Tracing the footprints of sustainable leadership: a bibliometric exploration to uncover trends, influences, and research frontiers

Introduction: In order to combat climate change and accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, the article emphasizes the growing significance of sustainable leadership. It highlights the necessity for companies to include environmental, social, and economic factors into their operations. One transformative strategy that promotes long-term value, organizational flexibility, and stakeholder trust is sustainable leadership. Scholars strongly support its beneficial effects, although the literature noticeably lacks bibliometric analysis. A thorough bibliometric analysis is suggested to close this gap by examining the evolution and present emphasis of sustainable leadership research, which will direct future scholarly and applied endeavours. Objective: This study aims to perform a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature focusing on sustainable leadership. The goal is to identify prominent themes, authors, sources, and highly cited articles in this field. Additionally, it seeks to discern trends over time in the publication of articles related to sustainable leadership. Design/Methodology/Approach: Utilizing bibliometric analysis, this paper examines articles gathered from the Scopus database using various keywords “Sustainable leadership”, “Sustainability Leadership”, and “Sustainable Leaders” . A total of 87 papers were subjected to computerized search methods. Graphical visualization of the bibliographic data was achieved through VOSviewer software and Scopus data analysis functions. Results: The paper conducts detailed research on sustainable leadership using bibliometric analysis that facilitates visualizing the publication evolution within the domain and delineates present research trends and potential future directions. It uncovers diverse themes, significant journals, influential articles, and key contributors. The study reveals evolving trends, prominent countries, and prolific authors, offering insights into sustainable leadership research dynamics. Conclusion: This research yields significant outcomes, contributing to both theoretical advancements and practical benefits for researchers, leaders, and practitioners. Beyond identifying influential figures, it furnishes a valuable tool for newcomers, facilitating collaboration, source discovery, and a deeper understanding of the scholarly landscape in sustainable leadership. This study stands out as one of the few to conduct a literature review or scientific mapping on sustainable leadership. Moreover, it distinguishes itself by meticulously selecting publications that strictly adhere to the sustainability criteria outlined by Avery (2006).