Analysis of the impact of internationalization on management for sustainability and business performance

Management for sustainability: An analysis of the key practices according to the business size

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)IntroductionThe main aim of research was to determine the effect of the selected parameters of strategic performance measurement and management on the overall business performance and through sustainable development composite index to determine its impact on business performance of Slovak industrial enterprises.In our research we analyze the selected concepts of strategic and sustainable business performance measurement and management. Operating with an online questionnaire we focus on the use of the selected methods of strategic and sustainable performance measurement and management for various industries in Slovakia. The main aim was to find out the key methods of strategic business performance measurement and management with positive effect on better business performance. The first stage of primary research presents the selected sample of Slovak enterprises along with their online questionnaire focused on the use of the selected parameters of performance measurement. The emphasis is on the investigation of the impact these parameters have on the overall business performance measured by ROE. In the second phase of research, we focus on exploring the issues of measuring corporate sustainability through a sustainable development composite index in a particular manufacturing enterprise and its impact on performance. The conclusion contains the assessment of achievements and the identification of mutual relationship and strategic performance measurement system and one of the ways to measure corporate sustainability. In this paper we publish the most significant results of our research in detail.1.Literature reviewFor several years, measuring corporate performance has been in the centre of attention not only in the academic field but also in business area. New approaches to corporate performance which support traditional indicators have been preferred for many years. Measuring corporate performance has been studied by many authors from different points of view: the relationship of strategy and strategic orientation with business performance (Morgan, Strong, 2003), the view on strategic measurement performance system through strategic agenda and decision-making as a result of formulating or reformulatign strategy (Bisbe, Malagueno, 2012), the effect of strategic measurement performance system on the important attributes of the process of formulating business strategy (Gimbert et al., 2010; Mentel & Brozyna, 2015), the effect of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept and its importance as a strategic tool for measuring and managing business and management performance (Knapkova et al., 2014), the effect of strategic performance measurement system of human resources and corporate results (Bento, White, 2014), the relations among customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and financial performance of a commercial bank (Belas, Gabcova, 2016), customer satisfaction in banking business and its importance for financial performance of a commercial bank (Koraus et al., 2015), tax revenue administration and its process model for Slovakia's economic performance (Dobrovic, Koraus, 2015), strategic business performance management on the base of controlling and managerial information support (Zamecnik, Rajnoha, 2015). Other study indicates there is a positive significant relationship between management tools and techniques utilization and organizational performance (Afonina, 2015). Stefko et al. analyzed prices as a key competitive factor in the steel industry for Slovakia and Poland (Stefko et al., 2012). Another research was focused on business performance in the scope of investment measurement and management using investment effectiveness evaluation methods. Research results confirmed the assumption that the use of investment valuation methods is limited by foreign ownership of company and certain methods caused better business performance (Rajnoha et al., 2016). Similar study is dedicated to process performance measurement in Czech companies (Tucek et al. …

Purpose This study aims to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI) integration in service delivery influences sustainability and business performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across diverse sectors. It further examines the moderating roles of stakeholder engagement and adoption barriers and the mediating role of sustainability performance in the AI–business performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach was used, combining survey data from 428 firms across four sectors with qualitative insights from 20 semistructured interviews. Partial least squares structural equation modeling tested the hypothesized relationships, while thematic analysis provided contextual understanding of implementation challenges and success factors. Findings AI integration significantly improves both sustainability and business performance. Stakeholder engagement strengthens the positive effect of AI on sustainability outcomes, while adoption barriers weaken AI’s impact on business performance. Sustainability partially mediates the relationship between AI integration and business outcomes, underscoring its strategic role. Practical implications To maximize AI’s value, SMEs should adopt phased strategies, engage stakeholders proactively and address technological and organizational barriers. These actions enhance AI’s effectiveness in driving sustainable, competitive service delivery. Originality/value This study advances the AI literature by linking AI adoption to dual sustainability and business benefits while also incorporating the moderating effects of engagement and barriers – an area previously underexplored. It offers a sector-sensitive, empirically grounded model of AI-enabled transformation in SMEs.

PurposeThis study presents evidence of the role of performance measurement and management (PMM) in sustainable supply chain governance. This study tests a model hypothesizing whether it is the PMM itself or the mediating effect of supply chain governance that is essential for both business and sustainability performance.Design/methodology/approachThis study builds on a survey of 274 SMEs in Finland.FindingsThe findings indicate that PMM does not directly contribute to SMEs’ business or sustainability performance. Supply chain governance mediates the relationship between PMM and business performance. Business performance also enhances sustainability.Practical implicationsThese findings can guide managers in managing company relationships with customers and suppliers. The mediating role of supply chain governance highlights the potential of PMM to enhance performance. Without supply chain governance, the PMM, while efficient in traditional business practices, may lose its effectiveness because of the pressure to advance sustainability values within firm operations.Originality/valueThe role of PMM in enhancing supply chain sustainability is frequently overlooked in the existing research, necessitating an empirical evaluation of PMM’s impact on supply chain sustainability. This study addresses this gap by focusing on the SME context, where the pressure to adopt sustainable practices is increasing, yet SMEs employ PMM less frequently than larger firms.

