Sustainability-oriented corporate strategy: green image and innovation capabilities

Abstract

PurposeUnderstanding the role of corporate strategies in sustainability has become a hot topic for scholarly research. Meanwhile, firms strive to innovate and shape their positive image in the contemporary business arena. Past research has ignored investigating whether and how sustainability-oriented corporate strategies could drive innovation and firm image among external stakeholders. To address the said research gap, this paper examines the path through which sustainability-oriented corporate strategy and environmental regulation improve green corporate image and green innovation capabilities (i.e. green process and product innovation).Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative survey-based method. The online survey was adopted to collect data from employees working at the managerial level in the equipment manufacturing sector. The data collected from 343 managers that was complete in all aspects was used for empirical analysis using structural equation modeling. Direct and indirect relations were evaluated.FindingsThe findings reveal that sustainability-oriented corporate strategy and environmental regulation drive green innovation and green corporate image. Findings further show that external knowledge adoption underpins these effects of sustainability-oriented corporate strategy and environmental regulation.Originality/valueThe study delivers theoretical and practical understandings of the importance of sustainability-oriented corporate strategies to green corporate image and green innovation capabilities.