Validating the influence of stakeholders and sources when implementing business sustainability practices

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to either validate or disprove the critical role of stakeholders and sources present in organisations, the relevant marketplace, business networks and society at large, in situations where organisations implement sustainable business practices. Two hundred thirty companies were ultimately selected to take part in the study. Eighty-nine usable questionnaires were returned, generating a final response rate of 38.5%. The key informants or targeted respondents were managers of CSR departments or in charge of sustainable development at the selected companies. The empirical findings indicate major similarities and minor differences between organisations in Spain and Norway across two studies. By extension, the empirical findings appear to be valid and reliable through time and across contexts. An important contribution of the current study emerges from the empirical findings regarding the influence of stakeholders and sources on the implementation of sustainable business practices in Spanish organisations. The current study has limitations, being restricted to Spanish organisations which are compared to another study based on Norwegian organisations. Though the findings indicate validity and reliability through time and across context, further research should be undertaken, such as to validate or disprove the empirical findings in a non-European and Western context, such as Africa or Asia.