Corporate Sustainability Initiatives Research Articles

Exploring Consumers’ Understanding and Evaluation of their Ethical Consumption and Disposition

The apparel industry is in the midst of a watershed moment for corporate sustainability initiatives, with a growing number of organizations setting measurable sustainability targets across their supply chains (e.g., sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, operations) where the bulk of the ecological and social impact of the sector lies [1].

Corporate Governance, Sustainability Initiatives and Firm Performance: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives

The objective of this paper is to generate a discuss as to the degree to which corporate governance and sustainability initiatives are predictor variables for firm performance, with the premise that firms have to be deliberately placed for them to harness the prospects available in their immediate environments. In relation to this study, the stakeholders, agency and institutional theories form the bedrock for the underpinning theories used for formulating the research framework with respect to the relationships among firm performance, corporate governance and sustainability initiatives respectfully. Less research efforts are involved in this area of study in the less developed nations, particularly with respect to the impacts of corporate governance on the environmental and social initiatives as well the financial and non-financial corporate performances of firms. Therefore, scholars and practitioners are encouraged to advance the body of knowledge in this study area for the global enhancement of productivity, as the review has conceptualised the integration of corporate governance and sustainability initiatives as strategic tools for enhancing firm performances locally and internationally.

Determining the Environmental Sustainability Content of Finance and Accounting Textbooks

Corporations play a historic role in generating wealth but sometimes have a contentious impact on the environment and society as a whole. In recent years, corporations have become more sensitive to social issues and stakeholder concerns, and are collectively striving to become better corporate citizens (in some cases, compelled to do so by multiple stakeholders or government regulations). Business schools must prepare their graduates for success within these organizations by ensuring they are exposed to the best practices for implementing corporate sustainability initiatives and for measuring the social and financial impacts of these activities. This article provides implications for curriculum by examining recent editions of Corporate Finance/Financial Management and Financial and Managerial Accounting textbooks commonly used by undergraduate students in North America to see how much space is devoted to these topics. The study finds that Cost/Managerial Accounting textbooks have the highest coverage (frequencies) related to sustainability and environmental topics.

Employee proenvironmental behavior in Russia: The roles of top management commitment, managerial leadership, and employee motives

Despite Russia’s large ecological footprint, there has been limited examination of environmental sustainability initiatives in Russian corporations. Drawing on research on the importance of employee-level behaviors for the success of corporate sustainability initiatives, we focus on the proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs) of Russian employees. We integrate scholarship on employees’ PEBs and the Russian cultural context to offer theory regarding three potentially important antecedents of employees’ PEBs: top management commitment to sustainability, the immediate manager’s environmental leadership, and the employee’s motivation. Using self-report data from management development program attendees in Russia (N = 165), we examined the links between these factors and employees’ PEBs. We also tested whether top management commitment moderated the impact of immediate managers’ leadership on employees’ PEBs. We found that the immediate manager’s active environmental leadership (i.e., transformational, contingent reward, and active management by exception) was positively related to employees’ PEBs. Managers’ passive-avoidant environmental leadership (i.e., passive management by exception and laissez-faire) was negatively related to PEBs, but only when top management was committed to sustainability. Employees’ motives were linked to PEBs, but the nature of the relationship varied across motives. External motivation was negatively related to PEBs, suggesting that using rewards to motivate PEBs may be detrimental. Motivation that came from a desire to fulfill one’s values or avoid feeling bad about oneself was positively associated with PEBs. Our work provides a foundation for future research on PEBs in Russia, and suggests new directions for research on employees’ PEBs in other settings.

The role of employees' leadership perceptions, values, and motivation in employees' provenvironmental behaviors

