Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct role being played by transformational leadership (TL) dimensions in reinforcing product and service innovation. More particularly, the paper focusses on the role of job satisfaction (JS) as a mediator in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A concurrent mixed methods technique was employed. The researcher surveyed 486 participants from three major telecoms companies that operate in Jordan to supply the society with mobile phones and internet services. In addition, 15 team leaders were interviewed for the same purpose. Findings The results of this paper support the positive direct impact of transformational leaders on both employees’ innovativeness and JS. In addition, JS was found to positively impact product and service innovation. Moreover, the results revealed that JS mediates the relationship between TL and innovation. Research limitations/implications Leaders are playing a direct and significant role in reinforcing product and service innovation in an interesting manner, especially through JS. Other styles of leadership, populations, and methods may create new perceptions in further research works. Practical implications The findings in this paper indicate that practising superior level of TL behaviours enhances overall JS, which, as a result, reinforces product and service innovation within employees in the Jordanian telecom sector. Superior outputs are achieved through such styles both for the firm as a whole towards innovative products and services, and similarly, for individuals within teams who involve in further innovative team climate. Originality/value These outcomes augment understanding of practises in which transformational leaders endorse innovation, and emphasise the values added through endorsing more TL behaviours to yield more innovative outputs by employees.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: “does the incorporation of sustainability as a new school of thought in project management support project success?” The authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on relevant empirical studies before 2018 to answer this question. Design/methodology/approach The authors carried out an SLR by selecting, extracting, analysing and critically appraising relevant literature that met pre-specified criteria by using transparent, well-organised and replicable steps. The main sources are publications in peer-reviewed journals regardless of their impact factor because the topic of incorporating sustainability in project management practices is restrained by a lack of research. Findings Based on the analysis, it seems that incorporating sustainability into project management may support project success. However, more evidence is required to support this finding as there are too few relevant empirical studies in the literature. Research limitations/implications Therefore, considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management is premature, and there are recommendations for further research at the end of this study. There are several limitations to the studies chosen, which may have significantly affected results, and thus may affect outcomes in this study. Originality/value Project success needs to be the main endeavour when incorporating sustainability into project management, and it should be a key criterion when considering sustainability as a new school of thought in managing projects. The most challenging elements of project success that need to be addressed are cost and time. This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of PSM on project success. It facilitates decision making in considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Furthermore, it defines a need for more research work in this potential paradigm shift in managing projects.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the moderating effect of humble leadership on the relationship between different intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and employee’s knowledge-sharing intention. Design/methodology/approach Responses of 236 employees in public organisations in the country of Jordan were collected via the completion of an online survey. The study data was analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings This study found that humble leadership support positively moderated the effect of intrinsic motivational factors (i.e. self-efficacy and enjoyment) on KS intention, while such leadership does not moderate the relationship between extrinsic motivational factors (i.e. rewards and reciprocity) and KS intention. Originality/value This study increases the understating of the conditions under which employees’ knowledge-share by exploring the moderating effect of humble leadership behaviour on motivational factors and KS intention in public organisations, particularly in the context of a developing country.

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of employee empowerment (i.e., structural and psychological empowerment) on job engagement (i.e., physical, emotional, and cognitive engagement). A quantitative approach was adopted in order to achieve such a study aim, and the data was collected via an online questionnaire. The sample of this study consisted of 300 employees from the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), one of the biggest Jordanian organisations in Aqaba, with a total of 293 questionnaires retrieved and 7 excluded due to their being invalid for statistical analysis. This yielded a total of 286 accepted questionnaires, or 95.3% of the total questionnaires provided. Moreover, the Statistical Analysis Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for data analysis, the results of which indicating that the level of implementation of employee empowerment dimensions had a medium rate amongst ASEZA’s employees, as the structural empowerment was applied more than the psychological empowerment. Furthermore, the level of present job engagement dimensions also had a medium rate amongst the surveyed ASEZA employees. The results also indicated there to be a significant statistical impact by structural and psychological empowerment on physical engagement and cognitive engagement, whilst there was no significant statistical impact made by structural empowerment on emotional engagement compared to psychological empowerment, which had a significant statistical impact on it. In light of the findings of this research, ASEZA managers must pay more attention to the role of empowerment of employees in promoting work engagement, since this enhances the organisation’s ability to achieve the appropriate strategy and gain a comparative advantage.

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