The mediating role of levers of controls on the association between sustainable leadership and organisational resilience

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines the mediating role of Simons’ (Levers of control: How managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal, Harvard Business School Press, 1995) levers of control (belief systems, boundary controls, interactive use of controls, diagnostic use of controls) on the association between sustainable leadership and organisational resilience. Data was collected using a mail survey of 410 Australian middle level managers. The results reveal that three of the levers of control (belief systems, interactive use of controls, and diagnostic use of controls) mediate the influence of sustainable leadership on organisational resilience, with sustainable leadership exhibiting both a direct and indirect (through the levers) influence on organisational resilience. The findings contribute to the organisational resilience literature by providing an insight into the crucial role of the levers of control in facilitating the effectiveness of the sustainable leadership approach i.e. through enhancing organisational resilience. Accordingly, managers are advised to enhance organisational resilience through employing a sustainable leadership approach and employing belief systems and the interactive and diagnostic use of controls.