Leading Sustainability: Power, Purpose, and Alignment in the Resort Industry

Abstract

This thesis investigates how leadership drives sustainable strategic decision-making. The study explores how leadership characteristics influence stakeholder engagement, the way leaders make decisions, and strategic alignment. The motivation for focusing on leadership is that it can guide sustainability outcomes through its influence on both internal and external stakeholders. The research adopts a descriptive embedded single case study approach and gathers primary data from interviews, observations, and internal documents along with relevant literature on leadership, stakeholders, sustainability, and strategic alignment. The findings show that leadership has a key function in determining sustainability initiatives by combining directive decision-making with stakeholder engagement which builds trust, and it developed a shared understanding regarding sustainability objectives. The leadership approach is characterized by flexibility, value-driven decision-making, and the ability to manage competing stakeholder interests. Leaders balances different stakeholder interests by being flexible and adapting the leadership style to the specific context and stakeholder group. They also combine top-down decision-making with flexibility and inclusive dialogue. These traits enable shared sustainability, and they also support early alignment between strategic goals and stakeholder expectations. The analysis reveals that sustainability is more effectively integrated when leadership takes an active role in stakeholder involvement and provides clear direction early in the process. In order to create strategic alignment and effectively implement the strategy successfully, it is important that the leaders have a clear sustainability vision. Leadership is not only a source of direction but also a mechanism for building trust, legitimacy, and long-term commitment. This thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of how leadership operationalize sustainability in strategic planning, particularly in newly established or evolving organizational contexts.