Abstract
Purpose: Intellectual capital offers a potential source of sustainable competitive advantage and is believed to be the source from which economic growth may sprout. However, not many papers analyze the effect of sustainability in the elements involving intellectual capital. This paper seeks to highlight the key role played by corporate sustainability on corporate reputation as one of the key components of relational capital based on the knowledge-based theory. In order to fulfill this objective we consider economic, social and environmental dimensions of corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Authors develop a structural equation model to test the hypothesis. The study was tested using data collected from a sample of 400 Spanish consumers. Findings: The structural equation model shows that sustainability plays a vital role as antecedent of corporate reputation and relational capital. Findings suggest that economic, social and environmental domains of sustainability have a positive direct effect on corporate reputation. Additionally, this study shows that economic sustainability is considered to be the most important dimension to enhance corporate reputation. Research limitations/implications: Relational capital involves several dimensions which have not been incorporated to this study. Thus, future studies may analyze the role of corporate reputation and sustainability in the formation and development of the different relationships that conform relational capital. Finally, the complicated economic
Highlights
The justification of firm success has suffered an important change during the last years
This paper can be considered as part of these research streams and shows a model about the relation between sustainability dimensions and corporate reputation, as one of the main components of relational capital, since the current academic literature does not have an understanding of how these notions interact in the context of the knowledge-based theory of the firm
Our findings show that the economic, social and environmental domains of sustainability have a direct and positive effect on corporate reputation
Summary
The justification of firm success has suffered an important change during the last years. This paper can be considered as part of these research streams and shows a model about the relation between sustainability dimensions and corporate reputation, as one of the main components of relational capital, since the current academic literature does not have an understanding of how these notions interact in the context of the knowledge-based theory of the firm. This study wanted to fill this research gap by exploring the relation between sustainability dimensions and corporate reputation as one of the main components of relational capital.
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