Impact of emotional and cultural intelligence on project performance through psychological contract and task interdependence

Purpose In international development projects, emotional and cultural intelligence have been identified empirically and theoretically as critical success factors in project performance. In this study, task interdependence mediates the relationships among emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, and project performance. Also, the psychological contract moderates the relationship between task interdependence and project performance.Methodology To test the model for the statistical hypothesis, 295 project managers and team members from international development projects provided data.Results The pragmatic findings show no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and project performance. Similarly, task interdependence partially mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and project performance. However, cultural intelligence contributes significantly to project performance. Moreover, task interdependence completely mediates the relationship between cultural intelligence and project performance. Furthermore, the psychological contract did not affect task interdependence or project performance.Value This study’s findings differ from previous studies on related topics. This has the potential to elevate project performance and managerial physiology. Subsequently, future research directions are suggested.