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The paper aims to investigate the importance of leadership – distributed leadership (DL) – for the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and business sustainability (BS).

Extensive literature research was carried out to investigate the relationship among leadership, OL and BS. Two theoretical frameworks of the relationship among DL, OL and BS were formulated and tested on the basis of the empirical studies conducted in 694 Polish and Danish companies. The moderated multiple regression and mediation analysis were used.

In-depth, critical literature analysis has shown that the theoretical foundation of the relationship between leadership and BS is limited and not empirically verified. However, the empirical study has revealed a positive, statistically significant effect of DL on both OL and BS and the mediating role of OL on the relationship between DL and BS (a partial and complimentary mediation).

It would be valuable to simultaneously consider other leadership types (beyond DL) in terms of their impact on OL and BS. Additionally, due to the nature of BS challenges and the specificity of DL, other factors influencing BS should be included for a more profound understanding of the relationships under investigation. Finally, additional contextual factors need to be taken into account.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is one of the first studies that present the relationship between OL and BS with reference to factors influencing BS, i.e. leadership. The value of the paper is the development of two alternative models of the relationship among DL, OL and BS and their verification through large-scale empirical cross-country research. Furthermore, the results obtained in the course of the research open up new research directions with respect to the development of the concept of sustainable leadership and deepen the knowledge of the relationship between leadership types and OL.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and business sustainability (BS) and to carry out its empirical examination.

Extensive literature research was carried out. Then, an empirical study was conducted in 694 Polish and Danish companies. Two phenomena related to OL were adopted: OL processes and organizational learning capability (OLC). BS was examined through the concept of sustainable performance (SP). Research models were tested using structural equation modeling.

The empirical studies have shown a positive, statistically significant relationship between OL and BS. The research supports the view that the intensification of the OL processes is substantial for BS, whereas the OLC concept is less relevant to the development of BS. The effect of OL on total SP was stronger than on any SP dimension. OL supports the synergies of the results obtained by the organization for the benefit of BS.

The model verification is based on the samples from two countries, and, therefore, the hypothesis requires further verification in different business contexts. In addition, there are different factors influencing BS, which have not been included in the research and should be analyzed in the future.

An in-depth, critical literature analysis shows that the theoretical foundation of the role of OL in shaping BS is fragmented and poorly empirically verified. The value of this paper is the presentation of large-scale empirical studies comparing the relationship between BS and two phenomena: OLC and the OL processes. The results obtained in the course of the research open up new research directions with respect to both the relationship between OL and BS as well as between OL and organizational performance.