International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

line decor
  
line decor

 Volume 13, Issue 4 (April 2026), Pages: 86-95

----------------------------------------------

 Original Research Paper

The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on organizational performance: An empirical study in the non-profit sector

 Author(s): 

Ahmed Dahhash Al-Dahhash 1, Ebrahim Mohammed Al-Matari 2, *, Afaf Ahmed 3, Tarig Osman Abdallah Helal 4, Hawaa AbdAllah Belal 5, Maryem Trabelsi 4, Nuseiba Azzam Ibrahim Youseif 5, Rafika Mohammed Bousalem 5

 Affiliation(s):

1Executive Master of Business Administration Program, College of Business, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Accounting, College of Business, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
3Business Administration Program, Applied College at Sarat Obeida, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
4Department of Business Administration, College of Business, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
5Department of Marketing, Applied College, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9247-2766

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.04.009

 Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of entrepreneurial leadership and its dimensions—creative leadership, achievement orientation, and leadership motivation—on organizational performance in non-profit organizations. The study addresses the need for effective leadership models in a sector facing financial and regulatory challenges. A quantitative approach was adopted, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to employees in 140 non-profit organizations. Although the estimated sample size was 322, a total of 178 valid responses were obtained. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS. The results supported two of the three hypotheses. Creative leadership had a significant positive effect on organizational performance (β = 0.293, t = 2.989, p = 0.003), and leadership motivation showed the strongest positive effect (β = 0.483, t = 4.905, p < 0.001). However, achievement orientation did not have a significant effect (β = 0.132, t = 1.509, p = 0.131). These findings show that the dimensions of entrepreneurial leadership have different effects on organizational performance. The study provides practical implications for non-profit leaders and policymakers seeking to improve performance by strengthening motivation and creativity in leadership practices. It also contributes to the limited literature on entrepreneurial leadership in the Arab non-profit context by providing empirical evidence on the distinct effects of leadership dimensions on organizational performance and highlighting the strategic role of leadership in achieving sustainability in resource-constrained environments.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Entrepreneurial leadership, Organizational performance, Non-profit organizations, Leadership motivation, SDG16

 Article history

Received 4 October 2025, Received in revised form 16 February 2026, Accepted 3 April 2026

 Acknowledgment

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies at King Khalid University for funding this work through a Small-group Research Project under grant number (RGP.1/27/46). 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations:

The study used a voluntary questionnaire directed to human participants. All respondents were informed about the purpose of the research, and participation was entirely optional. No personal identifying information was collected, and responses were treated anonymously and used only for academic purposes. The data were kept confidential and analyzed in aggregate form. Participants had the right to withdraw at any time without any consequences. 

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Al-Dahhash AD, Al-Matari EM, Ahmed A, Helal TOA, Belal HA, Trabelsi M, Youseif NAI, and Bousalem RM (2026). The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on organizational performance: An empirical study in the non-profit sector. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(4): 86-95

  Permanent Link to this page

---------------------------------------------- 

 References (30)

  1. Alanazi AF and Al-Matari EM (2025). The impact of economic innovation on natural gas productivity: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(5): 148–155. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.05.014   [Google Scholar]

  2. Al-Ruwaili SKG, Al-Matari EM, Alnor NHA, Ahmed A, Khogaly MEM, Mahdi DBA, and Abdelraheem AAE (2024). The impact of electronic marketing on the purchase behavior of Saudi consumers: An empirical study. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 11(10): 122-130. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2024.10.014   [Google Scholar]

  3. Alshahrani MA, Yaqub MZ, Ali M, El Hakimi I, and Salam MA (2025). Could entrepreneurial leadership promote employees’ IWB? The roles of intrinsic motivation, creative self-efficacy and firms’ innovation climate. International Journal of Innovation Science. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-08-2024-0211   [Google Scholar]

  4. Bagozzi RP and Yi Y (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16: 74-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327   [Google Scholar]

  5. Bell R and Bell H (2020). Applying educational theory to develop a framework to support the delivery of experiential entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 27(6): 987-1004. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2020-0012   [Google Scholar]

  6. Bornman J and Louw B (2023). Leadership development strategies in interprofessional healthcare collaboration: A rapid review. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 15: 175-192. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S405983   [Google Scholar] PMid:37641632 PMCid:PMC10460600

  7. Cohen J (1988). Set correlation and contingency tables. Applied Psychological Measurement, 12(4): 425-434. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662168801200410   [Google Scholar]

