Abstract

This study aims to identify and explain the key success factors of CEOs leading elite exporting companies in Iran. It seeks to move beyond financial metrics and offer a holistic, context-specific framework that captures the personal, strategic, and organizational dimensions of CEO effectiveness in emerging markets. A phenomenological research design was employed to explore CEOs’ lived experiences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight award-winning CEOs and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method and thematic network analysis. This approach enabled the extraction of shared patterns and the development of a grounded framework describing CEO success. The analysis identified thirty success components, which were categorized into six major dimensions: innovation and adaptability, market knowledge and research, leadership and motivation, cultural intelligence and communication, management and vision, and resilience and risk management. These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of CEO success in export-oriented contexts. This study contributes a rare, empirically grounded framework of CEO success in an emerging-market setting. It expands the theoretical use of phenomenology in strategic management research and provides actionable insights for managers, organizations, and policymakers seeking to foster effective leadership and global competitiveness.