Does humility of project manager affect project success? Confirmation of moderated mediation mechanism

Purpose The philosophy of the conservation resource theory, this paper aims to evaluate the relationship between humble leadership on project success by integrating the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the interacting effect of top management support on the direct relationship (humble leadership and project success), as well as indirect relationships through psychological empowerment. Design/methodology/approach Time lag data were gained from 337 persons working in the project-based organization across the information technology industry. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used in this study. Findings By using the structural equation modelling method, the confirmatory factor analysis verified the uniqueness of the variable used in this research. The outcomes exhibited that humble leadership raised project success both directly and indirectly through mediation (psychological empowerment). Furthermore, Top management support was expected to have a moderating effect on the direct but not on the indirect relationship (via psychological empowerment). Originality/value This study demonstrates how top management support is essential for the project manager and project team members for the successful execution of the project. Particularly, minimal empirical research examines the interacting effect of top management support on humble leadership and employee psychological empowerment.