Abstract Despite the importance of employees' proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs) for the success of corporate sustainability initiatives, there is limited evidence on the mechanisms that facilitate such behaviors. We address this research gap by exploring the factors that underlie employees' PEBs. Drawing on leadership and motivation theories, we develop and test a model of the factors that facilitate employees' PEBs. We focus on employees' 1) perceptions of their immediate managers' environmental transformational leadership, 2) environmental values and 3) internal and external motivation to perform PEBs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) of self-report survey data from 251 manufacturing employees found that employees who saw their managers as engaging in greater environmental transformational leadership reported higher internal and external motivation. Employees' environmental values were also positively associated with their internal and external motivation. Moreover, employees' values moderated the link between leadership and motivation; leadership perceptions were most positively related to internal motivation when employees possessed strong environmental values. Thus, environmental transformational leadership may be most effective in boosting internal motivation among employees who possess strong environmental values. Employees' internal, but not external, motivation was positively related to their self-reported PEBs, suggesting that increasing internal motivation may be particularly important to facilitating PEBs. Employees' leadership perceptions had a direct positive relationship with their self-reported PEBs. Overall, our findings reinforce the importance of immediate managers' leadership, and provide new evidence suggesting that employees' values influence their responses to that leadership. Further, internal motivation may be a key mechanism by which employees' leadership perceptions and values are linked to PEBs.

Business Intelligence Issues for Sustainability Projects

Business intelligence (BI) is an umbrella term for strategies, technologies, and information systems used by the companies to extract from large and various data, according to the value chain, relevant knowledge to support a wide range of operational, tactical, and strategic business decisions. Sustainability, as an integrated part of the corporate business, implies the integration of the new approach at all levels: business model, performance management system, business intelligence project, and data model. Both business intelligence issues presented in this paper represent the contribution of the author in modeling data for supporting further BI approaches in corporate sustainability initiatives. Multi-dimensional modeling has been used to ground the proposals and to introduce the key performance indicators. The démarche is strengthened with implementation aspects and reporting examples. More than ever, in the Big Data era, bringing together business intelligence methods and tools with corporate sustainability is recommended.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (CSRS) Initiatives among European and Asian Business Schools: A Web-based Content Analysis

The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which MBA programmes offered by top European and Asian B-schools have a corporate social responsibility and sustainability (CSRS) orientation as per their websites. The websites of top-200 (based on the QS Global Business and Management University Rankings 2015) European and Asian B-schools were explored and content analysed to reach meaningful conclusions. The findings reveal European B-schools have much stronger CSRS orientation once compared with the Asian B-schools. Furthermore, only few B-schools promote CSRS centres on their websites which has some useful practical implications. This is the first study to explore the CSRS orientation among top-200 European and Asian B-schools based on an analysis of their respective websites. Additionally, a cross-continental comparison between European and Asian MBA programmes is unique to this study. The results have implications for global managers, in general, and business school policymakers, in specific, to embark the CSR initiatives to gain competitive advantage.

Not My Business: How Cognitive Frames and Role Identities Influence Corporate Sustainability

The recent years have seen a strong increase in studies that investigate the role of cognition for corporate sustainability. Currently, however, we still lack detailed insights into how the cognition of individuals holding different roles within the organization affects the implementation of corporate sustainability initiatives. To address this shortcoming, in this study we explore how cognitive frames and role identities jointly influence corporate sustainability initiatives. Drawing on a longitudinal case study of a sustainability initiative within a medium-sized German car dealer, we show that whether individuals engage in sustainability-related activities not only depends on their sustainability-related cognitive frames but also whether they perceive social and environmental aspects to be part of their organizational role. We provide insights into the detailed mechanisms through which individuals adjust their organizational roles and corresponding identity over time. Moreover, we demonstrate that inte...

Integration and organizational change towards sustainability

This interdisciplinary study examines why and how corporate leaders operationalize sustainability in organizational strategy, systems and activities. Through interviews with sustainability professionals using a cross-industry sample of multinational organizations recognized as top performers by multiple sources (Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Newsweek Green Rankings, GRI, and KLD), the research identified drivers, enablers, evaluation methods and change management practices for corporate social, environmental and financial initiatives. Using multiple coders, and an analysis of responses to structured interview questions, we determine how sustainability professionals influence the alignment of sustainability goals, mission and values at leading organizations. Scholarly contributions include insight into how top performing companies manage change involving social and environmental responsibility. Insights come from primary research with the individuals who anchor those corporate sustainability initiatives providing a foundation for further theory development and testing of propositions. The key findings include integration as a systems-based approach to sustainability, change management, innovation, and corporate strategy. Integration takes place through the alignment of performance metrics within and across business units and functions with a call for Integrated Bottom Line performance measurement throughout organizations and value chains to inform management decision-making, transparency, and external reporting. Predictions are that integration and change management are critical success factor for the advancement of strategic sustainability initiatives.

