Title: The role of leadership values and communication in the process of change toward sustainability

Authors: Fairooz Mustafa Hamdi; Nuno Guimaraes da Costa

Addresses: Duhok Polytechnic University, 61 Zakho Road, 1006 Mazi Qr, Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq ' ICN Business School – CEREFIGE, Campus Paris – La Défense Les Collines de l'Arche 76, Route de la Demi-Lune 92800 Puteaux, France

Abstract: Literature has given significant attention to how leadership values relate to sustainability practices. However, it takes a holistic approach to investigate how leadership values can translate to employees achieving value congruence and influencing employees' sustainability-related change readiness. This article presents a framework that takes a holistic approach to examine the role of communication in the relationship between leadership values and employees' acceptance of change toward sustainability practices. The authors carry out a qualitative synthesis of the literature, including 111 articles revealing several findings. First, different leadership values influence various sustainability practices, including social, economic, and environmental. Second, communication-oriented to reaching understanding moderates the relationship between leadership values and change toward sustainability practices. Third, the ability of leaders to influence sustainability-related change through values depends on their organisation's cultural orientations, particularly power distance. This article adds value to change management literature directed at sustainable development by presenting a framework to guide leaders in reaching mutual understating and value congruence with their employees to influence their readiness and acceptance of the change toward sustainability practices.

Keywords: leadership values; communication; change towards sustainability; change management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2024.142323

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2024 Vol.17 No.4, pp.474 - 503

Received: 12 Apr 2023
Accepted: 19 Apr 2023
Published online: 21 Oct 2024 *

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