Amplifying IT Project Success Ratio: the Role of Transformational Leadership, Proactive Behavior, and Psychological Empowerment

Shoukat Iqbal Khattak; Muhammad Iftikhar Ali; Muhammad Anwar Khan; Abdul Samad Kakar; Muhammad Awais Mehmood

doi:10.5755/j01.ee.35.3.33394

Authors

Shoukat Iqbal Khattak School of Business Administration, Jimei University, China
Muhammad Iftikhar Ali Iqra University, Islamabad Campus, Pakistan
Muhammad Anwar Khan Bahria University – Islamabad Campus, Pakistan
Abdul Samad Kakar Department of Management Sciences, University of Loralai, Pakistan
Muhammad Awais Mehmood Bahria Business School – Islamabad Campus, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.35.3.33394

Keywords:

Transformational leadership, Project success, Proactive behavior, Psychological empowerment, Project management

Abstract

This research study investigates the transformational leadership (TFL) and IT project success nexus via the proactive behavior of employees. It further investigates the moderating impact of psychological empowerment (PE) in the nexus between TFL and proactive behavior (PB). The study also tested a moderated mediation model of the effect of TFL on IT project success mediated and moderated by PB and PE, respectively. The researcher collected data from 340 IT project experts in Pakistan through the purposive sampling technique. For data analysis, a multi-level method comprising CFA and SEM was applied. The findings indicated that TFL is significantly linked to IT project success. In addition, findings also confirmed the mediating effect of PB in the relationship between TFL and IT project success. Moreover, PE significantly moderates the relationship between TFL and PB. The results also revealed that PE moderates the indirect effect of TFL on IT project success through PB. Through the lens of self-determination theory, this study contributed to the understanding of how employee proactive behavior can play a significant role in successfully completing technology-oriented projects. In sum, the current study suggests that transformational leaders will be in a better position to encourage their employees to complete projects successfully using proactive behavior, provided their followers are psychologically empowered. The study offers valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners.

Author Biographies

Shoukat Iqbal Khattak, School of Business Administration, Jimei University, China

Shoukat Iqbal Khattak, Dr., is a multi-talent international expert with rich and diverse experience in academics, research, corporate training and management consulting. With an MBA (Bradford School of Management, UK) and a PhD (Xiamen University, China) from the world's top business schools, he has worked in multiple roles across different countries and sectors. Furthermore, he has received several awards from various academic institutions for innovative teaching/research methodologies. His primary research interests include corporate management, business ethics, strategy, organizational behaviour, international marketing, business administration, sales, higher education and leadership, consulting and linguistics.

Muhammad Iftikhar Ali, Iqra University, Islamabad Campus, Pakistan

Muhammad Iftikhar Ali, Dr., currently is working as an Assistant Professor at the Iqra University Islamabad Campus, Pakistan. He earned a PhD in project sustainability management from Bahria Business School. He won the "Best Student Researchers Award" in 2019 during his Ph.D. Dr. Iftikhar has completed various projects for JICA, USAID, UNHCR, OXFAM and CARE International. He has published a number of articles in impact factor and internationally peer reviewed journals, in the domains of Project Management, Project Sustainability Management, and Quality Assurance in higher education.

Muhammad Anwar Khan, Bahria University – Islamabad Campus, Pakistan

Muhammad Anwar Khan is a Quality Assurance Officer at the Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan. He is currently a PhD scholar in the domain of technology management at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He did Master in the domain of project management from Abasyn University, Islamabad. He has diversified experience of 10 years in the education sector. He has published a number of articles in impact factor and internationally peer reviewed journals, in the domains of Project Management, IT project success, and Quality Assurance in higher education.

Abdul Samad Kakar, Department of Management Sciences, University of Loralai, Pakistan

Abdul Samad Kakar, Dr., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Loralai, Baluchistan, Pakistan. He earned a PhD in human resource management from the University of Technology Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He did a Master's in Economics from Baluchistan University, Pakistan. He has diversified experience of 10 years in the education sector. He participated in and presented his research work at various international conferences. He has published a number of articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals indexed by Clarivate Analytics in the domains of HR and organization psychology in higher education.

Muhammad Awais Mehmood, Bahria Business School – Islamabad Campus, Pakistan

Muhammad Awais Mehmood, Dr., is an Associate Professor at the Bahria Business School, Bahria University Islamabad, Pakistan. He did PhD in Management Sciences from Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He participated in and presented his research work at various international conferences. He has published a number of articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals indexed by Clarivate Analytics in the domains of HR and organization psychology in higher education.