A Moderated Mediation Model of Team Focus Transformational Leadership, Team Cohesiveness and Leader-Member Exchange for Project Success

Abstract

Purpose-The present study investigates the indirect impact of leader-member exchange between team-focus transformational leadership – project success relationship. Furthermore, this study also examines the moderation of team cohesiveness between team-focus transformational leadership – leader-member exchange relationship and between leader-member exchange – project success relationship.

Design/methodology/Approach-In two phases, permanent employees of construction firms (from Lahore and Faisalabad) participate in the data collection survey. Moreover, the data was evaluated through different statistical analysis techniques using SPSS and Smart-PLS statistical software.

Results-This study’s results provide support to the hypothesized relationships, i.e., the direct positive impact of team-focus transformational leadership on project success, the intervening effect of leader-member exchange between the relationship of team-focus transformational leadership and moderating role of team cohesiveness between team-focus transformational leadership – leader-member exchange relationship and between leader-member exchange – project success relationship.

Implications-The study's findings theoretically and empirically contributed to the literature on leadership, organizational behavior, and project management by highlighting the importance of leader-member exchange as an intervening mechanism and team cohesiveness as a moderator for the success of the projects, especially in the construction industry of a developing economy.