Stuart L. Hart

Bio: Stuart L. Hart is an academic researcher from University of Vermont. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sustainability & Business model. The author has an hindex of 36, co-authored 68 publications receiving 21635 citations. Previous affiliations of Stuart L. Hart include University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & Cornell University.

A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm

Abstract: Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

Does it pay to be green? an empirical examination of the relationship between emission reduction and firm performance

Abstract: Evidence can be marshalled to support either the view that pollution abatement is a cost burden on firms and is detrimental to competitiveness, or that reducing emissions increases efficiency and saves money, giving firms a cost advantage. In an effort to resolve this seeming paradox, the relationship between emissions reduction and firm performance is examined empirically for a sample of S&P 500 firms using data drawn from the Investor Responsibility Research Center's Corporate Environmental Profile and Compustat. The results indicate that efforts to prevent pollution and reduce emissions drop to the ‘bottom line’ within one to two years of initiation and that those firms with the highest emission levels stand the most to gain.

Creating sustainable value

Abstract: Executive Overview Just as the creation of shareholder value requires performance on multiple dimensions, the global challenges associated with sustainable development are also multifaceted, involving economic, social, and environmental concerns. Indeed, these challenges have implications for virtually every aspect of a firm's strategy and business model. Yet, most managers frame sustainable development not as a multidimensional opportunity, but rather as a one-dimensional nuisance, involving regulations, added cost, and liability. This approach leaves firms ill-equipped to deal with the issue in a strategic manner. Accordingly, we develop a sustainable-value framework that links the challenges of global sustainability to the creation of shareholder value by the firm. Specifically, we show how the global challenges associated with sustainable development, viewed through the appropriate set of business lenses, can help to identify strategies and practices that contribute to a more sustainable world while s...

Reinventing strategies for emerging markets: beyond the transnational model

Abstract: With established markets becoming saturated, multinational corporations (MNCs) have turned increasingly to emerging markets (EMs) in the developing world. Such EM strategies have been targeted almost exclusively at the wealthy elite at the top of the economic pyramid. Recently, however, a number of MNCs have launched new initiatives that explore the untapped market potential at the base of the economic pyramid, the largest and fastest-growing segment of the world's population. Reaching the four billion people in these markets poses both tremendous opportunities and unique challenges to MNCs, as conventional wisdom about MNC global capabilities and subsidiary strategy in EMs may not be appropriate. How MNCs can successfully enter these low-income markets has not been effectively addressed in the literatures on global and EM strategies. An exploratory analysis, involving interviews with MNC managers, original case studies, and archival material, indicates that the transnational model of national responsiveness, global efficiency and worldwide learning may not be sufficient. Results suggest that the success of initiatives targeting low-income markets is enhanced by recognizing that Western-style patterns of economic development may not occur in these business environments. Business strategies that rely on leveraging the strengths of the existing market environment outperform those that focus on overcoming weaknesses. These strategies include developing relationships with non-traditional partners, co-inventing custom solutions, and building local capacity. Together, these successful strategies suggest the importance of MNCs developing a global capability in social embeddedness.

Clarifying the Entrepreneurial Orientation Construct and Linking It To Performance

Abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the nature of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and to propose a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between EO and firm performance. We first explore and refine the dimensions of EO and discuss the usefulness of viewing a firm's EO as a multidimensional construct. Then, drawing on examples from the EO-related contingencies literature, we suggest alternative models (moderating effects, mediating effects, independent effects, interaction effects) for testing the EO-performance relationship.

Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Most theorizing on the relationship between corporate social/environmental performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) assumes that the current evidence is too fractured or too variable to draw any generalizable conclusions. With this integrative, quantitative study, we intend to show that the mainstream claim that we have little generalizable knowledge about CSP and CFP is built on shaky grounds. Providing a methodologically more rigorous review than previous efforts, we conduct a meta-analysis of 52 studies (which represent the population of prior quantitative inquiry) yielding a total sample size of 33,878 observations. The meta-analytic findings suggest that corporate virtue in the form of social responsibility and, to a lesser extent, environmental responsibility is likely to pay off, although the operationalizations of CSP and CFP also moderate the positive association. For example, CSP appears to be more highly correlated with accounting-based measures of CFP than with market-based ...

A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm

Abstract: Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

Misery Loves Companies: Rethinking Social Initiatives by Business:

Abstract: Companies are increasingly asked to provide innovative solutions to deep-seated problems of human misery, even as economic theory instructs managers to focus on maximizing their shareholders' wealt