Caruajulca, P and Khalilzadeh, M (2025) Empowerment and project performance success: The role of leadership and power distance. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 23(5), pp. 1694-1711. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose – The construction of infrastructure projects for extracting natural resources is vital to the economies of countries and the strategies of mining companies. Project performance success (PJPF) means achieving the planned scope, cost, schedule and quality. This study aims to analyze if PJPF is influenced by the team's psychological empowerment (PEMP) and structural empowerment (SEMP), the project manager's transformational leadership (TLD) and shared leadership (SLD) styles and the cultural power distance (CPDT). The study also examined the mediating roles of TLD and CPDT. Design/methodology/approach – This paper tested its hypotheses through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling in AMOS. Data were collected using the online survey platform SurveyMonkey. Owners, contractors and consultants from 24 countries across the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia contributed a total of 222 responses. All participants were involved in construction projects owned by a mining company listed in the S&P 500. Findings – PEMP has a positive impact on PJPF, SEMP and CPDT. PEMP fosters engaged and autonomous employees with agility and problem-solving skills. TLD mediates the relationship between PEMP and SLD. The results indicated that SEMP, TLD and SLD, on their own, do not directly contribute to project success. In contrast to prior studies, CPDT does not mediate the effects of PEMP on PJPF. Originality/value – Although construction projects remain labor-intensive, research on measuring PEMP, SEMP, TLD, SLD and CPDT in this field is limited. This document is notable for incorporating the perspectives of owners, EPC contractors and consultants.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | power distance; project success; psychological empowerment; shared leadership; structural empowerment; transformational leadership |
| Index terms: | empowerment, strategy, structural equation modelling, survey, confirmatory factor analysis, Asia, methodology, construction project, project success, project manager, Africa, Europe, platform, owner, Australia, natural resource, mining, project performance, infrastructure project, transformational leadership |
| Subjects: | infrastructure and transport systems, statistical analysis, geotechnical engineering, sociology, project management theory and practice, management, regions and continents, data collection methods, profession, production management, Geography, digital design, physical geography and landforms, research methods, environmental resource management |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Human Resources, Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here