Sustainable Leadership and Investment-perspective approach toward Sustainable Performance for firms: a cross-sectional study amongst the educational sectors in the UAE

Abstract

Currently, organizations of all structures are aware that a significant source of competitive advantage is gaining from the appropriate systems for attracting, motivating, managing, and retaining the organizations’ talents. Adopting a strategic view of leadership, “sustainable leadership” not only enhances employees as human “assets” but also develops appropriate policies and procedures as investments in these assets to increase their value to the organization and the marketplace. The current study analyzes the sources of employee value and sustainable leadership roles toward sustainable performance. In this background, three UAE-based educational institutions were chosen purposively and administered a closed-ended questionnaire and a short interactive session. The samples were selected by stratified proportional sampling for diverse demographic responses. As the data are quantitative and qualitative, an exploratory analysis has been done to test the hypotheses and make a conclusion about the link and importance of the variables. The results validated the proposed conceptual model that was developed from the literature. Subsequently, the study established that sustainable leadership approaches augment strategies for best opportunities and ensures that performance standards are met. This needs a global and innovative mindset from management and employees. Gradually, firms can plan in the longer term and maintain a sustainable performance to have a competitive edge. Finally, it recommends routes for future research in addressing issues in analyzing the human Return on Investment (ROI).