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Journal of Emerging Markets and Management

Exploring Personality Traits Influences on ESG Leadership for Sustainable, Ethical, and Socially Responsible Organizational Practices Using FIKR Personality Assessment

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63385/jemm.v2i2.385

Keywords:

Emotional Intelligence, ESG Leadership, Ethical Decision-Making, Personality Traits, Sustainability

Abstract

Leadership is a key driver in advancing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles within organizations, yet the individual-level psychological foundations of ESG-oriented leadership remain underexplored. This study examines how personality traits contribute to leadership capacities associated with ethical governance, social responsibility, and sustainability-oriented decision-making. Using the FIKR (Facet, Insight, Knowledge, and Resilience) personality assessment tool, data were collected from 409 respondents across Malaysia and analyzed using correlation, regression, and factor analyses. The study explores interrelationships among 20 personality traits and identifies higher-order psychological domains relevant to ESG leadership. Reliability testing and sample adequacy measures confirmed the robustness of the dataset for multivariate analysis. Regression results indicate that cognitive traits such as Analytical, Intellectual, and Intuition significantly support strategic and governance-related leadership capacities. Emotional traits including Emotional expressiveness and Self-criticism were associated with ethical awareness and reflective leadership, while social traits such as Extroversion and Nurturance contributed to collaborative and socially responsible leadership orientations. Resilience-related traits, including Endurance, Control, and Self-concept, were linked to long-term commitment and adaptive leadership. Factor analysis further grouped these traits into four latent domains reflecting cognitive–strategic, emotional–ethical, social–relational, and resilience–self-regulation capacities. Rather than directly measuring organizational ESG performance, the findings highlight the individual psychological characteristics that underpin ESG-oriented leadership behaviors. The study proposes a conceptual framework linking personality traits to ESG leadership capacities and offers practical implications for leadership development, talent identification, and training strategies aimed at fostering ethical, socially responsible, and sustainability-driven organizational practices.

References


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    Copyright (c) 2026 Chee Kong Yap, Chee Seng Leow, Wing Sum Vincent Leong

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