Special Issue "Sustainable Leadership: Crossing Silos in Leadership Research and Practice"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Virginia Bodolica
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Said T. Khoury Chair of Leadership Studies, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE
Interests: corporate governance; top management team compensation design; mergers and acquisitions; transitional economies; knowledge management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In today’s dynamic, disruptive and constantly evolving business landscapes, corporations are confronted with the imperative of embracing new realities and successfully navigating change (Bodolica & Spraggon, 2020). Under these specific environmental conditions, challenges associated with leadership, management, and decision making abound. Scholarly interest in the examination of a plethora of antecedents, intervening effects and consequences associated with leadership phenomena in modern organizations has grown significantly over the past decades. Empirical studies have evolved from very narrow, micro-level perspectives focused on leaders’ personality traits, individual attitudes and behavioral characteristics (Spraggon & Bodolica, 2015) to the inquiry of contextual considerations, leadership processes, and macro-level initiatives that provide opportunities for a wider conceptualization of leadership and its potential outcomes (Bodolica et al., 2020b).

Nowadays, of particular interest is the diversity of forms, expressions, behaviors and practices in which leadership can manifest itself to contribute to value creation and provide sustainable results for all organizational stakeholders and wider communities. This special issue seeks to demonstrate the current heterogeneity of leadership research and practice from the perspective of contexts, implications and levels of analysis, and highlight the relevance of crossing silos for the purpose of generating beneficial knowledge spillovers across fields. In particular, we aim to reactivate the call for researchers to recognize both the dynamic and sustainable nature of leadership and keep the door wide open for the continuous transformation of leadership as a discipline and field of study.

We welcome a variety of contributions in relation to sustainable leadership, from the perspective of both theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. To highlight the diversity of manifestations in which leadership can build long-term value for a sustainable enterprise, qualitative (Bodolica et al., 2015), quantitative (Spraggon & Bodolica, 2011), conceptual (Spraggon & Bodolica, 2018) and literature review (Bodolica & Spraggon, 2018) articles are equally relevant for achieving the objectives of this special issue. Our aim is to create a fruitful platform for the development of a context-dependent knowledge base on the theory and practice of sustainable leadership from the standpoint of decision makers in public and private businesses and institutions.

Contributing authors may shed light on macro-level leadership processes that emanate from the specificities of social reality construction and the pervasive need to pave the way toward a socially-sustainable, ethical enterprise (Bodolica & Spraggon, 2015). Very opportune are discussions of empirical findings generated in studies that examine the effects of leadership in different contexts, such as the healthcare sector (Tofan et al., 2013), family businesses (Bodolica et al., 2020a), and knowledge-intensive services firms (Spraggon & Bodolica, 2012). As far as micro-level initiatives are concerned, researchers may animate a debate on the occurrence of positive effects of leadership, through its transformational connotations, and the need to mitigate the negative leadership outcomes in the form of abusive styles and unethical behaviors. Finally, other contributions to this special issue may summarize the knowledge generated to date on the sustainable nature of leadership in today’s organizations and draw on the key lessons learned to delineate pressing priorities for future research in the field.

Sample topics of this Special Issue

The contributions to this special issue may address, but are not limited to, the following research topics: 

  • Total quality management, leadership and sustainability
  • Leading organizations toward excellence and sustainability
  • Entrepreneurial leadership, innovation and sustainable growth
  • Macro- and micro-level leadership processes in today’s organizations
  • Sustainable leadership in various industries and sectors
  • Cross-silo leadership and organizational longevity
  • Leadership, innovation and change management
  • Decision-making processes and sustainability considerations
  • Knowledge management and sustainable leadership
  • Leadership practices and social aspects of performance
  • Stewardship, leadership and corporate social responsibility
  • Sustainable practices in boards of directors and top management teams
  • Leadership, succession, rejuvenation and organizational continuity
  • Corporate governance mechanisms and sustainability implications
  • Leadership in teams, group processes and sustainability
  • Underrepresentation in leadership ranks, diversity management and inclusion
  • Leadership in times of extreme disruption and crisis management
  • Cross-disciplinary approaches to leadership

References

Bodolica, V., & Spraggon, M. (2020). Leadership in times of organizational decline: A literature review of antecedents, consequences, and moderators. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, doi 10.1108/IJOA-04-2020-2123.

Bodolica, V., Dupuis, D., & Spraggon, M. (2020a). At the intersection of corporate governance and performance in family business settings: Extant knowledge and future research. Business Ethics: A European Review, 29(1), 143–166.

Bodolica, V., Spraggon, M., & Saleh, N. (2020b). Innovative leadership in leisure and entertainment industry: The case of the UAE as a global tourism hub. International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 13(2), 323–337.

Bodolica, V., & Spraggon, M. (2015). An examination into the disclosure, structure and contents of ethical codes in publicly-listed acquiring firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 126(3), 459–472.

Bodolica, V., & Spraggon, M. (2018). An end-to-end process of writing and publishing influential literature review articles: Do’s and don’ts. Management Decision, 56(11), 2472–2486.