Caring Capitalism: The Meaning and Measure of Social Value. By Emily Barman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. 266. $99.99.

<i>Caring Capitalism: The Meaning and Measure of Social Value</i>. By Emily Barman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. 266. $99.99.

Exploring the role of lean thinking in sustainable business practice: A systematic literature review

The shift towards sustainable manufacturing processes and products has influenced business organizations to improve their environmental performance and efficiency. ‘Lean thinking’ has evolved to ‘lean and green thinking’ as a targeted intervention for organizations to implement sustainable business models that reduce waste and improve material efficiency, and subsequently minimise costs. The lean and green concept however is still relatively new and it remains unclear for many as to how exactly lean thinking can contribute to the sustainability transformation of organizations. The objective of this research was to undertake a systematic literature review of how the implementation of lean and green initiatives could lead to sustainable business practice. This article includes an analysis of both conceptual and empirical research papers discussing various industrial contexts, and evaluation of: a) the impact of lean methods on environmental performance; and b) the variety of integrated lean and green models. The review highlights the ad hoc and limited use of lean thinking within corporate sustainability initiatives and the authors establish a ‘lean and green matrix’ that identifies opportunities to embed lean and green practices in five common work streams including waste, energy, emissions, water and chemical management. In addition to comparing different industries and their systems, this review provides a reference point for further investigation into lean and green practices. The findings contribute to the authors’ research agenda that aims to develop a replicable system for holistically exploring strategies in corporate environmental management and prioritising the most appropriate lean methods. It is proposed that industrial practitioners could benefit from such a system, which could transform their organization’s performance through well-integrated and aligned sustainable business practices.

The Co-evolution of Leaders’ Cognitive Complexity and Corporate Sustainability: The Case of the CEO of Puma

In this longitudinal study, we explore the co-evolution of the cognitive complexity of the CEO of Puma, Jochen Zeitz, and his view and initiatives on sustainability. Our purpose was to explore how the changes in a leader’s mindset relate to his/her views and actions on sustainability. In contrast to previous studies, we adopt an in-depth longitudinal case study approach to capture the role of leaders’ cognitive complexity in the context of corporate sustainability. By understanding the cognitive development of Zeitz as leader of Puma, we provide an important step toward understanding the co-evolution of leaders’ cognitive complexity and proactive corporate sustainability initiatives over time. Our findings show that as he developed a more complex mindset that also included non-business lenses, Zeitz developed a more inclusive understanding of sustainability and adopted proactive initiatives that went beyond business-as-usual. Our study also demonstrates that a longitudinal perspective can offer valuable insights for a better understanding of how individuals and their interactions affect and are affected by an organization’s strategies and performance, in corporate sustainability and beyond.

A generic planning approach for sustainable supply chain management - How to integrate concepts and methods to address the issues of sustainability?

Forced by competitive, legislative and customers' pressures, corporate executives are supposed to consider sustainability aspects of value creation which induces a new set of challenges within decision-making. Unfortunately, guidelines supporting comprehensive analysis, especially concerning the evaluation of environmental and social performance of decision alternatives, are missing. This hinders the advancements in corporate sustainability. Questions arise on how to measure and balance respective indicators with traditional economic objectives. To fill this void, this research sets out to develop an intuitive and holistic planning framework for advancing sustainability along supply chains. In a first step, we identify sustainability issues and indicators as well as decision-support methods by scrutinizing literature on sustainable supply chain management. Based on this, we develop a planning framework that supports executives in evaluating and deciding upon corporate sustainability initiatives. The framework comprises three consecutive phases of planning: ‘Problem definition’, ‘Assessment of alternatives’, and ‘Decision analysis’. For each phase we propose appropriate tools distinguishing concepts of sustainable supply chain management (e.g. Sustainable Logistics and Sustainable Manufacturing), methods for measuring the ecological and social efficiency of decision alternatives, and quantitative decision-support techniques able to balance trade-offs between the three dimensions of the triple bottom line. As a result, this article presents a framework for guiding corporate decision-processes. From the academic angle, the article contributes to the research field by providing a structured integration of concepts and methods utilizable in the pursuit of ecological and social improvements along the value chain.

