The Impact of Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture on Salesforce Resilience: Evidence from Guangzhou X Motors
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Abstract
This study investigates how transformational leadership and organizational culture affect salesforce resilience in China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, focusing on Guangzhou X Motors Co. A quantitative design was applied with 383 sales employees who had worked for at least six months. Participants were selected through simple random sampling from approximately 11,000 eligible staff, and the sample size was determined using Cochran’s formula (95% confidence, 5% margin of error). The structured questionnaire contained 46 items across three constructs: transformational leadership (16 items, four dimensions), organizational culture (12 items, four dimensions), and resilience (18 items, behavioral and attitudinal). Content validity was confirmed by three experts (mean IOC=0.93); all discrimination indices exceeded 0.30, and Cronbach’s values (0.987-0.988) demonstrated excellent reliability. Regression analyses showed that transformational leadership had a significant positive effect on resilience (β=0.31, p<0.001, R²=0.091, Adj.R²=0.089), while organizational culture exerted a weaker but significant effect (β=0.12, p=0.019, R²=0.014, Adj.R²=0.012). Idealized Influence and Mission were identified as key dimensions driving resilience. The findings extend the Job Demands-Resources Model and Psychological Resilience Theory by demonstrating that even moderate leadership and cultural support can serve as critical job resources fostering adaptability and persistence in high-pressure sales contexts. As a cross-sectional, self-report study, future research should employ longitudinal or multi-source approaches to deepen causal understanding.
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