Sustainable leadership boosts NGO project performance through engaged employees in Pakistan

A new study from the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) of Pakistan reports that sustainable leadership significantly enhances the sustainable performance of NGO construction projects, and that this effect travels partly through employee engagement. The research, published as an open-access article in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications on 23 October 2026, also finds that organizational culture acts as a moderator, strengthening both the link between leadership and engagement and the indirect pathway from leadership to project outcomes.

The researchers built their model on social exchange theory. To test the framework, the team collected time-lagged data from 361 workers involved in NGO construction projects in the region. The analysis, carried out with hierarchical regression and Hayes’ PROCESS macro, showed that sustainable leadership significantly enhanced sustainable project performance and positively influenced employee engagement.

Employee engagement partially mediated the relationship between sustainable leadership and sustainable project performance, meaning that leadership is associated with project outcomes both directly and indirectly, with engaged employees carrying part of the effect. Organizational culture played a distinct role: the findings indicate that culture strengthens the relationship between sustainable leadership and employee engagement, as well as the indirect effect of sustainable leadership on project performance. This pattern makes the study a moderated mediation framework, in which a mediating mechanism’s strength depends on a contextual condition.

The study’s setting is notable. NGO construction projects in FATA operate in a challenging environment that the authors describe as underexplored in the sustainable leadership and project management literature. By documenting these relationships among project workers in that context, the authors state that the study contributes to research on leadership, project management, and the sustainable development goals.

The authors position the results as practical insights for NGOs seeking to improve the long-term sustainability of their projects through leadership practices, employee engagement, and a supportive organizational culture. They also suggest the work offers guidance for governments and NGOs operating in challenging environments. The article was published as a peer-reviewed, accepted manuscript shared early to provide faster access; it is citable and carries a permanent DOI, with a final Version of Record to follow.

Subject of Research: Sustainable leadership and employee engagement in NGO construction projects in FATA, Pakistan

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

Article References: Zada, S., Akbar, N., Zada, M., Contreras-Barraz, N., & Vega-Muñoz, A. (2026). From vision to value: sustainable leadership and project sustainable performance through employee engagement and organizational culture. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-09305-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-026-09305-2

Keywords: sustainable leadership, employee engagement, organizational culture, project performance, NGO construction projects, Pakistan, social exchange theory, moderated mediation, sustainable development goals, vision, value, sustainable