Corporate Reputation Rankings 2016: and the Winner Is?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives, actions, and communication are strategic aspects in establishing corporate reputation. Each year, numerous rankings are published which measure corporate reputation on a global scale. In this study, 20 global companies were assessed based on five of those rankings, 2016 Global RepTrak® 100: The World's Most Reputable Companies; 2016 Global CSR RepTrak® Leaders; Global 100 2016; Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2016; and Newsweek Green Ratings 2016 to establish which company has the best reputation for 2016, all criteria and rankings combined. Communication of CSR/sustainability actions was also assessed through the corporate websites. This paper confirms the need for coherent and consistent CSR/sustainability criteria and metrics to accurately establish which company is the most reputable.

Motivations for environmental and social consciousness: Reevaluating the sustainability-based view

Corporate sustainability is often articulated as a top strategic priority, equal in importance to corporate social and financial objectives. Companies have, however, struggled to implement profitable sustainability programs. Therefore, the objective of this manuscript is to evaluate the impediments to the design and adoption of viable corporate sustainability programs. An inductive research design that involved 28 in-depth interviews was employed to identify and delineate four manifest motivations for corporate sustainability initiatives. The inductive process helped derive each motivation's mechanisms, outcomes, and limitations. Theoretically, the manuscript explicates how core and augmented value propositions impel or impede the development of corporate sustainability capabilities. The manuscript further defines under which circumstances commitment and capability coincide to promote the long-term viability of a sustainability program. Managerially, the manuscript provides sensible suggestions to help decision makers 1) assess their firm's readiness to pursue corporate sustainability and 2) avoid untenable sustainability strategies.

Sustainability as Social Contract: Textile and Apparel Professionals’ Value Conflicts within the Corporate Moral Responsibility Spectrum

Current discussions of sustainability in the textile and apparel (T&amp;A) supply chain tend to focus on consumer behavior or methods of production. Few studies investigate how T&amp;A supply chain members experience corporate sustainability initiatives within their own moral value spectrum. This study was designed to describe the gaps that might exist between personal and corporate moral values of T&amp;A supply chain members, and how individuals manage such gaps to align personal and corporate identities. The researchers investigated the views of ten T&amp;A supply chain members residing in the United States, both as employees and consumers of T&amp;A companies, through semi-structured interviews. Dunfee’s extant social contracts and Schwartz’s theory of basic values were used as theoretical frameworks to better understand the participants’ lived experiences in negotiating personal and corporate expectations. The findings revealed three themes: (a) nature of the value gap; (b) frustration due to the value gap; and (c) strategies to manage the value gap. The strategies used to realign values split into either those that held sustainability as their responsibility and worked to move corporate values toward their personal values; or those that shifted the blame to others so that their values could remain untouched.

An Assessment of the Association Between Renewable Energy Utilization and Firm Financial Performance

Contemporary research highlights multiple societal and environmental benefits in addition to potential economic advantages associated with renewable energy (RE) utilization. As federal and state incentives for investments in RE technologies become more prevalent, RE sources represent increasingly viable alternatives to established fossil fuel energy. RE utilization is recognized as a key component of “green” product innovation that helps firms reduce the environmental impact of production processes and diminish their ecological footprints and energy consumption. Yet, despite consistent evidence that corporate sustainability initiatives are favorably associated with firm performance, the limited research that examines associations between RE initiatives and firm performance yields mixed results and an explicit link has yet to be established. Drawing on the natural resource-based view of the firm, we examine the association between RE utilization and firm financial performance over time. Annual ROI, Tobin’s Q, and operating margin for large U.S. firms identified as exceptional users of RE in the EPA’s Fortune 500 Top Green Power Partners list are compared with their respective industry medians over a 7-year period (2007–2013) and post hoc bootstrapping and sensitivity analyses are performed to further validate the study findings. Our research advances current knowledge about the influence of RE utilization by demonstrating that top RE user firms consistently generated superior financial performance compared to their industry competitors. As such, the study findings lend credence to the existence of a business case that complements the societal and environmental benefits of RE utilization.

Economic gains stimulate negative evaluations of corporate sustainability initiatives

Businesses are increasingly undertaking initiatives that increase profit and provide environmental benefits. They risk backlash, however, as people are shown to respond negatively to the notion of a business profiting from such initiatives.

