Darzin International Company Multidisciplinary Engineering Science Open 2 Serial Number 2 2025 12 01 Leadership for Sustainable Management Systems: A Qualitative Study of ESG-Oriented Organizational Change Leadership for Sustainable Management Systems: A Qualitative Study of ESG-Oriented Organizational Change 1 14 EN Journal Article 2025 07 15 <p>This study aimed to explore how organizational leaders support ESG-oriented change by embedding sustainability principles into management systems, decision routines, stakeholder relations, and organizational culture. This qualitative study employed an exploratory thematic design based on semi-structured interviews with 22 managers, executives, sustainability officers, and organizational development specialists working in Tehran-based firms undergoing ESG-oriented organizational change. Participants were selected through purposive sampling according to direct experience with sustainability, ESG implementation, governance reform, environmental initiatives, social responsibility programs, or management-system redesign. Interviews lasted between 45 and 75 minutes and continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. NVivo software was used to organize transcripts, code textual data, compare emerging categories, and support systematic theme development. Trustworthiness was strengthened through member checking, peer review of codes, reflexive memo writing, and maintenance of an audit trail. Five main categories were identified: strategic translation of ESG into organizational purpose, embedding sustainability accountability into management systems, stakeholder-oriented sensemaking and participation, development of ESG-related capabilities and data infrastructures, and leadership navigation of tensions, resistance, and authenticity gaps. Participants emphasized that ESG-oriented change was most effective when leaders moved sustainability beyond symbolic reporting and linked it to strategy, performance indicators, operational routines, employee participation, and long-term risk management. The findings suggest that leadership for sustainable management systems requires a combination of strategic vision, ethical accountability, systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, and disciplined implementation. ESG-oriented change becomes organizationally meaningful when leaders convert sustainability commitments into everyday managerial practices, measurable responsibilities, learning mechanisms, and participatory cultures. The study contributes to sustainability leadership and organizational change literature by explaining how ESG becomes embedded in management systems rather than remaining a peripheral compliance agenda.</p> https://jmesopen.com/index.php/jmesopen/article/download/55/61