Cover
Volume 7, Special Issue 6 (2026)

Published: October 25, 2026

Pages: 120-128

Research Article

Analysis of the Role of Sustainable Local Leadership According to the Legatum Prosperity Index: An Analytical Study in the Karbala Provincial Council

Mohammed H. Radhi 1 Fawaz F. S. Al-Masoudi 1 Fadel R. Al-Ghazali 2
1Department of Business Administration, College of Management and Economics, University of Warith al-Anbiyaa, Karbala, Iraq
2Department of Business Administration, College of Management and Economics, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
History
  • Received: August 14, 2026
  • Available Online: October 25, 2026
DOI

https://doi.org/10.56967/ejfb2026986

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the role of sustainable local leadership in enhancing prosperity indicators according to the Legatum Prosperity Index, through an analytical study at the Karbala Provincial Council. The research is based on the hypothesis that adopting sustainable leadership practices contributes to improving the work environment, enhancing social capital, and supporting the sustainability of organizational development within local government institutions. The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 130 employees at the Karbala Provincial Council, using a five-point Likert scale. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 22 and SmartPLS software to test the research hypotheses and measure the relationships between its variables. The sustainable local leadership variable was measured across five dimensions: diversity, organizational justice, employee development, advancement and orientation, and work-life balance. Prosperity was measured based on the dimensions of the Legatum Prosperity Index. The results showed a strong and statistically significant positive effect of sustainable local leadership on enhancing prosperity indicators, with an effect size of β = 0.825 and high explanatory power for the model. This underscores that sustainable leadership practices are crucial for improving organizational performance and fostering the prosperity of organizations and communities. The findings also indicated that the employee development dimension had the greatest impact compared to the other dimensions. The research recommends that local leaders adopt sustainable leadership practices based on organizational justice, human resource development, and a supportive work environment. This will contribute to achieving sustainable development and improving the quality of public services within the framework of the Legatum Prosperity Index.

