SHARED LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT SUCCESS: A MODERATED MEDIATION MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT AND JOB AUTONOMY
Keywords:
Shared leadership; Project success; Psychological empowerment; Job autonomy; Social exchange theory.Abstract
Purpose: As project-based work becomes increasingly complex, traditional centralized leadership often falls short. Based on the Theory of Social Exchange, By examining the moderation of work autonomy and the mediation of psychological empowerment, this study investigates how shared leadership influences project success.
Design/methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional approach was utilized. The data were collected from 278 project professionals across various sectors in Pakistan and analyzed using regression and moderated mediation techniques.
Findings: Shared leadership influences project success significantly. Psychological empowerment partially mediates this relationship. Furthermore, moderation role of job autonomy between psychological empowerment and project success, indicates that the benefits of empowerment are maximized in highly autonomous environments.
Originality/value: The study broadens the cross-cultural generalizability of shared leadership theory by validating a moderated mediation model in a high power-distance, emerging economy context. It highlights the critical boundary condition of job autonomy, proving that empowerment without structural freedom yields suboptimal outcomes.
