrates indigenous values into modern management practices, offering theoretical and practical implications for leadership development in culturally diverse construction environments.