Keywords

References

  1. Al-Maliki, Nidal Abdullah Yassin. Kashkoul, Hussein Muhammad Ali. (2024). The Effective Contribution of Accounting Culture Values to Enhancing the Strategic Change Readiness of Business Companies: A Field Study in Al-Joud and Noor Al-Kafeel Companies Affiliated with the Holy Abbasid Shrine. Al-Ghari Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Special Issue, Volume (20), Pages 484-503.
  2. Al-Hamdani, Muhammad Majid & Kadhim, Diaa Aziz Muhammad, 2023, The Culture of the Image and its Effectiveness in Enhancing the Digital Marketing Strategy in Private Universities: An Exploratory and Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Students from Warith Al-Anbiya University (Peace be upon him), Warith Scientific Journal, Volume 5.
  3. Al-Yasari, Salah Mahdi Abbas & Banai, Diaa Falih, 2024, The Role of Spiritual Leadership in Promoting Job Dedication: An Exploratory and Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Leaders of the Abbas Combat Division, Warith Scientific Journal, Volume 6, Issue 20.
  4. Ahsan, M. J., & Khawaja, S. (2024). Sustainable leadership impact on environmental performance: exploring employee well-being, innovation, and organizational resilience. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 317.
  5. Banai, Diaa Falih, 2021, The Relationship Between Organizational Error Management Culture and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Social Capital. An Exploratory Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Engineers in Karbala Governorate, Iraqi Journal of Administrative Sciences, Volume 17, Issue 70.
  6. Liao, Y. (2022). Sustainable leadership: A literature review and prospects for future research. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 1045570.
  7. Ribeiro, G. K. A., & Leitão, J. (2024). Sustainable leadership and sustainable entrepreneurship: a systematic literature review. Discover sustainability, 5(1), 188.
  8. Cuhadar, S., & Rudnák, I. (2022). Literature review: sustainable leadership. Studia Mundi–Economica, 9(3), 55-65.
  9. Noumas, Tabarak Halim. (2025). The Role of Strategic Leadership in Organizational Success: An Analytical Study at Warith Al-Anbiya University. Warith Scientific Journal, Special Issue, Volume (7), Pages 228-243.
  10. Iqbal, Q., & Piwowar-Sulej, K. (2022). Sustainable leadership in higher education institutions: social innovation as a mechanism. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(8), 1-20.
  11. Zada, M., Khan, J., Saeed, I., Zada, S., & Yong Jun, Z. (2024). Linking sustainable leadership with sustainable project performance: mediating role of knowledge integration and moderating role of top management knowledge values. Journal of Knowledge Management, 28(6), 1588-1608.
  12. Malik, H., & Mehmood, M. (2022). Impact of authentic leadership, sustainable leadership on sustainable growth with mediating role of organizational learning. Academic Journal of Social Sciences (AJSS), 6(1), 48-69.
  13. Ahsan, M. J., & Khawaja, S. (2024). Sustainable leadership impact on environmental performance: exploring employee well-being, innovation, and organizational resilience. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 317.
  14. Iqbal, Q., & Piwowar-Sulej, K. (2023). Sustainable leadership and heterogeneous knowledge sharing: the model for frugal innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 26(7), 655-673.
  15. Alkhamaiseh, R. E., Bailey, R., & Jarvis, A. (2025). Definitions of sustainable leadership in education: A systematic review and analysis. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 20(3), 280-297.
  16. Ahmad, S. (2025). Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Leadership Practices: Examine how entrepreneurial leaders incorporate sustainability into their business models and the leadership traits facilitating this integration. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Venturing, 5(1).
  17. Wiseman, J., & Stillwell, A. (2022). Organizational justice: Typology, antecedents and consequences. Encyclopedia, 2(3), 1287-1295.
  18. Gunter, S., Nogueira, R. C., Hudson, C., Morton, R., & Jones, C. J. (2025). Perceptions of Sustainable Leadership in Australian Healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 445-458.
  19. Ashraf, S., & Hashmi, A. (2025). A Systematic Literature Review on Sustainable Leadership in Higher Education Institutions. International Research Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(3), 512-528.
  20. Lee, H. W. (2017). Sustainable leadership: An empirical investigation of its effect on organizational effectiveness1. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 20(4), 419-453.
  21. Roberson, Q. M. (2006). Disentangling the meanings of diversity and inclusion in organizations. Group & organization management, 31(2), 212-236.
  22. Al-Tit, A. A., Al-Ayed, S., Alhammadi, A., Hunitie, M., Alsarayreh, A., & Albassam, W. (2022). The impact of employee development practices on human capital and social capital: the mediating contribution of knowledge management. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 8(4), 218.
  23. VandeWalle, D. (1997). Development and validation of a work domain goal orientation instrument. Educational and psychological measurement, 57(6), 995-1015.
  24. Ahmed, H. R., & Khan, D. A. J. (2016). Prosperity and Instability: An evaluation of Legatum Prosperity Index.
  25. Grzywacz, J. G., & Carlson, D. S. (2007). Conceptualizing work—family balance: Implications for practice and research. Advances in developing human resources, 9(4), 455-471.
  26. Beslerová, S., & Dzuričková, J. (2014). Quality of life measurements in EU countries. Procedia Economics and Finance, 12, 37-47.
  27. Dimoska, T., & Dimoska, S. (2019). Prosperity Index as a measure of quality of life in Macedonia.
  28. Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of management review, 23(2), 242-266.
  29. Chandrasekar, K. (2011). Workplace environment and its impact on organisational performance in public sector organisations. International journal of enterprise computing and business systems, 1(1), 1-19.
  30. Lozano, R., Carpenter, A., & Huisingh, D. (2015). A review of ‘theories of the firm’and their contributions to Corporate Sustainability. Journal of Cleaner production, 106, 430-442.
  31. Amin, G. R., & Siddiq, F. K. (2019). Measuring global prosperity using data envelopment analysis and OWA operator. International Journal of Intelligent Systems, 34(10), 2713-2738.