Abstract
Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and project success directly and indirectly through psychological empowerment along with the moderating role of Islamic work ethic. Design/methodology/approach Using a time-lagged design, data were gathered from 202 employees working in project-based organizations of Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the distinctiveness of variables used in the study. Findings Consistent with the cognitive evaluation theory, the findings supported the hypotheses other than the moderating role of Islamic work ethics between psychological empowerment and project success. The results confirmed that ethical leadership promotes project success directly and indirectly via psychological empowerment. Furthermore, theoretical and practical implications are also discussed highlighting the importance of ethical leadership for researchers and practitioners. Originality/value Literature is insufficient on the topic of ethical leadership in the project management domain with the effect of Islamic work ethics and psychological empowerment. Therefore, the current study explored unanswered research questions in the project management domain.