Sustainable Business Strategies Research Articles

Long-term Impact of Chinese Family Businesses on Earnings Management under the Sustainable Business Concept

This study aims to delve into the long-term impact of Chinese family businesses on earnings management under the framework of sustainable business practices. Considering the significant role of family businesses in the global economy, this paper focuses on the criticality of their earnings management strategies to economic stability. Employing an in-depth case study methodology, the paper analyzes several successful family businesses to explore the practical implications of sustainable business models on earnings management. The research reveals that integrating the concept of sustainable business into corporate culture and orienting towards long-term development can balance short-term gains with long-term sustainability, thereby fostering the robust growth of the enterprise. The conclusions of this paper emphasize the need for family businesses to concentrate on collective efforts in areas such as social responsibility, innovation upgrading, transparency, and effective communication to achieve long-term and stable development. This study provides practical guidelines for sustainable business strategies tailored for Chinese family businesses, aiming to create more favorable conditions and establish a solid foundation for future long-term development.

Bridging operations research and machine learning for service cost prediction in logistics and service industries

AbstractOptimizing shared resources across multiple clients is a complex challenge in the production, logistics, and service sectors. This study addresses the underexplored area of forecasting service costs for non-cooperative clients, which is essential for sustainable business management. We propose a framework that merges Operations Research (OR) and Machine Learning (ML) to fill this gap. It begins by applying the OR model to historical instances, optimizing resource allocation, and determining equitable service cost allocations for each client. These allocations serve as training targets for ML models, which are trained using a combination of original and augmented client data, aiming to reliably project service costs and support competitive, sustainable pricing strategies. The framework’s efficacy is demonstrated in a reverse logistics case study, benchmarked against two traditional cost estimation methods for new clients. Comparative analysis shows that our framework outperforms these methods in terms of predictive accuracy, highlighting its superior effectiveness. The integration of OR and ML offers a significant decision-support mechanism, improving sustainable business strategies across sectors. Our framework provides a scalable solution for cost forecasting and resource optimization, marking progress toward a circular, sustainable economy by accurately estimating costs and promoting efficient operations.

Sustained or Not: Does Intellectual Capital Strengthen CEOs and Independent Commissioners on the Sustainability of Their Companies?

This research aims to investigate the relationship between CEO characteristics in the form of educational background and independent commissioners on sustainability reports with intellectual capital as a moderating variable. The population selected in this study were non-financial companies included in the LQ45 index for the 2018-2022 period, and 12 samples were selected based on the purposive sampling method. For the hypothetical analysis in this research, panel data regression analysis and moderate regression analysis (MRA) with Eviews 12 were used. This research shows that the characteristics of the CEO and independent commissioners have a simultaneous and partial effect on sustainability reports. However, CEO characteristics that are moderated by intellectual capital have a negative influence on the sustainability report. In contrast, independent commissioners positively influence the sustainability report after being moderated by intellectual capital. This research contributes to the application of stakeholder theory, resource-based theory, and agency theory. The novelty of this study is the empirical finding that CEO characteristics and independent commissioners can encourage the sustainability report. However, the moderated effects of intellectual capital differ for both CEO characteristics and independent commissioners on sustainability reports. This research also has several implications for shareholders and stakeholders; one of them is for investors that companies with CEOs with economic and business educational backgrounds and a high proportion of independent commissioners have a sustainable business strategy that can serve as an indicator for long-term investment.
 Keywords: characteristic CEO, independent commissioner, intellectual capital, sustainability report

Corporate Social Responsibility

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained increased significance in recent years. The growing focus on CSR has changed the attitude of businesses all over the world, and India is not an exception. The concept of CSR is not new to India; historically speaking, social responsibility of companies is a well-established phenomenon in India, and the country has one of the world's richest traditions of CSR. In its oldest forms, CSR in India included the concept of corporate philanthropy and the Gandhian Trusteeship model. But the liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s led to a fundamental shift from the philanthropy-based model to a multi stakeholder approach whereby companies are deemed responsible for all stakeholders, including financial stakeholders, employees and the community. The liberalization of the economy also led to the increased presence of large global corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, and others on Indian soil, which thereby exposed India to a highly developed regime of CSR initiatives. Additionally, a strong desire to compete and succeed in the global economy drove Indian business enterprises to integrate CSR into a coherent and sustainable business strategy. These enterprises, both public and private, have realized that their long-term success depends on the satisfaction of their stakeholders, and that ignoring them could jeopardize the company's future prospects in the community. This article discusses the concept of CSR as understood by Indian businesses in the past, and the changing interpretations of the concept in the age of globalization and expanding markets. The article further discusses the efforts toward community and social development made by both state-owned enterprises (SoEs) and private-sector businesses. After a detailed analysis, the article concludes that the future of CSR in India is brought, and that its importance will continue to grow even further given the increasing importance accorded to CSR world-wide, and India's own realization that it needs CSR to achieve long-term sustainability in the world economy.

