In the past, the focus of the leaders of a company was primarily on the shareholders. However, in recent years, there has been a shift towards considering multiple stakeholders. The notions of stakeholder society and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have become central to modern business discourse. The main idea behind CSR is also known as the triple bottom line principle, which implies that businesses should not only serve economic, but also social and environmental ends.
On January 5th, 2023, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force, replacing the non-financial reporting directive, which entails a significant expansion of the sustainability reporting obligations, both in terms of scope and content. This means that companies are obliged to report on five environmental, four social, and two governmental components.
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The aim of this research is to analyze the change in leadership styles during the implementation and execution of CSRD effectively to make sure that future leaders are prepared for the importance of CSR in their business. Also, the internal changes during the implementation of CSRD will be investigated. Therefore, the research question is: What leadership styles contribute to the successful implementation of CSRD?