Tonny Odhiambo
This theoretical paper examines the relationship between strategic leadership and organizational sustainability, proposing environmental turbulence as a moderating variable within the context of developing economies. Drawing on upper echelons theory, contingency theory, and the dynamic capabilities perspective, the paper develops a conceptual framework linking dimensions of strategic leadership - visionary orientation, stakeholder integration, and adaptive capacity to the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of organizational sustainability. It argues that the strength of this relationship is conditioned by the intensity of environmental turbulence characteristic of developing economy institutional contexts, including regulatory volatility, infrastructural gaps, and resource-market instability. The paper synthesizes literature on strategic leadership, organizational sustainability, and environmental turbulence to advance four propositions and a conceptual model intended to guide future empirical investigation. It contributes to theory by extending contingency-based leadership models to sustainability outcomes in under-researched developing economy settings, and offers practical implications for executives, boards, and policymakers seeking to embed sustainability into strategic decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. The paper concludes by identifying survey-based, mixed-methods, and comparative research designs through which the proposed model could be empirically tested, and it acknowledges the limitations inherent to a conceptual, literature-based approach.
Strategic Leadership, Organizational Sustainability, Environmental Turbulence, Developing Economies, Upper Echelons Theory, Dynamic Capabilities, Contingency Theory, Strategic Management
CEO, chief executive officer; TMT, top management team; WCED, World Commission on Environment and Development. All abbreviations are also defined at first use in the text; no additional nonstandard abbreviations are used.
Tonny Odhiambo*, Department of Business, Presbyterian University of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
Corresponding Author: Tonny Odhiambo, Department of Business, Presbyterian University of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.
Odhiambo, T. (2026). Strategic Leadership and Organizational Sustainability: Examining the Moderating Effect of Environmental Turbulence in Developing Economies. Econ Dev Glob Mark, 2(2), 01-15.