  8. Dijkstra TK and Henseler J (2015). Consistent partial least squares path modeling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2): 297-316. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2015/39.2.02   [Google Scholar]

  9. Fontana A and Musa S (2017). The impact of entrepreneurial leadership on innovation management and its measurement validation. International Journal of Innovation Science, 9(1): 2-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-05-2016-0004   [Google Scholar]

  10. Fornell C and Larcker DF (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104   [Google Scholar]

  11. Geisser S (1974). A predictive approach to the random effect model. Biometrika, 61(1): 101-107. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/61.1.101   [Google Scholar]

  12. Gupta V, MacMillan IC, and Surie G (2004). Entrepreneurial leadership: Developing and measuring a cross-cultural construct. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(2): 241-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(03)00040-5   [Google Scholar]

  13. Hair JF, Black WC, and Babin BJ (2010). Multivariate data analysis. 7th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, USA.   [Google Scholar]

  14. Hair JF, Risher JJ, Sarstedt M, and Ringle CM (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1): 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203   [Google Scholar]

  15. Harrison C, Paul S, and Burnard K (2016). Entrepreneurial leadership in retail pharmacy: Developing economy perspective. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28(3): 150-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-01-2015-0004   [Google Scholar]

  16. Henseler J, Hubona G, and Ray PA (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: Updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1): 2-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2015-0382   [Google Scholar]

  17. Hidayat M (2024). The influence of entrepreneurial leadership on innovativeness mediated by digital leadership. Almana: Jurnal Manajemen dan Bisnis, 8(2): 376-386. https://doi.org/10.36555/almana.v8i2.2620   [Google Scholar]

  18. Hulland J (1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies. Strategic Management Journal, 20(2): 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199902)20:2<195::AID-SMJ13>3.0.CO;2-7   [Google Scholar]

  19. Jaskiewicz P, Combs JG, and Rau SB (2015). Entrepreneurial legacy: Toward a theory of how some family firms nurture transgenerational entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(1): 29-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2014.07.001   [Google Scholar]

  20. Joel OT and Oguanobi VU (2024). Entrepreneurial leadership in startups and SMEs: Critical lessons from building and sustaining growth. International Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship Research, 6(5): 1441-1456. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijmer.v6i5.1093   [Google Scholar]

  21. Kruse P, Wach D, and Wegge J (2021). What motivates social entrepreneurs? A meta-analysis on predictors of the intention to found a social enterprise. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(3): 477-508. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2020.1844493   [Google Scholar]

  22. McMurray AJ, Islam M, Sarros JC, and Pirola‐Merlo A (2012). The impact of leadership on workgroup climate and performance in a non‐profit organization. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(6): 522-549. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731211253000   [Google Scholar]

  23. Mutshidza MK, Nkondo LG, and Khohomela NT (2024). The role of entrepreneurial leadership in influencing the performance of SMMEs in the Vhembe District Municipality. International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy, 6(4): 208-217. https://doi.org/10.36096/ijbes.v6i4.623   [Google Scholar]

  24. Newman A, Herman HM, Schwarz G, and Nielsen I (2018). The effects of employees' creative self-efficacy on innovative behavior: The role of entrepreneurial leadership. Journal of Business Research, 89: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.001   [Google Scholar]

  25. Nunnally J and Bernstein I (1994). Psychometric theory. 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, USA.   [Google Scholar]

  26. Paswan RRK (2025). Navigating ethical complexities in social entrepreneurship: Insights from Portuguese social entrepreneurs. International Journal of Ethics and Systems. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-06-2024-0180   [Google Scholar]

  27. Razzaque A, Lee I, and Mangalaraj G (2024). The effect of entrepreneurial leadership traits on corporate sustainable development and firm performance: A resource-based view. European Business Review, 36(2): 177-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-03-2023-0076   [Google Scholar]

  28. Sarstedt M, Ringle CM, and Hair JF (2022). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In: Homburg C, Klarmann M, and Vomberg A (Eds.), Handbook of market research: 587–632. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57413-4_15   [Google Scholar]

  29. Shmueli G, Sarstedt M, Hair JF, Cheah JH, Ting H, Vaithilingam S, and Ringle CM (2019). Predictive model assessment in PLS-SEM: Guidelines for using PLSpredict. European Journal of Marketing, 53(11): 2322-2347. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0189   [Google Scholar]

  30. Stone M (1974). Cross‐validatory choice and assessment of statistical predictions. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 36(2): 111-133. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2517-6161.1974.tb00994.x   [Google Scholar]