Aspects Of Sustainable Practices Research Articles

The influence of stakeholder on a company's sustainable practice: Insights from the Japanese perspective

Sustainable development operations in the business sector are continuously growing. Motivation for sustainability issues and stakeholder identification have been explored for strategy development and prioritization. However, the understanding of the relationship between stakeholder groups and sustainability practices is limited. This study focuses on primary and secondary stakeholders from stakeholder theory and examines sustainability issues in the business context. Through a questionnaire survey, the research aims to validate the direct impact of stakeholder groups on each dimension of sustainable business. The survey was conducted among employees of Japanese companies from both the industrial and service sectors, and confirmatory analysis was performed using structural equation modeling. Our results demonstrate that both primary and secondary stakeholders are involved in all aspects of sustainable practices. We observed that primary stakeholder groups primarily influenced sustainable practices in the industrial sector, whereas secondary stakeholder groups predominantly affected the service sector. An examination of specific actors revealed that suppliers and the media played a significant role in all dimensions of business sustainability. Finally, this study supports the assertion that normative pressure may be the primary factor that convinces companies to adapt successfully and achieve their sustainable development goals.

Sustainable Practices in International Chain Hotels in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Purpose of the study The aims of the study were to analyze the sustainable practices adopted by international chain hotel brands in Muscat; to analyze and find out the extent of the sustainable practices affecting guest satisfaction in international chain hotels in Muscat and to determine the barriers and challenges faced by international hotel chain brands in Muscat. Design/Methodology/Approach Forty questionnaires were distributed to two chain hotels’ employees in different job positions. In-depth interviews were also used to gather qualitative information from human resources departments and corporate social responsibility specialists to discuss the current trends in sustainable practices in international chain hotel brands in Muscat. The collected data was then analyzed using SPSS and Qualitative tools. Findings The study reveals that the hotels’ sustainability initiatives had an effective impact on cost savings and helps to reduce waste, and resource wastage. It was also found that guests are willing to pay more at the hotel to support their green initiatives and the guests were satisfied with the innovation towards the sustainability initiatives undertaken and felt their stay a memorable one. Research Implications It was observed that there is a strong relationship between sustainable green practices and guest satisfaction and so maintain the sustainable practices to raise up to the guest expectations. Some of the guests were not aware of the sustainable practices and the employees and the creation of awareness is a must. Practical Implications Awareness within the staff and the community can be raised only through proper education and training. Originality The study confines to international chain hotels located in Muscat, the capital of Sultanate of Oman. The study excludes the economic and social aspects of sustainability as the entire focus was on the environmental aspects of sustainable practices only.

Sustainable Incremental Organizational Change—A Case of the Textile and Apparel Industry

The article is aimed at working out a comprehensive perspective on sustainable incremental change in organizations from a practice-based approach. That perspective presents everyday routine organizational practices as loci of sustainable organizational change. The research conducted reveals sustainability aspects that influence incremental change in the product development cycle in textile and apparel enterprises. The short life cycle of textile and apparel products challenges the multiplicity of sustainability aspects in that industry. The sequential procedure of mixing quantitative and qualitative methods was applied. A quantitative study was followed by qualitative research that was aimed at gaining an idiographic perspective. The statistical procedure was applied to determine the associative relationships between sustainable dynamizing factors and practice variability in textile and apparel enterprises. The influence factors were further explored as part of in-depth qualitative research. The qualitative research referred to three main aspects of sustainable practices at the initial production stage (sustainable water use), the last stages of the textile and garment life cycle (disposal and recycling of unwanted materials), and value (co)creation in the apparel industry. The results put emphasis on spontaneous vs. purposive activities in sustainable practice.

Impact of sustainability on business performance and strategy for commercial building contractors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the corporate sustainability culture of contracting firms, particularly in the Midwest. Many of the local firms operate nationally. The local corporate culture influences their regional offices. Other than convenience, the firms are selected from Midwest since their headquarters are situated in Midwest region and comprises of more number of employees than their other regional offices. This helped the research to approach more contractors for better survey and interview responses. The paper documents the study on existing management and construction practices these contractors adopt on sustainability and examines how their sustainability efforts influence the firms’ performances. Design/methodology/approach This research utilized surveys and interviews as the primary means of data collection. The data were collected from survey and interviews with selected companies operating in the Midwest region of the USA. One of the companies also operates offices across the country. Data from the interviews and surveys were analyzed using statistical analysis system software application. χ2 analysis, particularly the frequency procedures using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) method was the primary analysis method used to study the relationships between different factors. The CMH method compares the association between and within two groups and permits adjustments of the control variables. Findings The findings of this paper include the results from various Midwest commercial building contractors. The results on different aspects of sustainable practices and their success rates among the contractors are determined and discussed, and future scope of improvements are mentioned at the conclusion of this paper. Research limitations/implications In summary, sustainable business practices are beneficial to society and favorable for the construction business. Embracing sustainable business practices has a positive impact on firm strategic performance for commercial building contractors through employee satisfaction, project opportunities, and market advantage. Sustainable business practices extend into the lives of individuals involved which exceedingly impacts society. The construction industry has advanced sustainability efforts, but there is a long way to go on the journey to being better stewards of the environment and resources. Originality/value A rival theory became apparent during the investigation that a new building consolidating all local company employees could have an impact on firm strategic performance. Third, this paper is confounded by a great recession that made project opportunities and revenue considerations analysis problematic. Some information regarding these aspects were helpful; however, expanding this paper during a more stable and typical economic period could provide additional insight.