Entrepreneurial leadership style towards sustainability through agile and lean base strategy in private universities

The problem and the aim of the study. Even though previous literature in academia has focused on sustainable business practices and the impact of entrepreneurial leadership style on the sustainability of organizations, there is still a gap in the literature regarding the effects of entrepreneurship leadership on the sustainability of employees and companies. This study sought to identify the degree of the impact of entrepreneurial leadership style towards sustainability through agile-based Strategy compared to lean Strategy in private universities.

Research methods. The study’s research methodology employs structural equation modeling (SEM) combined with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess and validate the measurement model and to estimate indirect effects. This methodological approach aimed at achieving a high degree of confidence by focusing on academic and administrative staff across five private institutions in Jordan. The initial collection involved 400 cases, of which 385 passed data screening and were considered valid for the analysis. Data were gathered using online questionnaires in this descriptive correlational study.

Results. Findings from this study on the impact of demographic factors on sustainability and leadership styles in a sample of 400 people (later reduced to 385 after outliers and missing data were removed) shed light on the significance of gender, education level, experience, and management level. A bachelor’s degree was possessed by 90.4% of respondents, and the majority of those respondents were male 55.8%. There was also a considerable representation throughout different lengths of work. By examining comments on many characteristics, including Entrepreneurship Leadership Style, Lean and Agile Strategies, and sustainability factors, the Agile Strategy stood up as the top model, achieving an average score of 3.8104. The sustainability component with the highest mean score was Economic Sustainability, which also happened to be the highest rated. Through the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the study was able to hone down on its findings and ultimately eliminate five items based on item loadings. This resulted in a marked improvement in the new model’s fit indices. This improved model outperformed the original one in terms of goodness of fit, as evidenced by a Chi-square of 584.663, RMSEA of 0.048, and CFI of 0.933. Analyzing the relationships between the Entrepreneurial Leadership Style and the sustainability outcomes via the lens of the Agile Strategy was a key finding. The importance of the Agile Strategy in improving sustainability at private institutions in Jordan was further supported by the considerable total impact of the Entrepreneurship Leadership Style on sustainability, as measured by p < 0.05, which was mediated by the Agile Strategy. With important ramifications for educational organization methods, this thorough investigation highlights the usefulness of the Agile Strategy in moderating the leadership influence on sustainability.

Conclusion. Research shows that private universities in Jordan are more likely to be sustainable when entrepreneurial leadership is in place, and that agile strategy has a stronger impact on this than lean strategy. This highlights the significance of adaptive leadership strategies for promoting long-term viability in higher education. Based on the results, it would be wise to investigate how various leadership approaches affect sustainability in different types of educational settings. This study paves the way for future research in the field of higher education and beyond to investigate the wider effects of entrepreneurial leadership and strategy on the long-term viability of organizations.

Keywords: higher education, sustainability, agile, and lean base strategy

For Reference: Shogran, R. I. (2024). Entrepreneurial leadership style towards sustainability through agile and lean base strategy in private universities. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovania – Perspectives of Science and Education, 67 (1), 796-811. doi: 10.32744/pse.2024.1.45

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Information about the authors:

Rami Ibrahim Shogran (Jordan, Ramtha) - Faculty member, Vice Dean. College of Educational and Psychological Sciences. Amman Arab University. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3182-5043. Scopus Author ID: 57917233100