A Behavioural Approach to Develop Sustainability Leadership

Abstract

This study explores sustainability leadership development among engineers in Saudi Arabia’s manufacturing industry to advance sustainable manufacturing. It examines the relationship between engineers’ personal sustainability and sustainability leadership by developing a new measurement tool and applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Also, it investigates the impact of sustainability attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and sustainability awareness on sustainability leadership among engineers.

The study utilises a quantitative survey to develop a novel tool for measuring sustainability leadership behaviours. Grounded in the Cambridge model of sustainability leadership behavioural competencies, the tool is tested using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with 163 participants to identify its underlying factor structure. Moreover, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is conducted with 675 participants to validate this structure and assess the model’s overall fit. The hypothesised relationships are also examined using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis.

The empirical evidence confirmed the scale’s validity and reliability and provided valuable insights into the variables influencing sustainability leadership behaviours. The PLS-SEM results demonstrated strong explanatory capabilities and satisfactory predictive power in the model. Significant relationships were found between engineers’ sustainability intentions and their sustainability leadership. This research extends the TPB by integrating sustainability awareness and confirmed a direct relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainability leadership behaviours.

These findings have significant practical implications, indicating that targeted interventions in engineering education and professional development are essential to foster sustainability leadership competencies. They advise policymakers and manufacturing leaders to enhance sustainability awareness, culture, and regulations to develop effective sustainability leadership practices. Management should support sustainable practices by being role models, providing necessary resources, eliminating potential barriers, and easing conflicts in decision-making. Future research should validate the measurement tool and examine how personal factors influence sustainability leadership competencies across diverse cultural and industrial contexts.

This research introduces a novel multidimensional self-report scale for measuring sustainability leadership behavioural competencies grounded in a well-established model. It is the first to explore the relationship between personal and leadership sustainability empirically.