Impact of servant leadership on project success: a study on the mediating effects of organizational learning and moderating effects of project nature

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of servant leadership (SL) on project success (PS) in large-scale infrastructure projects. This study uniquely integrates social exchange theory (SET), social learning theory (SLT) and organizational learning (OL) theory to explore the under-researched role of SL, OL and PS in multinational projects involving diverse stakeholders and high complexity. Design/methodology/approach This quantitative study used a survey across 66 projects of the China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) while collecting data from 507 participants through structured questionnaires and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) for analysis and testing the study hypotheses. Findings The results showed a high correlation between the study variables. Moreover, other than the project’s nature and OL, the relationship between individual characteristics and the learning process was found to be significant. Originality/value SL is a crucial determinant of PS. Also, the results advocate that type of project and OL strongly affect the role of SL in PS, especially for the large-scale and diverse projects like CPEC.