From strategy to sustainable business performance: linking CSR and green transformational leadership with behavioral and organizational identification mechanisms in a crisis-affected setting

Sustainability outcomes depend not only on organizational strategies but also on leadership behaviors and employee engagement, especially in crisis-affected economies. Drawing on stakeholder, transformational leadership, social exchange, and social identity theories, this study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green transformational leadership (GTL) relate to sustainable business performance (SBP) through organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE), with organizational identification (OI) as a moderator. Survey data collected between January and June 2025 from 500 employees and managers of Lebanese organizations participating in the United Nations Global Compact were analyzed using hierarchical structural equation modeling. CSR’s direct association with SBP was not supported in the combined model, and its indirect association through OCBE was not supported under the bootstrap confidence-interval criterion. GTL is directly and indirectly associated with SBP, and OI strengthens the GTL–OCBE link. Findings reposition leadership and employee identification as key pathways associated with sustainability outcomes in this crisis-affected context, offering theoretical and managerial implications.