Strategic Pathways to Corporate Sustainability: The Roles of Transformational Leadership, Knowledge Sharing, and Innovation

Abstract

Corporate sustainability has emerged as a critical imperative for firms navigating volatile markets and ecological constraints, yet the mechanisms linking organizational practices to sustainability outcomes remain underexplored, particularly in developing economies. Drawing on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, this paper examines how transformational leadership and knowledge sharing synergistically enhance innovation capability, which in turn fosters environmental dynamism and corporate sustainability performance. Using a structured questionnaire within a cross-sectional design to gather data from 140 Moroccan SMEs, data were collected via an online questionnaire from 140 Moroccan SME owners and managers, with hypotheses tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that knowledge sharing, and transformational leadership significantly strengthen innovation capability. Innovation capability further drives environmental dynamism, which positively impacts sustainability performance. These findings advance theory by integrating knowledge-based, leadership, and dynamic capability perspectives into a novel pathway for achieving sustainability goals. The study underscores the necessity for SMEs in developing nations to cultivate leadership that inspires knowledge exchange and adaptive innovation, enabling resilience amid ecological and market shifts. By highlighting these internal drivers, the research offers actionable insights for SMEs and policymakers seeking to align business innovation strategies with sustainability objectives and pro-environmental transformation in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125547
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Marketing & Strategy
College of Business and Social Sciences
College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: Copyright © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publication ISSN: 2071-1050
Last Modified: 30 Jun 2025 07:25
Date Deposited: 27 Jun 2025 12:33
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.mdp ... 1050/17/12/5547 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2025-06-16
Published Online Date: 2025-06-16
Accepted Date: 2025-06-06
Authors: Alqatan, Ahmad
Simmou, Walid
Shehadeh, Maha
AlReshaid, Faisal
Elmarzouky, Mahmoud
Shohaieb, Doaa (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4852-3057)

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