Leading for Sustainability in Uncertain Times: How Paradoxical Leadership, Green Proactive Behaviour and Employee Ambidexterity Shape Sustainability Performance

ABSTRACT As organisations confront growing environmental uncertainty, achieving sustainability requires more than formal policies; it depends on how leaders and employees respond to competing demands for stability, adaptation and environmental action. Although prior research has examined leadership, employee behaviour and sustainability outcomes, these dimensions have rarely been considered together, particularly in uncertain operating environments. This study develops and tests an integrated model examining how perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), paradoxical leadership (PL), green proactive employee behaviour (GPEB) and employee ambidexterity (EA) shape perceived sustainability performance (PSP). Informed by paradox theory and dynamic capabilities theory, the model was tested using survey data from 201 employees working in private‐sector energy, construction and logistics firms in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The findings indicate that PL is positively associated with both GPEB and PSP. By contrast, PEU has a negative effect on green proactive behaviour, challenging the assumption that uncertain conditions necessarily stimulate greater environmental initiative. However, EA weakens this negative relationship, suggesting that employees who can balance exploration with the effective implementation of existing practices are better positioned to maintain sustainability‐oriented behaviour under uncertain conditions. The study extends current research by integrating environmental context, leadership and employee‐level capabilities within a single framework. It also highlights the importance of developing leaders and workforces capable of sustaining corporate environmental efforts in complex, unpredictable organisational conditions.