Leadership profiles of successful project managers in Indonesia

Purpose: This study examines the possible relationship between leadership competency and project performance within an Indonesia project-based organization setting. Three mediating variables are considered in the analysis: Industry type, project complexity, and project strategic value. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was administered to empirically evaluate the theoretical model. The targeted population was projected in Indonesia, and a snowball sampling method was utilized. Out of 183 respondents, 81 responded to the invitation, which accounts for a 44.2 response rate. The data was analyzed by using a sub-group qualitative analysis in conjunction with the crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA). The sub-group qualitative analysis was presented in the leadership competency maps while the csQCA was reported in configuration tables. Findings: It was found that the leadership profiles of more and less successful project managers differ, which suggests a positive association between competency and performance. More importantly, the evidence suggests that both industry type and complexity moderate the relationship. The different patterns of leadership profiles for successful managers in three types of industries construction, information and communication technology (ICT), and consultancy and under different project complexity levels were observed. No substantial evidence was observed for the moderating effect of the project strategic value. It was also found from the sub-group analyses that across contexts, three attributes of leadership differently influence performance - IQ seems to be more prominent than EQ. The csQCA provides additional evidence on the persistence of IQ in many positive case configurations which are related to superior performance. The csQCA also reports different leadership competency configurations across contexts. Generally, the results agree with the findings of past similar studies in different countries. However, some variations were found at a more detailed level, which may be due to cultural differences. Research limitations/implications: The study further extends the existing body of knowledge on project leadership, as it provides a new understanding on leadership profile and its efficacy within different contexts of project-based organizations in Indonesia a case of a developing country. The utilization of both sub-group qualitative analysis and csQCA offers complementary analytical perspectives within a limited sample size. Practical implications: It exposes project practitioners to different leadership profiles that lead to successful and unsuccessful projects within different settings. Originality/value: This study provides an original work (theoretical and empirical) on a leadership area of project management within a specific context of a developing country. © 2019, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya. All rights reserved.