Tilburg University
A natural resource-based view of the firm
Hart, S.L.
Publication date:
1994
Document Version
Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record
Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal
Citation for published version (APA):
Hart, S. L. (1994).
A natural resource-based view of the firm
. (WORC Paper). WORC, Work and Organization
Research Centre.
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Download date: 09. aug.. 2022
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A
Natural
Resource-Based
View
of
the Firm
Stuart
L.
Hart
WORC
Paper
94.05.03113
May
1994
WORC
papers
have
not
been
subjected
to
formal
review
or
approach.
They
are
distributed
in
order
to
make
the results
of
current
research
available
to
others,
and
to
encourage discussions
and
suggestions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This
paper
is
a
summary
of
dr.
Hart's
seminar at
the
Work
and
Organiz-
ation
Research
Centre
of
Tilburg
University
on
May
19th,
1994.
A
Natural
Resource-Based
View
of
the
Firm
Stuart
L.
Hart
Director,
Corporate
Environmental
Management
Program
Assistant
Professor
of
Corporate
Strategy
School
of
Business
Administration
University
of
Michigan,
Ann
Arbor,
MI
48109
313-763-b820
Submitted
to
Academy
of
Management
Review
Special
Topic
Forum
on
Ecologically
Sustainable
Organizations
Keywords:
sustainabilit}~,
environmental management,
corporate strategy
Abstract
Using
resource-based theory
as
a
point
of
departure,
this
paper
proposes
a
natural
resource-based
view of
the
firm--
a
new
theory
based
upon
the
firm's
relationship
to
the
natural environment.
It
is
composed
of
three
interrelated
strategies-- pollution
prevention,
product
stewardship,
and
sustainable
development.
Propositions
are
advanced for
each
of
these
strategies
regarding
their
connections
to
sustained
competitive
advantage,
firm
performance,
and
implementation.
Strategic management
deals
with
the
challenge
of
establishing
and
maintaining
a
match
between
changing
external
(environmental)
factors
and
internal
(organizational)
resources
and
capabilities
(Chandler,
1962,
Andrews,
1971;
Hofer
and
Schendel,
1978).
There
is
an
active
debate
among
management
scholars
concerning
the
relative
importance
of
internal
firm resources
(e.g.
Wernerfelt,
1984;
Barney,
1991)
versus environmental
factors
(e.g.
Hannan
and
Freeman,
1977;
Porter,
1980,
1990)
to
sustained
competitive
advantage.
However,
most
would
agree
that
both
internal
and
external
factors are
crucial
to
competitive
success
(Fiegenbaum,
Hart,
and
Schendel,
1994).
In
fact,
many
recent
contributions
attempt
an
integration
of
the internal
and
1