From vision to value: sustainable leadership and project sustainable performance through employee engagement and organizational culture

This research investigates a novel model in the context of sustainability and examines how sustainable leadership affects sustainable project performance in NGO construction projects in federally administered tribal areas (FATA), Pakistan, through the mediating role of employee engagement and the moderating role of organizational culture. Based on social exchange theory, the proposed model was tested using time-lagged data collected from 361 workers in NGO projects, using hierarchical regression and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. The findings reveal that sustainable leadership significantly enhances sustainable project performance and positively influences employee engagement.

Employee engagement partially mediates the relationship between sustainable leadership and sustainable project performance, while organizational culture strengthens the relationship between sustainable leadership and employee engagement, as well as the indirect effect of sustainable leadership on project performance. This study contributes to the sustainable leadership and project management literature by introducing a moderated mediation framework within the underexplored NGO context of FATA, Pakistan. The findings provide practical insights for NGOs seeking to improve the long-term sustainability of projects through leadership practices, employee engagement, and a supportive organizational culture.

They also significantly advance the literature on project management, leadership, and sustainable development goals and contribute practical guidance for the Government and NGOs working in challenging environments. This study was supported by Hanjiang Normal University through a staff research grant. School of Foreign Language, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan, China Department of Business Administration Faculty of Management Sciences, Ilma university, Karachi, Pakistan Department of Management and Commerce, University of Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Facultad de Administración y Negocios, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, 8320000, Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago, 8330507, Chile Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura, Universidad Arturo Prat, Santiago, 8340232, Chile The authors declare no competing interests.

Informed consent was obtained from all participants before data collection for the study conducted from 10–31 March 2025. Participants received detailed information about the study’s purpose, nature, and procedures through a consent form and the questionnaire’s informed consent statement. They were assured that participation was voluntary, that data would be used only for academic purposes, that responses would remain anonymous and confidential, and that they could withdraw from the study at any time without consequence.

Given the sensitivity of the sector and area, and in line with our commitment to the participating organizations and respondents, the data will not be shared publicly. The study did not involve minors or legally dependent participants; therefore, consent from legal guardians was not applicable. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Swat, Pakistan, under approval number 2025REC006, dated March 5, 2025.

The study was conducted among employees working on NGO-based construction projects in FATA/Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. As the research was conducted only in Pakistan and did not involve multiple countries, no additional international or multi-country ethical approval was required. All procedures involving human participants were performed in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments, as well as relevant institutional and national ethical guidelines and regulations.