How Sustainable Entrepreneurs Interpret and Enact Transformational Leadership

This study explores how sustainable entrepreneurs (SEs) interpret and enact transformational leadership (TL) within their companies. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted in-depth interviews with eight SEs operating in Norway. We identify four analytical assertions that capture how SEs make sense of TL: (1) Leading outwardly while leaving the inside behind, 2) Mobilizing the masses: turning company vision into a collective movement, 3) Rewiring the system: value creation beyond boundaries, 4) Empowering the collective: distributing leadership. Our findings contribute to the extant research literature on sustainable entrepreneurship and (green) transformational leadership by refining existing perspectives on how SEs practices TL.