A relationship between corporate sustainability and organizational change (part three)

Purpose– In the present kaleidoscopic business landscape the concepts of corporate sustainability are increasingly affecting corporations’ relationships with society and shaping how business leaders interpret changes to their organizations. The path to sustainability is best viewed as an organizational change initiative for which the “how” and “why” must be considered. Broadly, change initiatives have a notably poor success rate, which is likely related to discord between an initiative and the people undertaking it. Corporate sustainability is a transformational change that impacts business culture and a firm’s relationship with its community. The purpose of this paper is to better understand implications of undertaking sustainability change initiatives in today’s global environment the corporate-societal relationship needs to be examined in this three part paper in terms of value creation, for whom, and how sustainability is becoming an increasingly significant portion of this equation. First, a basis for corporate sustainability and the concepts surrounding who the stakeholders need to be examined, after which the reasons for attempting sustainability, in terms of value creation, and considerations for the implementation (culture, identity, attachment) of said change initiative will be explored.Design/methodology/approach– Empirical and practitioner research papers were reviewed to illustrate the meaning and approaches to corporate sustainability and analyze how organizational change initiatives can best be used to facilitate organizational transformation.Findings– There is no consensus on the meaning of corporate sustainability, rather there continues to be an evolution of ideas and theories shaping the evolution of corporate sustainability. To implement any form of corporate sustainability requires that managers understand their objective and the cultural and psychological barriers of organizational change. Better engagement with those undertaking organizational change and clear articulation of the change’s purpose can better lend themselves to an initiative’s success. However, there is no panacea and managers must recognize that approaches may need to be altered.Research limitations/implications– Research tends to occupy one of two spheres, either corporate sustainability or change initiatives. More linkage between these two concepts and empirical research of the effectiveness of organizational change practices for corporate sustainability is needed.Practical implications– A better understanding of organizational change theories, practices, and procedures may benefit managers and organizations that endeavor to realize corporate sustainability.Social implications– Given the implications of recent corporate collapses and their perceived malice, there is now greater thought about the role these organizations have in society. Concepts regarding shared value and mutual benefit to society and corporations can be expected to remain at the forefront of the public decorum.Originality/value– This paper sought to draw stronger ties between corporate sustainability and organizational change, highlighting that the two are codependent.

A relationship between corporate sustainability and organizational change (part two)

Purpose – In the present kaleidoscopic business landscape the concepts of corporate sustainability are increasingly affecting corporations’ relationships with society and shaping how business leaders interpret changes to their organizations. The path to sustainability is best viewed as an organizational change initiative for which the “how” and “why” must be considered. Broadly, change initiatives have a notably poor success rate, which is likely related to discord between an initiative and the people undertaking it. Corporate sustainability is a transformational change that impacts business culture and a firm’s relationship with its community. To better understand implications of undertaking sustainability change initiatives in today’s global environment the corporate-societal relationship needs to be examined in this three-part paper in terms of value creation, for whom, and how sustainability is becoming an increasingly significant portion of this equation. First, a basis for corporate sustainability and the concepts surrounding who the stakeholders need to be examined, after which the reasons for attempting sustainability, in terms of value creation, and considerations for the implementation (culture, identity, attachment) of said change initiative will be explored. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical and practitioner research papers were reviewed to illustrate the meaning and approaches to corporate sustainability and analyze how organizational change initiatives can best be used to facilitate organizational transformation. Findings – There is no consensus on the meaning of corporate sustainability, rather there continues to be an evolution of ideas and theories shaping the evolution of corporate sustainability. To implement any form of corporate sustainability requires that managers understand their objective and the cultural and psychological barriers of organizational change. Better engagement with those undertaking organizational change and clear articulation of the change’s purpose can better lend themselves to an initiative’s success. However, there is no panacea and managers must recognize that approaches may need to be altered. Research limitations/implications – Research tends to occupy one of two spheres, either corporate sustainability or change initiatives. More linkage between these two concepts and empirical research of the effectiveness of organizational change practices for corporate sustainability is needed. Practical implications – A better understanding of organizational change theories, practices, and procedures may benefit managers and organizations that endeavor to realize corporate sustainability. Social implications – Given the implications of recent corporate collapses and their perceived malice, there is now greater thought about the role these organizations have in society. Concepts regarding shared value and mutual benefit to society and corporations can be expected to remain at the forefront of the public decorum. Originality/value – This paper sought to draw stronger ties between corporate sustainability and organizational change, highlighting that the two are codependent.