Total quality management and sustainable policy making strategies in biochemical industries: A critical review of prior research

BACKGROUND: The history of Total Quality Management (TQM) presents a broad overview of the processes used to make things perfect in this imperfect world. The concept of TQM strategy in biochemical industries highlightsnumerous ways to use “quality” as a tool for improvement in the real work environment during the actual execution of work. A sustainable and effective quality management policy with specific missions and objectives mightlead to the achievement of a productive outcome in biochemical industry. OBJECTIVE: This study focused to examine the variation in understanding of TQM in the biochemical Industry and its correlation with other aspects of organizational improvement. To study the impact of TQM on a sustainability aspects of biochemical organizations by framing an appropriate synthetic model. METHODS: The strategic to setup a ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ TQM principles was used for effective TQM implementation. In addition, individually developed methods of TQM quality award models were implemented in a wide range of industries. RESULTS: This study reveals that, a significant number of biochemical industries recognize that sustainable business strategies and successful implementation of TQM practices lead to new opportunities and improves results in the economical and sustainable development. CONCLUSION: Appropriate policy-making strategies and TQM are critically important ingredient for organizational growth. The implementation of TQM in biochemical industries is important for the overall growth of the organization and employees.

INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODEL FOR FOOD INDUSTRY ENTERPRISES OPERATING IN CONDITIONS OF GLOBAL DESTRUCTIVE PROCESSES IN THE ECONOMY

This research presents the development of strategic management foundations and crisis management mechanisms within the entrepreneurial structures of the food industry, including methods for overcoming crisis phenomena and ways of adapting to changing market conditions. This involves examining the impact of economic crises on entrepreneurial activity and developing effective anti-crisis management strategies that contribute to the preservation and development of economic stability under new conditions, taking into account innovative approaches in the economy. The study aims to identify key elements that should be integrated into business models to enhance their resilience to external shocks and market environment changes. Special attention is given to analyzing the role of innovation, digital transformation, and social responsibility in forming sustainable and adaptive business strategies capable of withstanding the challenges of global economic instability. An important aspect is the examination of enterprise behavior in response to potential types of threats to its economic activity, the risk of which increases during economic crisis periods. The process of implementing effective crisis management methods for food industry enterprises, facilitating early detection and neutralization of potential risks, is considered as a key factor in maintaining operational flexibility and strategic adaptability. This provides enterprises with the necessary foundation for making timely decisions, preventing losses, and seizing new market opportunities, which in turn contributes to strengthening their competitive positions in the long-term perspective. The implementation of these methods forms the basis for constructing an innovative business model for the operation of food industry enterprises in conditions of global destructive processes in the economy, taking into account the identification of key elements that should be integrated into the business model to enhance the resilience of the economic activity of the aforementioned entities under these conditions.

The challenges to circular economy in the Indian apparel industry: a qualitative study

Purpose In recent years, researchers and practitioners have paid a great deal of attention to the circular economy (CE) due to its potential social and environmental benefits. However, limited attention has been devoted in the literature to studying the barriers to CE implementation in the apparel retail industry in emerging and developing nations besides China. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the barriers to implementing CE in the Indian garment retail market. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses a comprehensive literature analysis to identify the micro-level impediments to CE adoption in India's garment retail industry. The study aims to identify these barriers using a Delphi process, consisting of three stages. The first stage involves literature reviews and expert opinions, while the second and third stages involve survey methods with 14 industry professionals and academics. The use of the two primary data sources allows for triangulation of the data, which improves the validity of the findings and enables broader conclusions to be drawn from the results. Findings This study indicates that the top three challenges to implementing CE principles in the Indian apparel retail industry are “standards and regulation barriers” (84%), “strategic barriers” (82%) and “supply chain management and technology barriers” (79%). Strategies for overcoming these obstacles include gaining top management support, coordinating supply chain components, training and employee motivation. Research limitations/implications This study considers only Indian apparel retail industry, and the practical implications could potentially limit the study to emerging Asian economies. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research of its type to explore CE obstacles at the organizational level in the Indian garment retail business. Thus, it contributes to a greater understanding of the topic and enables practitioners to develop effective policies and business strategies for CE and sustainability.

