The conceptualisation of responsible leadership and the development of a measure within a South African organisational context

Abstract

This study conceptualised and validated the construct of Responsible Leadership (RL) within a South African context, addressing a significant gap in both global and African leadership literature. Despite growing global interest in RL, limited research has explored how it manifests in South African organisational settings, and limited validated instruments exist that reflect this unique socio-cultural landscape. Using a three-phase exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, the study commenced with a systematic literature review of 67 peer-reviewed publications (2000–2023), identifying key RL themes: ethical decision-making, stakeholder inclusivity, sustainability, CSR alignment, and the need for validated tools in non-Western contexts. These insights informed the qualitative phase, which employed Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) with 19 cross-sector South African leaders. Six RL dimensions emerged: Growth, Planning, Sustainability, Business Insight, Value, and Team Mental Health, forming the conceptual base of the Organisational Responsible Leadership (ORL) instrument. A 25-item ORL instrument was developed, reviewed by experts, and tested with 1,636 public- and private-sector employees. Through Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses, reliability testing, and validity assessments, the scale was refined to 11 robust items demonstrating unidimensional, high internal consistency (α > 0.90), and measurement invariance across demographic groups. Theoretically, this study offers a culturally grounded conceptualisation of RL and introduces a validated ORL scale for South African organisations. Practically, it provides HR professionals and leaders with a diagnostic tool to assess and strengthen RL behaviours. The study affirms RL as a strategic, ethical, and people-centred leadership paradigm, critical for advancing sustainable organisational performance in South Africa and similar emerging contexts. The instrument is recommended for use in leadership development, ethical benchmarking, and fostering stakeholder-inclusive practices in organisations.