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The purpose of this paper is to redefine the concept of organizational sustainability by assimilating corporate spirituality into the concept of the triple bottom line (TBL).

This paper is a conceptual paper which presents a newly coined concept for sustainable organizations as a result of a literature study on management and psychology fields. This study explores the concept of competitive advantage, research-based view (RBV) theory, spiritual leadership theory (SLT), positive environmental psychology (PEP) and human resource development (HRD) to fill the void of “soul” as an element in TBL, which is seen as a barrier that prevents organizations from being more holistically sustainable.

The paper provides new insights into the redefinition of organizational sustainability by introducing quadruple bottom line (QBL), effectively a combination of management and psychological disciplines. This paper also proposes measurements of corporate spirituality, adapted from well-established mental health research, which have been used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as well.

Researchers are encouraged to test the proposed concept further.

The paper includes implications for the development of sustainable organizations by offering CEOs and managers corporate spirituality support with which they can make wise decisions when considering environmental, societal and economic perspectives in their operations.

The QBL concept promises to contribute significantly to the growth of more comprehensive, holistic and sustainable organizations, as well as to extend the current literature on organizational sustainability.

For Bangladeshi small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the COVID-19 economic shock is remarkable in both its complexity and intensity. SMEs need systemic inspiration to solve the crisis, aligned with a moral and authentic approach that serves both the leader and the follower’s interests. This study aims to conceptualize the innovation-focused success method of SMEs before and after the pandemic to manage the crisis by establishing spiritual leadership based on Islamic perspectives.

To discuss the impact of spiritual leadership on innovation-focused SME performance configuration through the lens of a crisis, a comprehensive literature study has been carried out in which over 360 articles are read and reviewed by the authors. It has also established the reliability and validity of literature analysis. Also, a qualitative investigation has been used to support the direction of the study.

For a subsequent process of scientific deployment and evaluation of its execution, a new applied strategic innovation-focused SME success configuration through spiritual leadership development is made available. The primary value of this paradigm is the potential to calculate and treat the aspects of spiritual leadership obtained from Islamic ideas.

Prior analytical or empirical attempts from multiple viewpoints are subsequently needed to inquire about the proposed conceptualization.

Among the realistic consequences of this analysis is that while a number of leadership paradigms have been embraced by a broad body of leadership studies, the findings indicate that this paper should pay heed to the influential spiritual style of leadership, taking into account Islamic perspectives on the context of crisis. Therefore, Bangladeshi SMEs need to develop and run leadership training programs focused on the Islamic viewpoint of spirituality to encourage the actions of leaders during and after crises.

The legal and moral values of the society would ultimately be upgraded from this conceptualization. Moreover, less corruption in corporate activities would improve the economic prosperity of a nation. It would also contribute to the cross-cultural portrayal of the positive picture of Islam.

This holistic conceptualization describes the mediating role of strategic innovation practices based on theoretical foundations, which have seldom been done in previous research, between the Islamic model of spiritual leadership and SME success during and after a crisis.