In recent decades, the world has seen an unprecedented rise of actors who aim for businesses to contribute to sustainable development. These actors are located outside of the businesses they address through service practices. Business sustainability initiatives, standard setters, and consultancies are so prevalent today that they constitute an ‘industry’ in providing these services. As a sustainability service industry therefore, these actors fulfill a crucial function in modern-day societies aiming for sustainability transitions, by acting as change agents for the business community. However, it is not clear with what performance rationales thesustainability service industry addresses the business community, as academic knowledge about sustainability performance in businesses is itself in its infancy. Like business sustainability scholarship, the sustainability service industry appears to implicitly assume contingent effectiveness of its approaches.This thesis is a phenomenographic study of 21 business organizations operating along the automotive value chain. Its primary aim is to answer the question: How does sustainability performance occur in businesses? Phenomenographic studies describe phenomena by their diverse conceptions, meaning, how research participants understand and experience phenomena of interest. Accordingly, this study shows that businesses understand and experience sustainability performance in five different ways. The five understandings are:(1) sustainability performance as meeting customer and regulatory requirements;(2) sustainability performance as the reduction of operational costs;(3) sustainability performance as the mitigation of risks to the business;(4) sustainability performance as the prevention of risks to business operations; and(5) sustainability performance as innovation that enables the achievement of societal sustainability aims.The findings of the study result in two major implications for scholarship. First, the thesis discusses how sustainability performance in businesses can be theorized from a perspective of contingency. Novel propositions are presented which suggest, amongst others, that businesses’ following of conceptions of sustainability performance is contingent on risk profiles emanating from the organizational environment, and that the effectiveness of management approaches is contingent on their fit to the conceptions followed. Second, the discussion of the findings suggests that a prevalent phenomenon of conception mismatchingexists in business sustainability scholarship. Conception mismatching means that scholarship does, so far, not adequately relate researched phenomena to the actual experiences of studied businesses.Furthermore, the thesis proposes to advance sustainability performance in businesses as a new area of inquiry that nurtures a strong interest in the real-world implications of research findings. In making the first steps toward this aim, the discussion formulates five implications for the sustainability service industry, which, if followed, would lead to alterations in its practices for more effective changes in business operations. The five implications for a more effective enabling of sustainability performance in businesses are that actors of the sustainability service industry need to:(1) discontinue unconsidered assumptions of contingent effectiveness of management approaches;(2) differentiate between conceptions of sustainability performance when addressing businesses;(3) take into account the diverse ways in which firms operate within as well as across conceptions of sustainability performance;(4) increase risks to businesses to entice the development of novel solutions for the most pressing sustainability challenges;(5) understand and enhance their practices in accordance with their role in shaping as well as promoting certain conceptions of sustainability performance.

PurposeEco-innovation is a relatively recent construct in the literature, which nowadays more and more researchers and academics consider as one of the strategies that generate a higher level of sustainable and business performance. However, little is known about the influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance, particularly in the automotive and auto parts industry. Therefore, this paper aims to fill this knowledge gap and explore the aforementioned interdependence.Design/methodology/approachThe influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance is investigated through a research framework consisting of 5 constructs, 25 items and 6 hypotheses derived from an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. The data were analyzed through a confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results obtained indicated that eco-innovation practices have a positive influence on both sustainable performance and business performance in the automotive and auto parts industry.Originality/valueThis paper provides further insightful evidence of the influence of eco-innovation practices on sustainable performance and business performance, particularly in the automotive and auto parts industry.

Special volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “Integrating corporate sustainability performance measurement, management control and reporting”

A taxonomy of resources for sustainable shipping management: Their interrelationships and effects on business performance

Currently, sustainable supply chain management practices have become an important strategy for firms to improve performance and gain competitive advantage. However, there is a current debate over the performance outcomes of sustainable supply chain management practices. Additionally, the role of stakeholder pressure is frequently overlooked. Drawing on Natural Resources-Based View and Stakeholder Theory, this study aims to elucidate the ambiguous connection between sustainable supply management, sustainable process management, stakeholder pressure and performance, and investigate the mediation role of sustainable process management and the moderation effect of stakeholder pressure. Our analysis, based on data collected from 235 Chinese manufacturing firms, reveals significant insights. First, stakeholder pressure positively moderates the relationship between sustainable process management and performance, while negatively moderates the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. Second, sustainable process management has a complete mediation effect on the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. The conclusion not only explains the inconsistent relationship between sustainable supply chain management practice and performance, but also reveals clearly the relationship between sustainable supply management and sustainable process management. Besides, it also highlights the difference in performance outcomes of sustainable supply management and sustainable process management under stakeholder pressures, and has valuable guidance to the practice of sustainable supply chain management in Chinese manufacturing firms.

