Mitigating work alienation in public sector service-delivery projects caused by perceived overqualification: the roles of empowering leadership and the psychological contracts

Purpose The study investigates the nature of an understudied yet salient relationship between perceived overqualification (POQ) and work alienation in project management. It employs relative deprivation theory to propose two dimensions of the psychological contract, i.e. relational and transactional, as underlying mediating mechanisms and how empowering leadership mitigates the adverse effects of POQ. Design/methodology/approach To this end, in two waves, we surveyed 232 project members of three public-sector information and communication technologies (ICT) projects in Punjab, Pakistan. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The key findings are: (1) POQ leads to work alienation, (2) relational and transactional contracts mediate this relationship, and (3) empowering leadership can mitigate the adverse effects of POQ in project management settings. Originality/value This research adds valuable insights to the scant POQ literature in public-sector project management settings. It also contributes by identifying the mediating role of relational and transactional psychological contracts and the moderating role of empowering leadership to mitigate the adverse effects of POQ in these settings.