Corporate sustainability

About: Corporate sustainability is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3517 publications have been published within this topic receiving 94075 citations.

Seeing Versus Doing: How Businesses Manage Tensions in Pursuit of Sustainability

Abstract: Management of organizational tensions can facilitate the simultaneous advancement of economic, social, and environmental priorities. The approach is based on managers identifying and managing tensions between the three priorities, by employing one of the three strategic responses. Although recent work has provided a theoretical basis for such tension acknowledgment and management, there is a dearth of empirical studies. We interviewed 32 corporate sustainability managers across 25 forestry and wood-products organizations in Australia. Study participants were divided into two groups: (1) those considered effective at corporate sustainability and (2) a status-quo group. Contrary to current theory, our findings showed that acknowledgment of organizational tensions was widespread in the Australian forestry and wood-products industry and not limited to those managers who are effective at managing corporate sustainability. What differed was the degree to which managers did something about the perceived tensions—with the effective group more consistently acting to manage and resolve paradoxical scenarios. Our findings suggest that existing theoretical constructs of tension management may not adequately capture the individual-level complexity involved with managing tensions in practice.

Corporate Sustainability and Economic Performance: an Empirical Analysis of a Voluntary Environmental Program in the USA

Abstract: Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are designed based on a win–win approach to environmental protection that reconciles environmental protection and economic performance. Despite the claims about VEPs, there has been an ongoing debate over their efficacy with regard to whether environmental goals are balanced by economic interests on both theoretical and empirical grounds. To resolve this controversy, this paper empirically investigates a public VEP by the US Environmental Protection Agency: Green Lights (GL). For this, the paper constructs a treatment effects regression model to account for the effects of non-random assignment for GL participants and non-participants. The proposed model can simultaneously estimate probit models that predict corporate participation in the GL program and linear models that test the extent to which this participation contributes to economic performance. The results indicate significant positive effects of corporate participation in the GL program on economic performance, providing support for the win–win perspective. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Through Thick and Thin? How Self‐determination Drives the Corporate Sustainability Initiatives of Multinational Subsidiaries

Abstract: Department of Management Studies/Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, The University ofthe West Indies, Trinidad & TobagoABSTRACTMultinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries implement corporate sustainability initiatives(CSIs) if they are self-determined to do so (based on intrinsic motivation) or when urged onby circumstances and pressures (based on extrinsic motivation). Such differences in self-determination are derived from underlying corporate psychological needs for competence,autonomy and relatedness, and are manifested in the governance choices of making, allyingor buying CSIs. In this study of oil and gas MNC subsidiaries in the developing country con-text of Trinidad and Tobago, four distinct types of firm are identified based on their levels ofself-determination and corporate governance tendencies. These groups are identified as trailblazers, marching soldiers, sharp shooters and fire fighters, and their distinctive characteristicsare described. These findings are useful to corporate sustainability strategists seeking to se-lect, design and implement CSIs that satisfyMNC headquarter directivesbut balancesubsid-iary objectives of maintaining good relations and access to operate in developing countries.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

What on Earth Should Managers Learn About Corporate Sustainability? A Threshold Concept Approach

Abstract: The Earth is facing pressing societal grand challenges that require urgent managerial action. Responsible management learning (RML) has emerged as a discipline to prepare managers to act as responsible leaders that can effectively address such pressing challenges. This article aims to extend current knowledge on RML in the domain of corporate sustainability (CS) through the application of threshold concepts, novel ideas which provide a doorway to new knowledge and transform a learner’s mindset. Specifically, after conducting a systematic review of the management literature, we identify 33 CS threshold concepts that are useful for mainstream managers and practitioners in their RML process. We group them into six CS threshold concept themes that can help managers understand the complexities and interconnectedness that characterize CS. Finally, we map CS threshold concepts with key competences for effective RML. Therefore, our contribution relies on translating existing CS theoretical frameworks into transformative, specific, understandable and applicable pieces of knowledge that might help mainstream managers to embed CS principles in their daily management practices.