Exploring mega-construction project success in China's vaunted Belt and Road Initiative: the role of paternalistic leadership, team members' voice and team resilience

Abstract

Purpose

The traditional Chinese culture has always emphasized the authority of leaders and their “top-down” influence over subordinates tangled with “bottom-up” management. Paternalistic leadership can both nurture and restrict growth in mega-construction projects, due to the unique consequences (i.e. positive vs negative implications) for project teams. Hence, the present study aimed to explore the impact of paternalistic leadership (PL), team members’ voice (TMV) and team resilience (TR) on the mega-construction project success (MPS) in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Design/methodology/approach

A surveyed-based sample of project professionals (N = 563) directly linked with the BRI was employed for statistical estimations with partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

Paternalistic leadership styles, including authoritarian leadership (AL), moral leadership (ML) and benevolent leadership (BL), significantly influence the mega-construction project success in BRI. The findings empirically validated that both BL and ML increase the likelihood of mega-construction project success. However, AL could impose a threat through its underlying negative influence. In addition, leaders with benevolence and morality have a positive influence on TMV and TR, while leaders with authoritarianism signal a negative impact. Furthermore, both TMV and TR significantly and positively mediate the relationships between AL-MPS (Model-1), BL-MPS (Model-2) and ML-MPS (Model-3), respectively.

Originality/value

The present study is a groundbreaking endeavor that fills a crucial research gap by investigating mega-construction project success in the BRI through paternalistic leadership, project team members' voice and team resilience in a multi-mediation model. These novel findings offer valuable strategic insights for managing mega-construction projects in countries with paternalistic solid cultural foundations, enabling project managers to navigate cultural nuances and optimize megaproject outcomes.

Citation

Yunpeng, G. and Zaman, U. (2024), "Exploring mega-construction project success in China's vaunted Belt and Road Initiative: the role of paternalistic leadership, team members' voice and team resilience", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 31 No. 9, pp. 3801-3825. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-12-2022-1201