Linking Leadership Styles to Corporate ESG Performance: A Novel Sierpinski Triangle Fuzzy Decision-Making Modelling

Existing research generally addresses the factors affecting ESG performance at a general level, but fails to examine the relative impact of leadership approaches on this performance with a holistic decision-making model. This deficiency makes it difficult for businesses to align their sustainability strategies with the right leadership styles and creates uncertainty in achieving their ESG goals. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the most appropriate leadership style for improving ESG performance and to prioritize the criteria influencing this selection with an integrated approach. To address this gap in the literature, the study proposes a new multi-criteria decision-making model. The model utilizes a combination of the Z-score-based normalized ideal distance method (z-NIDM), CIMAS, RAM, and the innovative Sierpinski triangle fuzzy sets. According to the analysis results, the most important criterion for improving ESG performance is promoting green innovation, with a weight of 0.108, followed by resource efficiency, with a weight of 0.105. The most appropriate leadership style was determined to be ethical leadership, with a weight of 1.4841. These findings suggest that, to achieve their sustainability goals, businesses must adopt ethical management approaches, increase investments in green innovation, and make resource efficiency a strategic priority. This study offers a unique contribution by introducing a new fuzzy set approach to the literature, analyzing the relationship between ESG and leadership with an integrated decision-making model, and proposing a methodologically robust framework.

@article{Eti2025,
  title     = {Linking Leadership Styles to Corporate ESG Performance: A Novel Sierpinski Triangle Fuzzy Decision-Making Modelling},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {16},
  number    = {12},
  year      = {2025},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Serkan Eti and Çagla Özgen Safak and Serhat Yüksel and Hasan Dinçer},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2025.0161232},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2025.0161232}
}