Mechanically induced martensitic transformation (MIMT) and consequent plastic flow behavior with respect to austenitic texture were investigated in a lean duplex stainless steel. Different grain sizes and textures with fixed phase fractions were obtained via varying the thermomechanical processes. Nearly random distribution of austenitic orientation exhibited a distinguished flow curve from the others with a major D {4 4 11}〈11 11 8〉 component due to more gradual enhancement of hardening by less martensitic transformation. In order to compare the susceptibility to the transformation with respect to individual austenitic orientations and the experimental textures, interaction energy between the imposed stress and transformation strain was calculated by a classical transformation and a crystal plasticity model. The results indicated that a larger stress imposed on the D component led to higher interaction energy and a steeper progress of MIMT observed in the textured materials.