Abstract
The concept of value, where shareholders are the main recipients of the created value, is changing towards more comprehensive models, which respond to the increased stakeholder awareness and urgent sustainability agenda. Hart and Milstein (2003) elaborated the widely used sustainable value concept in which they characterize temporal and spatial dimensions of value, and suggest strategic drivers for sustainability. Although the framework is highly cited, there is no review on the changes over more than ten years. In this paper, we adopted a structured literature review methodology to discover how the concept of sustainable value has been used by researchers and how it has been developed. Our findings show that sustainable value has mainly been used as the general phrase to describe positive business results instead of using it as a concept. Scholars, who make an in-depth analysis of sustainable value do not emphasize the time horizon of sustainable value as its peculiar characteristic while broad stakeholder surrounding is called to be an important feature of sustainable value. Additionally, strategic drivers for sustainability have moved from being purely environmental as in Hart and Milstein’s (2003) concept: globalization, economic fluctuations, and knowledge innovation have become as important as green technologies and carbon-reduction policies.
Highlights
The need for a better-definition of “value” in the modern world is becoming increasingly pressing [1]
Attention has been turned towards sustainable value creation, or co-creation with stakeholders over a longer period of time [2]
The majority of papers are from two journals: Journal of Business Ethics (38.6%) and Business Strategy and the Environment (14.1%)
Summary
The need for a better-definition of “value” in the modern world is becoming increasingly pressing [1]. The authors’ measurement of sustainable value along two indices—spatial (internal and external stakeholders) and temporal (short, medium, and long-term orientation)—is of particular value. This model was introduced more than a decade-and-a-half ago, in 2003. The SDGs cover everything pertaining to the triple bottom-line, not just the environment: poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice Another dramatic change in the intervening period was the financial crisis of 2008, which laid bare the dangers of short-termism focused on profit maximization. The concept of value—and sustainable value in particular—is widely discussed, we did not find any reviews on sustainable value that summarized changes in the sustainability agenda which modified Hart and Milstein’s definition and framework.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
