PurposeThrough the lens of the leader–member exchange theory, this study assessed the relationship between inclusive leadership (IL) and project success by incorporating the mediating roles of psychological empowerment (PE) and psychological safety (PS).Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged data were collected from 328 employees working in project-based organisations across the information technology industry. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS 26 was employed for data analysis.FindingsBy using the SEM approach, the confirmatory factor analysis had verified the distinctiveness of the variables used in this study. The findings displayed that IL increased project success both directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of PE and PS.Originality/valueThis study addressed two research questions that have been left unanswered in the literature. The initial research question is “how IL enhances project success?”, and this study found that IL enhanced project success. The second research question is “what are the suggested mechanisms for IL to promote project success?” This study has proven that IL enhanced project success through two important mediating mechanisms, namely, PE and PS.

PurposeThrough the lens of social exchange theory, this study aims to assess the relationship between proactive personality and innovative work behavior by incorporating the mediating role of work engagement and moderating role of transformational leadership between proactive personality and work engagement.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 259 employees working in Pakistani small-medium enterprises (SMEs). The purposive sampling technique was used to collect data. For hypothesis testing, Preacher and Hayes process macro was employed.FindingsConfirmatory factor analysis verified the distinctiveness of the variables used in this study. The findings show that a proactive personality had a positive influence on innovative work behavior directly and indirectly through work engagement, and transformational leadership positively moderates the relationship between a proactive personality and work engagement in such a way that with high transformational leadership behavior relationship will be strengthened.Originality/valueThis study has addressed three research questions that have been left unanswered in the literature. The initial research question is “how proactive personality enhances innovative work behavior?” This study found that proactive personality enhanced innovative work behavior. The second research question is “what are the suggested mechanisms for proactive personality to promote innovative work behavior?” This study has proven that a proactive personality enhanced innovative work behavior through an important mediating mechanism, namely work engagement. Finally, the third question of the study is “does transformational leadership moderate the relationship between proactive personality and work engagement? The study shows that transformational leadership positively moderates between proactive personality and work engagement.

This study looked into the mechanism through which health education can reduce the fear of being infected with COVID‐19 because health education helps individuals to improve their knowledge and attitudes towards a disease. The spread of COVID‐19 has escalated the level of fear among public and nurses. Nevertheless, the mechanism that contributes to minimize the fear towards this pandemic remains unexplored. A cross‐sectional survey was adopted to test the relationships among public health education, psychological capital, and fear of COVID‐19. In total, 243 responses were obtained via online survey from nurses. The results revealed that public health education can reduce one’s fear of COVID‐19. Psychological capital emerged as a strong explanatory mechanism for the phenomenon. Drawing on spillover theory, public health education seems to reduce fear of COVID‐19 with the mediating role of psychological capital. Limitations and future directions are at the end of this paper. The study outcomes revealed that organizations should focus on educating nursing staff to overcome fear of COVID‐19. One way to induce positivity among nursing staff is by holding trainings.

PurposeBased on conservation of resources theory, the present study aims to investigate the negative leadership style (i.e. despotic leadership) and its influence on a key dimension of project success (i.e. project efficiency) directly and indirectly via employees’ job stress. Moreover, this study also aims to investigate the moderating role of resilience on the relationship between despotic leadership and employees’ job stress.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a time-lagged design and collected data via purposive sampling technique from 342 information technology project employees. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 and AMOS 24.FindingsThe findings are in line with the proposed relationship, as despotic leadership negatively influences project efficiency via employees’ job stress and resilience plays a vital role in mitigating the effects of despotic leadership on employees' job stress.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide direction to information technology firms to develop strategies to decrease employees’ stress and increase project efficiency.Originality/valueThis study extends the literature on leadership and information technology projects by examining how despotic leadership influences project efficiency via employees’ job stress. Negative leadership exists in organizations but has not yet been empirically explored; this study finds that it increases subordinates’ stress level and ultimately influences project efficiency.

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