Perancangan Strategi Bisnis Pariwisata Berkelanjutan di Jawa Barat dengan Analisis Internal dan Ekternal serta Triple Layer Business Model Canvas

The impact of Covid-19 on the growth of the tourism sector is considered to be hampered by several factors. To overcome this challenge, there are several things that can be done, for example developing quality and innovative tourism destinations. Another thing that can be done is utilizing the role of technology and infrastructure. The sustainable tourism trend is believed to be a tourism trend in Indonesia in the future. This research was conducted in West Java as the province with the most destinations in Indonesia. This research formulates a sustainable tourism business strategy by analyzing internal and external factors, as well as the Triple Layer Business Model Canvas. The object studied was the Ir. Forest Park. H. Djuanda (Tahura Djuanda) who is in Bandung City. The results of this research are that the Tahura Djuanda tourist attraction is able to use its strengths and deal with internal weaknesses. Then Tahura Djuanda was also able to take advantage of external opportunities and threats. The results of the TLBMC analysis of economic aspects can be used by Tahura Djuanda to strengthen the value proposition offered. TLBMC environmental aspects can be developed by Tahura Djuanda through the development of functional values. Furthermore, the TLBMC results from Tahura Djuanda's social aspects can optimize her role in social culture.

Evaluating the sustainability profile of banks: A comprehensive benchmarking analysis in the Italian context

AbstractThe integration of sustainability factors in banking activities is becoming more urgent and necessary since banks are asked by regulatory and supervisory authorities to integrate Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) components in their risk management and governance frameworks. In literature, there is a lack of studies that assess the sustainability orientation of banks. We tried to fill this literature gap by providing a formal approach to evaluate the sustainability profile of Italian banks against the requirements of Article 111 bis of the National Normative Framework, which defines specific criteria for “sustainable banks”. Exploiting a mixed‐method approach, we analyze banks' compliance with the requirements of Article 111 bis and develop a distance metric that allows us to evaluate the distance of traditional banks from a selected benchmark compliant with Article 111 bis. While our findings reveal that Italian banks fall short of complete compliance with Article 111 bis, positive trends, particularly in sustainable lending, are discernible. Our paper represents an initial reflection on the definition of a sustainable business strategy, identifying crucial aspects that can be considered in harmonizing the bank's transition path to sustainability.

FOOD WASTE PREVENTION SOLUTIONS IN THE NONFINANCIAL REPORTS OF ROMANIAN FOOD RETAILERS

The research delves into the non-financial reports of Romanian food retailers, shedding light on the solutions adopted to prevent food waste. The research is focused on six of the biggest food retailers in Romania and their last two public sustainability reports from 2020 and 2021. By analyzing the reports, the research uncovers the most important strategies, measures and innovations implemented to help reduce wastage in the food retail sector in Romania. The findings of the study point towards a growing awareness and commitment among Romanian food retailers towards sustainable business strategies and food waste management strategies.

Analysis of the Effect Current Ratio on Return on Assets at PT Astra Otoparts TBK.

This study makes an important contribution in understanding the relationship between current ratio and return on assets at PT Astra Otoparts Tbk. Through the use of a simple linear regression test on financial statement data for the period 2015-2022, this study intends to explain the extent to which the current ratio affects the company's return on assets. Current ratio, as the independent variable, is used as an indicator of the company's ability to meet its short-term obligations, while return on assets, as the dependent variable, reflects the company's level of profitability. The results show that, although the current ratio has a positive influence on return on assets, the influence is not statistically significant. In other words, the increase in current ratio does not contribute significantly to the increase in return on assets at PT Astra Otoparts Tbk. The findings can provide valuable insights for company management in designing financial strategies, especially in terms of managing short-term assets and liabilities. In the context of the automotive and spare parts industry in Indonesia, where PT Astra Otoparts Tbk operates, an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence return on assets is crucial. The results of this study can serve as a basis for similar companies to evaluate and improve their financial performance, optimize asset allocation, and manage short-term liabilities more effectively. Further research and the integration of other factors in financial analysis can help shape a more holistic and sustainable business strategy amidst changing market dynamics.

Sustainable Performance Model and Strategy: A Conceptual Framework

This study is driven by the conditions of the energy sector, particularly the "oil field service industry" which serves as the main pillar of this sector. The significant oil price drop and the need for cost-cutting among oil and gas producers shows the vulnerabilities in this sector, necessitating improvement. Generally, industries that support key commodities must exhibit strong operational performance that intricately intertwines with the corporate strategy, mitigating potential obstacles, challenges, and business risks in order to achieve sustainable performance. Thus, this research aims to investigate how to develop a sustainable performance model for the industry in helping the industries the current and future business challenges. A systematic literature review was undertaken, encompassing prior studies on sustainable business, performance, and risk management strategies. This study investigates the dynamic interaction between three primary constructs: (1) context-business sustainability, (2) content-performance management, and (3) process-strategy formulation. Finally, gaps in the existing literature were identified and several future research directions were proposed.