Bodolica, V., Spraggon, M., & Zaidi, S. (2015). Boundary management strategies for governing family firms: A UAE‐based case study. Journal of Business Research, 68(3), 684–693.

Spraggon, M., & Bodolica, V. (2018). A practice-based framework for understanding (informal) play as practice phenomena in organizations. Journal of Management & Organization, 24(6), 846–869.  

Spraggon, M., & Bodolica, V. (2015). Trust, authentic pride and moral reasoning: A unified framework of relational governance and emotional self-regulation. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24(3), 297–314.

Spraggon, M., & Bodolica, V. (2012). A multidimensional taxonomy of knowledge transfer processes. Journal of Business Research, 65(9), 1273–1282.

Spraggon, M., & Bodolica, V. (2011). Post-acquisition structuring of CEO pay packages: Incentives and punishments. Strategic Organization, 9(3), 187–221.

Tofan, G., Bodolica, V., & Spraggon, M. (2013). Governance mechanisms in the physician-patient relationship: A literature review and conceptual framework. Health Expectations, 16(1), 14–31.

Prof. Dr. Virginia Bodolica
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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 single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Safety Leadership as a Means for Safe and Sustainable Shipping
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7841; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147841 - 13 Jul 2021
Viewed by 501
Abstract
Safety leadership is critical in high-risk industries such as shipping since inadequate leadership can cause marine accidents, resulting in injuries, fatalities, damage to property and environmental pollution. One of the aspects of good and effective safety leadership is creating good human relations and [...] Read more.
Safety leadership is critical in high-risk industries such as shipping since inadequate leadership can cause marine accidents, resulting in injuries, fatalities, damage to property and environmental pollution. One of the aspects of good and effective safety leadership is creating good human relations and satisfaction among crewmembers, considered a precondition for effective teamwork. Officers on board ships should establish effective teamwork and implement adequate safety leadership, positively affecting safety culture, increasing safety in general and improving marine environment protection. Safety leadership onboard ships comprises several characteristics, including maintaining safe work performance, carrying out safety training, and encouraging crewmember morale. Therefore, it is essential for all stakeholders in shipping industries that officers onboard ships can identify those characteristics, adapt, and apply them adequately. This paper presents the characteristics and skills that shipboard officers need to apply in order to be excellent leaders and serve with adequate safety leadership abilities. One tool for recognizing those characteristics and skills was a survey carried out among experienced professional seafarers. Analysis of the survey data revealed latent factors, these being transformational and transactional leadership elements affecting safety leadership onboard ships. Full article
Article
Research on the Relationship between Shared Leadership and Individual Creativity-Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Basis of Clear Set
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5445; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105445 - 13 May 2021
Viewed by 404
Abstract
Creativity is the key to obtaining and maintaining competitiveness of modern organizations, and it has attracted much attention from academic circles and management practices. Shared leadership is believed to effectively influence team output. However, research on the impact of individual creativity is still [...] Read more.
Creativity is the key to obtaining and maintaining competitiveness of modern organizations, and it has attracted much attention from academic circles and management practices. Shared leadership is believed to effectively influence team output. However, research on the impact of individual creativity is still in its infancy. This study adopts the qualitative comparative analysis method, taking 1584 individuals as the research objects, underpinned by a questionnaire-based survey. It investigates the influence of the team’s shared leadership network elements and organizational environmental factors on the individual creativity. We have found that there are six combination of conditions of shared leadership and organizational environmental factors constituting sufficient combination of conditions to increase or decrease individual creativity. Moreover, we have noticed that the low network density of shared leadership is a sufficient and necessary condition of reducing individual creativity. Our results also provide management suggestions for practical activities during the team management. Full article
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Article
Sustainability of Organizations: The Contribution of Personal Values to Democratic Leadership Behavior Focused on the Sustainability of Organizations
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4207; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084207 - 09 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 635
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of leaders’ personal values on their democratic behavior from a sustainability perspective. We specified and tested the research model, drawing upon modified versions of the theory of basic values and the autocratic–democratic [...] Read more.
The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of leaders’ personal values on their democratic behavior from a sustainability perspective. We specified and tested the research model, drawing upon modified versions of the theory of basic values and the autocratic–democratic leadership continuum. A total of 208 Slovenian and 196 Austrian leaders’ responses were used in hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling analysis. The results reveal a significant and positive influence of collectivistic values in both samples on democratic leadership behavior. A significant and negative effect of individualistic values on democratic leadership behavior is present in Austria, while in Slovenia, the effect is positive but not significant. Based on acknowledged associations between leader’s values, leaders’ democratic leadership behavior, and sustainable development, we argue that democratic leadership behavior contributes to the sustainable working and behavior of organizations. These results have theoretical implications, indicating how personal values affect leaders’ democratic behavior and contribute to the sustainable working and behavior of organizations. The practical implications relate to the strengthening of leaders’ democratic behavior in Slovenian and Austrian organizations. In addition, these findings will be helpful in increasing the sustainability of organizations via fostering democratic leadership behavior and its underlying personal values. Full article
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