This study explores the integration of green finance and green environmental practices and their impact on the business and sustainable performance of SMEs, specifically among tempeh entrepreneurs in Sanan, Malang. A quantitative research design was adopted to rigorously analyze these relationships. The population comprised 145 tempeh entrepreneurs, from which a representative sample of 106 respondents was selected using Slovin's formula, ensuring a margin of error that balances precision and feasibility. Data collection was conducted through structured questionnaires that captured the extent of green finance implementation, the adoption of green environmental practices, and their perceived impact on business and sustainable performance. The collected data were then analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS), a robust statistical technique that allows for the modeling of complex relationships among the variables. The analysis confirmed that both green finance and green environmental practices significantly and positively influence the business performance and sustainability of SMEs. These findings underscore the critical role of environmentally conscious financial and operational strategies in driving sustainable growth within the SME sector. By integrating these practices, tempeh entrepreneurs can not only enhance their business performance but also contribute to broader environmental sustainability.

This book sheds new light on the role businesses can play in contributing to sustainability objectives, and how governance actors can better encourage their contributions. Jean-Pierre Imbrogiano introduces and empirically investigates the concept of sustainability performance in businesses, which reveals how achieving social and environmental objectives is experienced within business organizations. He focuses on supply chain management as a key part in this process and looks at how this has evolved to become a vital sector in the global business landscape. He further considers the current practices of governance actors which aim to enable sustainability performance in businesses. Labelled as a ‘sustainability service industry’, these actors include international, national, and industry sustainability initiatives, sustainability standard setters, business consultancies and rating agencies, as well as sustainable supply chain managers in corporations. Overall, this book calls for a conceptual reorientation in business sustainability scholarship, and points towards a challenging agenda for change in the sustainability service industry. Understanding Sustainability Performance in Business Organizations will be of great interest to students and scholars of sustainable business, business ethics, corporate social responsibility, sustainable supply chain management, and sustainability governance.

The mining activity is essential in the economic context. However, there are several potential impacts caused by this activity, from the environmental and social perspective. In this regard, it is worth noting the relationship of this industry with the management of water use, a strategic resource for the business activity. This study aims to identify the relationship between the management of water use and the business performance in industries in the Brazilian mining sector. To that end, we conducted a survey with managers from industries in the sector. The results of the survey lead to the acceptance of the central hypothesis of the study, where there is a positive relationship between the management of water use and business performance, corroborating the significant importance of this resource to the competitiveness of industries in the mining sector.

The mining activity is essential in the economic context. However, there are several potential impacts caused by this activity, from the environmental and social perspective. In this regard, it is worth noting the relationship of this industry with the management of water use, a strategic resource for the business activity. This study aims to identify the relationship between the management of water use and the business performance in industries in the Brazilian mining sector. To that end, we conducted a survey with managers from industries in the sector. The results of the survey lead to the acceptance of the central hypothesis of the study, where there is a positive relationship between the management of water use and business performance, corroborating the significant importance of this resource to the competitiveness of industries in the mining sector.

Sustainability has been widely recognized as a pervasive phenomenon that underlies the operations and performance of businesses. Recent research has examined the effect of green logistics management on the sustainability performance of businesses. However, we contend that the relationship between green logistics management and the sustainability performance of firms is not direct but mediated through circular economy practices. We analyze the direct and indirect effects of green logistics management on business sustainability performance via circular economy practices, using the natural resource-based view and resource dependence theory as our theoretical underpinnings. This study also assesses the moderating effect of supply chain traceability on the associations. Drawing upon the empirical data from 211 Bangladeshi manufacturing SMEs, we performed the PLS-SEM technique to assess the hypotheses. The findings show that green logistics management positively affects organizations’ circular economy practices and sustainability performance. Furthermore, supply chain traceability strongly affects SMEs’ circular economy practice but fails to moderate the linkage between green logistics and sustainability performance. Finally, circular economy practice mediates the linkage between SMEs’ green logistics management and sustainability performance. We also conducted the Sobel test to validate the mediation. Our findings advance the natural resource-based view and resource dependence theory while improving the understanding of green logistics management, circular economy practices, and sustainability performance. Given the dearth of literature assessing the complex interactions among these variables, our findings have pivotal implications.

In recent years, more and more companies have noted the significance of addressing serious social and environmental issues, and various sustainability strategies have been implemented to ensure sustainable competitive advantage. An urgent issue is how to integrate sustainability strategy-related goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) into performance evaluation and compensation systems, and how to integrate employees’ awareness of environmental protection and social contribution into their daily work. This study examines management tools that can link sustainability strategies with sustainability performance evaluation and compensation systems. Specifically, the balanced scorecard (BSC) is positioned as a management tool for measuring, evaluating, and managing sustainability performance, with a particular focus on the sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC), which incorporates economic, environmental, and social factors. The purpose of this study is to clarify the role of sustainability performance assessment and management in sustainability management based on previous studies and cases of advanced companies that have introduced SBSC, such as the Generali Group, and to systematically evaluate the functions and usefulness of SBSC as a sustainability performance assessment and management tool. The findings indicate that the SBSC is an effective management tool for improving sustainability performance and implementing sustainability strategies