Leadership Matters: The Role of Gender and Managerial Perception in Advancing Local Government Sustainability Initiatives

• In Event: Gender and Public Sector Organizations

Abstract

The concept of sustainability development has increasingly become a guiding principle in local government policymaking and management practices. While prior research has examined various factors influencing sustainability efforts, little is known about how managerial perceptions shape the government’s commitment to advancing these initiatives and how the influence varies based on leadership gender. Understanding this influence is critical for developing managerial strategies and leadership approaches to promote local sustainability actions and support long-term environmental, economic, and social goals. To address this, we investigate how managerial perceptions interact with the municipal leader’s gender to shape local government’s sustainability efforts. Specifically, we examine the perceived importance of internal leadership and external learning. Drawing on leadership and institutionalism literature, we develop hypotheses and test them using data from the ICMA’s 2015 sustainability survey of local governments. We find that when the municipal leader is male, managerial emphasis on inter-organizational learning likely advances sustainability initiatives. Yet when the leader is female, greater managerial emphasis on learning from other municipalities drives local sustainability actions, yet the emphasis on leadership likely results in negative impacts on these actions. This research contributes to the understanding of sustainability implementation in local governments by highlighting the role of managerial perceptions, leadership, and organizational learning.

Authors

• Heyjie Jung, University of Oklahoma
  Presenting Author

• Yifan Chen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Tianyi Xiang, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author