Green Leadership and Change Management: Driving Sustainability Initiatives

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is a critical driver of organizational and societal progress in the 21st century. As businesses and public institutions face mounting pressure to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, leadership, organizational change, and policy implementation play a pivotal role in advancing sustainability initiatives. The manner in which leaders facilitate change in corporate governance and public administration directly influences the adoption of green policies, the management of regulatory challenges, and the promotion of sustainability-driven innovation.

This Special Issue uniquely examines how green leadership and change management drive systemic change across diverse governance systems, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of leadership, sustainability, and organizational transformation. We seek to bridge theory and practice, providing actionable insights for leaders, managers, and policymakers while advancing scholarly discourse in this critical area.

We invite scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to contribute original research articles that address the following sub-themes and key questions, including but not limited to the following:

• Theoretical and empirical advancements in green leadership and sustainable change management.
• The role of ESG principles in shaping corporate and public-sector sustainability strategies.
• Organizational change processes and leadership challenges in adopting green initiatives.
• Public administration and policy implementation in enforcing sustainability regulations.
• Digital transformation and technology-enabled sustainability solutions.
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and stakeholder engagement in sustainability.
• The impact of green governance frameworks on organizational and institutional transformation.
• Case studies of successful sustainability initiatives across industries and public institutions.

We particularly encourage comparative perspectives, such as the following:

• Studies comparing sustainability policies across regions.
• Analyses of green initiatives in multinational corporations versus small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Cross-sectoral comparisons between corporate and public-sector approaches to sustainability.

Expected Outcomes

This Special Issue aims to provide interdisciplinary insights that will achieve the following:

• Guide organizations and policymakers in fostering a culture of sustainability.
• Offer strategies to overcome resistance to green transformation.
• Embed responsible leadership practices in both business and public administration. By bridging theory and practice, we seek to equip stakeholders with actionable strategies for sustainable transformation while contributing to the advancement of green leadership and change management research.

Submission and Review Process

Submissions will undergo a rigorous peer review process to ensure academic quality and relevance. The detailed submission guidelines are available on MDPI journal’s website.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Olusegun Oladapo Akerele
Dr. Ionuț Bogdan Berceanu
Dr. Dragoș Valentin Dinca
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• green leadership
• sustainable transformation
• change management
• corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
• organizational sustainability strategies
• digital transformation and sustainability policy
• sustainable business innovation
• sustainable governance
• public sector leadership
• public administration