Exploration of Dynamics of Corporate Performance and Corporate Governance

This research explores the dynamics of corporate performance and governance in the context of globalization and fierce business competition. With a focus on the Spanish tourism sector and evaluating corporate governance in Latin America, the study uses a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. The study aimed to understand the relationship between corporate performance and corporate governance by exploring the differences between family and non-family businesses. The research provides insight into how ownership, management, and governance practices can affect corporate performance through literature studies, return on capital analysis, and corporate governance evaluations. The results show that family businesses have unique dynamics involving emotional involvement and creativity, while good corporate governance is concerned with consistency of return on capital. Implications include a better understanding for organizational leaders in making investment decisions and sustainable business strategies. This research makes theoretical and practical contributions to understanding performance dynamics and corporate governance in global and local business contexts.

Feasibility assessment of remanufacturing waste sheet steel into angle mesh steel

AbstractAs a better alternative to the energy‐intensive process of recycling waste sheet steel (WSS) from the exterior components of end‐of‐life vehicles to produce new steel, the feasibility of remanufacturing WSS into angle mesh steel (AMS) for construction applications is evaluated. A remanufacturing unit with a capacity of 1278 m2/day of WSS (30,000 vehicle/year) was evaluated using a triple‐bottom‐line sustainability analysis of the technological, economic, and environmental feasibilities by hybrid defuzzification–curve‐fitting, solid‐waste recoverability management, and weighting methods. Based on the remanufacturing productivity, an economic feasibility index was calculated considering the sales potential and profit, while the energy and CO2 emission savings were used to evaluate the environmental feasibility. The technical feasibility considered machine parameters and topological properties of the WSS. The Volkswagen Passat has the best remanufacturability of 200 analysed vehicle models. Remanufacturability indexes of 0.61 and 0.86 were calculated, giving remanufacturing efficiencies of 58%–82%. All feasibility indexes exceed literature thresholds, indicating that the proposed remanufacturing process is a sustainable business strategy and contributes to the United Nations Sustainability Goals of climate action; responsible consumption and production; no poverty; and industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

Game on! A state-of-the-art overview of doing business with gamification

Gamification is the act of applying game-design elements to transform activities, products, services, and systems in a way that provides the kind of experiences similar to those offered by games. These elements include badges, points, and leaderboards to motivate and reward problem solving activities and processes. Both businesses and business researchers are increasingly interested in the application of gamification. In this regard, this review aims to offer a state-of-the-art overview of gamification in business, revealing its current trends and future directions. Using business research on gamification published in the last decade (2012–2022) found on Scopus and Web of Science, we conduct a performance analysis to illuminate the field's performance (publication productivity and impact) alongside its key contributors (journals, authors, and countries) as well as a science mapping using a co-citation analysis to locate knowledge foundations, and bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence analysis to reveal major themes in business gamification. Our exploration has unearthed gamification's pervasive influence across business domains, from enhancing learning and fostering innovation to empowering marketing strategies and catalyzing transformation. Gamification has also made significant inroads into management practices, driving engagement, influencing behavioral outcomes, and ushering sustainability. Peering into the future, our density-centrality quadrant analysis casts light on emerging frontiers. Noteworthily, we expect the next wave of gamification to be shaped by the allure of video games and the metaverse, bespoke industry-specific designs, confluence with e-commerce trends, emphasis on sustainable development, expanded social responsibilities, innovations in virtual reality, intersections with human urbanism, and the rise of smart cities. As gamification continues to integrate and reshape myriad facets of the business world, it holds the promise of not only enriching current practices but also charting the course for the future of innovative, sustainable, and transformative business strategies.

Green Accounting Concepts and Practices Towards Measuring Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Business Value

This article discusses the concepts and practices of environmentally friendly accounting and their impact on environmental sustainability and sustainable business value. The concept of sustainability in business and environmental challenges in the Indonesian context is the main focus. Green accounting practices include reducing carbon emissions, efficient use of natural resources, and better management of industrial waste. Positive impacts include reduced carbon emissions, more efficient use of natural resources and better waste management. Companies that adopt this practice gain benefits in the form of improved reputation, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage. The article also notes that green accounting practices are not a one-size-fits-all approach to companies and must be adapted to each context. With technological developments, increasingly stringent regulations, and public awareness of environmental issues, green accounting practices will remain an integral part of sustainable business strategies in the future.

