The influence of sustainability performance management practices on organisational sustainability performance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between organisations' sustainability performance management practices and sustainability performance.Design/methodology/approachData for the study were collected from 314 medium to large organisations operating in Australia. A mailed printed questionnaire was used to collect the data. Personal interviews with 20 senior executives were conducted to pilot test and refine the questionnaire.FindingsThe results indicate the organisations apply eight sustainability performance management practices (SPMPs) to improve seven different sustainability performance indicators (SPIs). Each of the eight SPMPs is positively associated with at least one or more SPIs. The paper finds that customer value, new product development and information capital performance indicators are each associated with a single SPMP, while the other four performance indicators (environmental, employee value, social responsibility, and financial performance) are each associated with multiple SPMPs. Overall, the results indicate that increasing the level of an organisation's focus on its individual SPMPs is positively associated with its better performance under one or more SPIs.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence concerning which SPMPs are positively associated with particular SPIs. A framework of the identified SPMPs and SPIs is developed with a view towards promoting future research and practical applications to foster organisational sustainability performance.