DEVELOPING THE STEWARD-INTEGRATOR LEADERSHIP (SIL): A NEW LEADERSHIP STYLE FOR THIRD-GENERATION THAI FAMILY BUSINESSES

Background/ Problem:Thai family businesses form a cornerstone of the national economy, yet many  face  succession  challenges  as  third-generation  leaders  navigate  the  tension  between preserving legacy and driving modernization. Existing leadership models,including transactional, transformational, and servant,address parts of this challenge but lack cultural integration with Thai kinship-based  governance  and  high  power-distance  norms.  Consequently,  multi-generational conflicts and unclear leadership practices pose a threattolong-term sustainability.Objective/ Purpose:This study examinesthe relationships among Stewardship (ST), Visionary Transformation  (VT),  Servant  Orientation  (SO),  and  Integrative  Mediation  (IM)  on  Leadership Effectiveness (LEFF) among multi-generational leaders in Thai family businesses.Design and  Methodology:Two hundred and fortyrespondents,representing Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z,participated in the survey. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to validate the proposed framework.Results:Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) demonstrated satisfactory construct reliability and validity (factor loadings = 0.68–0.79; CR = 0.82–0.88; AVE = 0.50–0.56). The model fit indices indicated  an  excellent  fit  (χ²/df  =  1.128,  GFI  =  0.904,  RMSEA  =  0.023). The  SEM  results confirmed  that  all  leadership  dimensions  significantly  and  positively  influenced  leadership effectiveness: IM (β = 0.39), VT (β = 0.36), SO (β = 0.33), and ST (β = 0.30). Among these predictors,   Integrative   Mediation   emerged   as   the   strongest   determinant,   emphasizing   the importance of conflict resolution, relational harmony, and empathy in leadership performance. The findings  suggest  that  effective  leadership  in  Thai  family  enterprises  is  multidimensional, integrating transformational, servant, and stewardship qualities through mediation competence.Conclusion and Implications: This study contributes to the development of the Visionary Habit Framework (VHF) and advances understanding of soft-power leadership as a culturally grounded approach for next-generation leaders in Thailand’s family business context.Keywords:  leadership  effectiveness,  integrative  mediation,  stewardship,  servant  leadership, visionary transformation, family business, soft-power leadership