SUSTAINING SUCCESS BEYOND THE FOUNDER: A SYNERGISTIC FRAMEWORK OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY

Abstract

Purpose:  This paper analyzes leadership evolution at Infosys (global IT leader) and its impact on organizational culture and employee motivation. It identifies challenges from the firm's foundational leadership model and proposes an integrated framework that connects Authentic Leadership and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to address motivational and cultural deficits in a mature, founder-influenced technology firm.

Methodology/Approach: The study employs a qualitative documentary case study design. The 49-document evidence corpus was assembled through a systematic search of EconBiz and ProQuest databases supplemented by purposive grey literature sampling. Corpus assembly is documented using PRISMA-adapted screening procedures to ensure selection transparency. A two-cycle thematic coding procedure mapped emergent categories onto the Competing Values Framework (CVF), Schein's cultural layers, authentic leadership constructs and SDT's basic psychological needs with two-level triangulation applied throughout.

Findings: Infosys's transformational leadership model drove early success but documentary evidence is consistent with a persistent gap between Clan-oriented espoused values and Hierarchy-driven operational practices. This cultural tension shows patterns consistent with SDT predictions about need-thwarting of autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Implications for theory and practice: The study contributes a three-level theoretical chain absent from existing literature: authentic leadership behaviors reduce the CVF clan-hierarchy gap, which satisfies SDT's basic psychological needs and restores intrinsic motivation. For practitioners, the framework specifies behavioral changes at senior and middle-management levels within a structured three-phase implementation sequence.

Originality and value: Existing scholarship addresses authentic leadership, CVF cultural typologies, and SDT as separate domains. This study connects all three into a single diagnostic framework, derives context-sensitive propositions for leadership evolution in founder-influenced technology firms, and specifies those propositions for longitudinal mixed-methods testing.