Purpose: Considering the entrepreneurship nature and the high number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Latin American region, this study seeks to empirically test the relationship between organizational culture (OC), transformational leadership (TF) and organizational performance (OP) to support their long-term survival. Design/methodology/approach: Under a post-positivism paradigm, quantitative approach and correlational scope, this research analyzed the interrelationship between OC, TF and OP across Peruvian SMEs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to test the hypotheses based on the responses of 276 SMEs’ top executives from the commerce, services, manufacturing, construction and agriculture industries. Findings: OC fully mediates the relationship between TL and OP. Although TF solely does not drive OP, the mediating effec...