Selecting the ideal sustainable green strategy for logistics companies using a T-spherical fuzzy-based methodology

Governments, institutions, and organizations focused on renewable and green energy problems have provided significant support and incentives for project development in recent years. Green transformation is fostered through environmentally friendly and clean energy practices, which are the key to a sustainable future for the entire world, and governments and enterprises shape their business and transactions within this framework. However, there are various challenges and obstacles in green energy applications, both in businesses and in government policies. The study, which focuses on green energy problems, seeks to connect energy with sustainable business strategies. Furthermore, because businesses are often concerned with social and environmental implications, it is believed that implementing a sustainable energy strategy will give long-term benefits to businesses. In this regard, this study aims to identify green energy problems in logistics companies and to select the best sustainable strategy. The hybrid T-spherical fuzzy (T-SF) methodology is introduced to solve the problem, including T–SF–subjective weighting, T–SF–criteria importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC), subjective and objective weight integrated approach (SOWIA), and T–SF–additive ratio assessment system (ARAS). According to the results, the most important green energy factor in logistics companies is determined as “energy security”. The best sustainable strategy is identified as the “socially beneficial services supply strategy”. The relevant results are critical for guiding companies, users, and stakeholders.

Assessing the Maturity of Sustainable Business Model and Strategy Reporting under the CSRD Shadow

The present work is amongst the few that attempt to critically assess the maturity of Business Model (BM) and strategy disclosures of listed firms under the shadow of the new EU reporting directive, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The novel Practices Evaluation Approach (PEA), developed recently by the Project Task Force on Reporting of Non-Financial Risks and Opportunities (PTF-RNFRO), offers the evaluation framework for this assessment. The PEA delineates and evaluates the maturity of BM and strategy disclosures against qualitative characteristics and content elements drawn from well-accepted, financial and non-financial, reporting frameworks, standards and directives (including the CSRD). Therefore, the PEA provides the advantage of a contemporary and integrated/holistic assessment tool. Specifically, the following seven evaluation criteria are used for the assessment: clarity and comprehensiveness of the overall BM, strategy disclosure, disclosure of the BM’s potential across-time horizons and its dependencies, impacts on sustainability issues, material sustainability issues that are likely to affect the company’s performance, the BM’s exposure to sustainability risks and sustainability opportunities, and sustainability strategy, targets, KPIs and their monitoring and progress. The analysis covered 30 CSR/sustainability reports and connected documents of listed companies operating in 6 key sectors of the Greek economy, i.e., information technology, construction, tourism and transportation, cosmetics, banking and energy. The results of our analysis offer evidence that BM reporting is not holistically developed (i.e., critical components are missing), and the level of development varies across the examined sectors. Moreover, sustainability risks are more stressed, in relevance to opportunities, whilst positive (rather than negative) impacts are mainly disclosed. Also, the quantification of sustainability risks and opportunities does not appear frequently, whilst the interconnections between sustainability strategy and companies’ financial objectives is relatively restricted. The paper concludes by pointing out some critical hints useful for enhancing the maturity of BM and strategy disclosures.

A Hybrid Quantified SWOT Analysis to Label the Competitive Positioning for Theme Parks: A Case Study of Taiwan

This paper aimed to explore customer value-driven factors and evaluated competitive positioning to formulate the sustainable business strategy for theme parks in Taiwan. We employed Borda count to obtained the customer value-driven factors. This paper further developed a hybrid quantified SWOT analysis to identify the competitive positioning for the four major theme parks in Taiwan, The findings in this paper were: (1) There are nine customer value-driven factors attributed into the three dimensions of park characteristics, service characteristics, and exogenous characteristics, which are significant important for theme park sustainable survive; (2) Lihpao Resort is located in the first (SO) quadrant with its internal strengths and external opportunities simultaneously but it has less external opportunities; (3) Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is located in the third (WT) quadrant with its internal weakness and external threats, which has the worst performance compared with other theme parks in this paper; (4) Leafoo Village Theme Park is located in the first (SO) quadrant with its internal strengths and external opportunities, which has less internal strengths compared with Lihpao Resort; and (5) Janfusun Fancy World is located in the fourth (TS) quadrant with its the external threats and internal strengths. Conclusions and suggestions are also discussed.

Retraction: Industry 4.0 and circular economy practices: A new era business strategies for environmental sustainability

Retraction: Industry 4.0 and circular economy practices: A new era business strategies for environmental sustainability