Relationships between top managers' leadership and infrastructure sustainability A Chinese urbanization perspective

Purpose - Top managers who possess outstanding leadership competence make significant contributions toward achieving project success. The relationship between the top managers' leadership and infrastructure sustainability (IS), one of the most important project success criteria, is empirically researched in this study. The purpose of this paper is to explore relationships between top managers' leadership competence of intellectual competence (IQ), managerial competence (MQ), and emotional and social competence (EQ) and to explore relationships between leadership competence and IS. Design/methodology/approach - Based on 246 obtained responses to a questionnaire survey across infrastructure projects in the context of the Chinese urbanization process, the analysis of the relationships between top managers' leadership and IS was performed using a structural equation model (SEM). Findings - Results indicate that top managers' leadership competence, with MQ being the main determinant, followed by IQ, directly drives the entire life cycle of an infrastructure project toward accomplishing IS. Through positively influencing the moderate variable of MQ, EQ competence is found to have an indirect influence on IS. Practical implications - In terms of practical implications, the outcomes of this research will provide criteria for the selection of top managers for infrastructure projects to realize IS during the process of Chinese urbanization. Originality/value - The established SEM improves the leadership competence framework of IQ, MQ, and EQ in the respect of reflecting the context of infrastructure projects and promotes the research and development of leadership theory in the construction area.