System Dynamics of Leadership Influence in Sustainable Supply Chains

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) involves complex and dynamic interactions among economic, environmental, and social processes. Leadership plays a critical role in shaping these interactions through strategic decisions that influence collaboration, resilience, and sustainability performance. However, existing studies often examine leadership impacts in a linear manner, overlooking the systemic feedback mechanisms inherent in supply chains. This study adopts a system dynamics perspective to explore how leadership decisions generate reinforcing and balancing feedback effects within sustainable supply chains. Drawing on system dynamics theory, the study synthesizes insights from secondary data and published case studies to develop causal loop diagrams and conceptual stock–flow structures that capture the dynamic relationships between leadership behavior, sustainability practices, and supply chain performance. The results are expected to reveal key feedback loops and leverage points through which leadership can amplify or constrain sustainability outcomes over time. By conceptualizing leadership influence as a dynamic system rather than a static input, this study contributes to SSCM literature and provides practitioners with a systems-level lens for designing resilient and sustainable supply chains.