Humble leadership and project success: underpinning service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior and task complexity

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between humble leadership, project success, and service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and how task complexity may moderate this relationship. The study aims to determine if humble leaders are more likely to promote service-oriented OCB among team members and if this behavior in turn leads to greater project success, especially in complex task environments. These relationships are examined through the lens of the conservation of resources theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected from the employees working in software companies using a closed-ended questionnaire, and a total of 214 complete questionnaires were analyzed. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling with the help of Smart PLS 3 software.

Findings

Humble leadership is positively associated with service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), which in turn is linked to project success. Task complexity does not appear to have a significant impact on this relationship.

Practical implications

Humble leadership is positively related to IT project success through its influence on service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior and task complexity. Implications include the importance of fostering a humble leadership style to enhance IT project success, as well as the potential benefits of promoting service-oriented behavior among employees. It also highlights the need to consider task complexity when evaluating project success.

Originality/value

The research explores the relationship between “humble leadership” and project success, and how it relates to “service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior” and “task complexity”. It presents an original perspective on the role of leadership in project success and the impact of organizational culture on project outcomes through the lens of the conservation of resources theory.

Citation

Naeem Mian, N., Malik, M.I. and Hussain, S. (2024), "Humble leadership and project success: underpinning service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior and task complexity", Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 620-638. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-01-2023-0028