Enabling leadership of and innovation in South African mining companies : pursuing environmental, social, governance principles and the 2030 SDGs

Abstract

In this thesis, titled ‘Enabling leadership of and innovation in South African mining companies: pursuing environmental, social, governance principles and the 2030 SDGs’, the candidate explored how leadership practices and processes foster an environment conducive to innovation, aligning with the SDGs and ESG principles. As a result, the researcher provides descriptive evidence and case studies that demonstrate perspectives of senior leaders in the mining sector concerning the SDGs and ESG, innovation and enabling leadership practices in the South African mining sector. Furthermore, this is examined in conjunction with relevant leadership literature, specifically the Complexity Leadership Theory and Ambidexterity Leadership Theory, which serve as the study's conceptual framework. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews as well as desktop research. Thirty-one senior mining leaders involved in innovation, the SDGs and ESG was purposefully selected and interviewed for this study. By drawing on Complexity Leadership Theory and Ambidexterity Leadership Theory as theoretical underpinnings, the researcher identified codes and themes that align with these theories. The study found four overarching findings with a number of sub-themes. The four findings revealed that mining leaders’ views and their understanding of SDGs and ESG in the mining sector are not homogenous; innovation positively impact sustainability in the mining sector; high levels of ambidextrous leadership practices enable innovation in the mining sector and lastly, that there are leadership behaviours and practices which should be strengthened in the mining sector. The research improves our understanding of how leadership is enabled to foster innovation towards the fulfilment of the SDGs and ESG principles.