<![CDATA[The Industrial Revolution 4.0 has increased pressure on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to integrate sustainability into their business strategies. However, sustainable practices often remain highly dependent on individual leaders and are not yet fully embedded in organizational systems. This study aims to examine how entrepreneurial leadership contributes to sustainable business through innovation and how these relationships vary across different stages of the MSME business life cycle. A quantitative, cross-sectional approach was employed using data from 392 MSME owners and managers in Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), with Partial Least Squares Multi-Group Analysis (PLS-MGA) specifically applied to compare the sustainability mechanisms across three business-age groups: less than three years, three to five years, and more than five years. The findings show that entrepreneurial leadership has a positive and significant effect on sustainable business, both directly and indirectly through innovation. The PLS-MGA results further demonstrate that the strength of these relationships differs across business life-cycle stages. In businesses operating for less than three years, sustainability is predominantly Personal-Driven, as the leader’s individual capabilities function as a central strategic resource, consistent with the Resource-Based View. In businesses aged three to five years and more than five years, the mediating role of innovation becomes stronger, indicating a gradual transition toward System-Driven Sustainability. This pattern suggests that organizational maturity changes the role of entrepreneurial leadership from a direct driver of sustainability into a system architect who develops and institutionalizes innovation within organizational routines. Practically, MSME leaders should prioritize direct leadership and resource mobilization during the early stage, while progressively developing formal innovation capabilities, routines, and organizational systems as the business matures. The study contributes theoretically by explaining how sustainability mechanisms evolve from leader-dependent practices toward system-based structures across the MSME life cycle. It also provides a life-cycle perspective for strengthening MSME resilience by aligning entrepreneurial leadership with the progressive development of innovation capabilities.]]>
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