| Abstract [eng] |
This study investigates the role of transformational leadership in enhancing project management effectiveness through stakeholder engagement, applying a comparative perspective across public and private sector organizations. Grounded in leadership theory and stakeholder theory, the research develops and empirically tests a mediation model in which transformational leadership is treated as the independent variable, stakeholder engagement as the mediating variable, and project management effectiveness as the dependent variable. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed. Data were collected from 70 project management professionals, equally representing public and private sector organizations. Established and validated measurement scales were used, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, linear regression, mediation analysis, and multi-group comparison techniques. The results demonstrate that transformational leadership has a statistically significant positive impact on project management effectiveness in both sectors. Additionally, transformational leadership significantly enhances stakeholder engagement, which in turn shows a strong positive relationship with project management effectiveness. The mediation analysis confirms that stakeholder engagement partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and project management effectiveness, indicating that leadership influences project outcomes both directly and indirectly through stakeholder-related processes. Comparative analysis reveals sectoral differences, with the effects of transformational leadership appearing stronger in public sector organizations, highlighting the importance of relational leadership and stakeholder engagement in bureaucratic and resource-constrained environments. The study contributes to the literature on project management and leadership by empirically validating stakeholder engagement as a key explanatory mechanism linking transformational leadership to project success. From a practical perspective, the findings emphasize the importance of developing transformational leadership capabilities and implementing structured stakeholder engagement strategies to improve project performance across diverse organizational contexts. |
