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In the unstable and aggressive environment today, organisations strive to gain competitive advantages by adopting different methods (Kozioł-Nadolna, 2020). Among these methods, projects are often used as a strategic and tactical tool to develop a competitive advantage (Zhang et al., 2018) and a survival strategy (Ul Musawir et al., 2017). Despite significant focus given to advanced project management by academicians and practitioners (Haq et al., 2016), attaining project success remains a great challenge for IT project organisations (Khan et al., 2020). Ahimbisibwe et al. (2015) argued that project failure is not due to technical issues but due to the human factor. On the human side (Zaman et al., 2019a), numerous studies have confirmed the increasing significance of leadership in project-based organisations (Aga et al., 2016; Raziq et al., 2018), where project managers play roles as managers and leaders (Muller et al., 2018). However, only a handful of studies have determined the most effective leadership type for project success (Khan et al., 2020). Among these, Raziq et al. (2018) found that for the benefit of project managers and the organisation, a transformational leadership style should be cultivated, where exceptional work is rewarded and creativity and openness is encouraged in the work environment. While Keegan and Den Hartog (2004) identified a preference for transactional styles among project managers in general, Turner and Müller (2006) recommend it only for simple projects, suggesting transformational leadership instead for complicated projects. In view of transformational leadership’s growing recognition and importance in project management research (Aga et al., 2016; Raziq et al., 2018) and the increase in project challenges, researchers call for more empirical studies on transformational leadership in this context (e.g., Raziq et al., 2018; Zaman et al., 2019).
Moreover, although a stream of well-documented scholarship shows a direct link between transformational leadership and performance (Saleem et al., 2019), some researchers emphasise that it acts through several mechanisms (Aga et al., 2016; Piccolo and Colquitt, 2006). To date, however, these mechanisms have not been adequately explored and tested (Bose et al., 2020). In this context, Zaman et al. (2019) states that project visibility is an empowering feature of projects, without which transformational leadership may be minimally significant during the project course. Thus, empowerment and the visibility or clarity of the project are essential aspects in a project environment. Moreover, the project industry is, theoretically, a highly suitable context for the enforcement of employee empowerment strategies (Dainty et al., 2002). Empowerment is not only considered an essential component of business and project success in this turbulent business era (Khan et al., 2020), but is also known to influence followers' perceptions of psychological empowerment (Schermuly & Meyer, 2020).