Leading for Creativity in Projects: How Authentic Leadership Translates into Project Success through Employee Creativity and Cross-Functional Integration
Abstract
Purpose: This research investigates the contribution of authentic leadership to project success in project-based organizations under what circumstances and how through looking at the mediating role played by employee creativity and the moderating role played by cross-functional integration.
Design/methodology/approach: It is suggested that a moderated mediation model be developed based on the leadership and project management literature, with employee creativity linking the authentic leadership and project success, and cross-functional integration linking the authentic leadership and employee creativity. The study involved the use of cross-sectional survey of 215 project-based organization employees in Pakistan. Regression-based mediation and moderation analyses together with the bootstrapping procedures were used to test hypotheses.
Findings: The findings show that authentic leadership is also in a positive association with employee creativity, which subsequently has a positive impact on the project success. There is a complete mediation between authentic leadership and project success with employee creativity implying that leadership has a major influence on project outcomes via innovative work behaviors. Moreover, cross-functional integration also enhances the positive correlation between authentic leadership and employee creativity that creates an indirect impact on project success in project environments characterized by high levels of integration.
Originality/value: The research contributes to the project management literature by shedding light on the behavioral process, via which authentic leadership is converted to project success and cross-functional integration is designated as one of the contextual boundaries’ conditions. Its results provide practical information to those involved in projects and organizations who are aiming to improve the performance of projects by developing their leaders, fostering creativity and inter-functional cooperation.
