The U.S. Space Force: Mediating Factors for Performance

Abstract

Harold K Harry McGinnis

There is currently little published literature because the Space Force is still in its preliminary stages, developing the elements that characterize an organization [1]. There are no quantitative performance studies; thus, the evidence is anecdotal. Currently, studies focus on technical integration rather than organizational or human integration. Many researchers believe that understanding the interdependent relationships among motivation, job performance, and job satisfaction is vital for addressing challenges and problems and is pertinent to organizations [2]. This research applied the mediation models of Hayes to survey data from the 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey [3]. Six- factor scores were derived from the 2024 FEVS questions. They are Public Service Motivation, Employee Engagement, Commitment, Resilience, Job Satisfaction, Job Performance, and Leadership. Factor scores are derived from survey items that assess an employee’s experience with the organization and its leaders. They are combined into a single factor score for interpretation and/or analysis. The PROCESS macro by Hayes in IBM SPSS Statistics version 30.0 estimates coefficients in mediation models and provides modern inferential methods for indirect effects, including bootstrap confidence intervals. In an intervening-variable model, variable X is posited to affect an outcome variable Y via one or more intervening variables, also called mediators [3]. Four mediation models were applied in this research: the relationship between resilience and job performance was mediated by job satisfaction and work engagement; whether work-life balance mediates the relationship between leadership and job satisfaction; if satisfaction and engagement were statistically significant mediators of the relationship between resilience and job performance, and whether public service motivation was a statistically significant mediator of the relationship between work engagement and job performance.

PDF