Steven Cavaleri and Kareem Shabana
The purpose of this paper is to provide both theorists and practitioners with a conceptual framework that links sustainability strategies more closely with Porter’s generic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide both theorists and practitioners with a conceptual framework that links sustainability strategies more closely with Porter’s generic strategies. The intent of this approach is to establish sustainability, fundamentally, as a strategic process. The proposed models set a strategic context to tie sustainability, to mediating variables, such as innovation and technology, while also linking them to generic strategies (low cost leader, differentiation, and focus) and firm financial performance in a causal chain. The proposed model gives rise to conclusions about the effectiveness of sustainability strategies that are consistent with emerging research about the role of radical innovation in sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes two conceptual frameworks designed to link sustainability with business strategy. These models are rooted in evolving understandings of business strategy arising from Porter’s original explanations of generic strategies and sources of competitive advantage. The first model is a causal model that links drivers, such as type of competitive strategy and mode of innovation, to competitive outcomes and firm financial performance. The second model describes how different modes of technology development, in sustainability initiatives, cause changes in firm competitive and financial outcomes.
Findings
The conclusions arising from the model-based insights suggest that conventional continuous and incremental improvement sustainability practices hold the potential to pose strategic risks to some firms – depending on their core business strategy. By contrast, the model provides a logical, yet, less known, rationale that suggests radical innovation in sustainability practices may pose fewer strategic risks. It may also offer relatively more competitive and financial advantages than well-established programs relying on incremental innovation.
Research limitations/implications
Although the proposed conceptual frameworks are rooted in strategic management theories, the proposed models and expected outcomes have not yet been empirically tested or validated. However, initially, these models appear to have more face validity in explaining breakthrough sustainability success stories, such as Nike, than do competing explanations. Most importantly, the counter-intuitive finding that radical innovation is likely to be more effective in driving both sustainability and financial outcomes is a topic for future investigation.
Practical implications
The proposed models and accompanying rationale have direct implications for practitioners. They provide practitioners with a road map to logically and deductively frame sustainability strategies based on their current business strategy. Practitioners are often hindered by the lack of high-level guidance for making the transition from operationally focused sustainability tactics to strategies than are congruent with current business strategies. The current paradigm of using incremental sustainability strategies on an ad hoc basis does not always provide neutral outcomes regarding financial effects and competitive advantage – they may yield negative effects.
Social implications
The importance of sustainability strategies and management practices cannot be overstated. On a global scale, evidence indicates that most corporate sustainability programs are ineffective at slowing the rate of global forces offsetting sustainability. The proposed models and strategic management approach are intended to dramatically increase the effectiveness of sustainability improvement by closely aligning them with corporate strategies. Historically, companies have struggled to make the leap from randomly using eco-efficiency tools to making sustainability a key component of their business strategy.
Originality/value
This paper integrates a number of diverse lines of inquiry from the strategic management literature into a counter-intuitive approach for integrating sustainability into a firm’s core business strategy. The proposed conceptual frameworks can be used, prospectively, to design new sustainability strategies, or it can be used, analytically (retrospectively), to understand reasons for failure or under-performance in sustainability initiatives.
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Gregory Berry and Kareem M. Shabana
Traditional feasibility analysis is focused on the immediate and urgent needs of a new venture start-up. All four parts of the feasibility analysis (product/service…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditional feasibility analysis is focused on the immediate and urgent needs of a new venture start-up. All four parts of the feasibility analysis (product/service, industry/market, organizational, and financial) are valuable and essential, but what is missed is a part that provided attention to the longer-term requirements for success and sustainability. A fifth strategic feasibility analysis is needed, focused on the long-term sustainability of the new venture. This strategic/contingent context-dependency lens considers the organization's long-term survival, confirming that organizational success depends on the new venture's ability to emphasize its uniqueness and fit with its external environment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper takes advantage of the decades-long literature review in Strategy to combine known data with entrepreneurial practice in undertaking the feasibility analysis.
Findings
This enhanced feasibility analysis adds a strategic lens beyond the traditional four-part feasibility analysis, resulting in identifiable value-added benefits and awareness of potential opportunities or threats in the longer term.
Research limitations/implications
This research is conceptual and theoretical at this point, without field implementation.
Practical implications
New venture failure is an ongoing concern for many. This suggested strategic lens, especially the sustainability aspect (beyond the “what-do-we-need-to-do-to-open-the-doors” of much feasibility analysis) may prove very useful. Competitive advantage is examined in the traditional feasibility analysis, but this strategic lens suggests a longer term examination, and engages with competitor response.
Social implications
If adopted, this enhanced analysis may lead to greater success for new venture start-ups, thus less wasted time, energy and money.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt at adding a focused strategic lens to the traditional entrepreneurial feasibility analysis. This may seem like a simple and elementary shift of perspective, but the implications are huge, and take advantage of the decades-long research stream in strategic thinking and planning.
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Rajesh Kumar Bhaskaran, Sujit K Sukumaran and Kareem Abdul Waheed
This study aims to examine whether social initiatives adopted by firms lead to improved financial performance. The authors analyse the impact of different elements of social…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether social initiatives adopted by firms lead to improved financial performance. The authors analyse the impact of different elements of social initiatives on wealth creation for firms in terms of operating and market performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the social initiative scores of over 4,500 firms collected from Thomson Reuters' ESG database. The study uses two-stage least squares (2SLS) to analyse the relationship between social initiatives and firm performance.
Findings
Profitable, mature, capital intensive and firms with high sales growth rate tend to invest more in social initiatives. Firms with high agency costs invest in social initiatives for workforce efficiency, maintaining human rights and product responsibility. The study documents evidence that social investments are value creating mechanism for firms which leads to improved financial performance in terms of operating and stock market performance. Firms with high dividend intensity invest in social initiatives for workforce welfare and human rights initiatives. Investment in employee well-being and community initiatives results in intangible benefits such as improved stock market valuation.
Practical implications
The research model has not considered the impact of intervening variables to understand the relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance.
Social implications
Firms ought to recognize that social investment is beneficial in terms of value creation of firms as stock market perceive such investments favourably. Firms must focus more on community development initiatives and workforce initiatives for the value creation of firms compared to investments directed towards human rights initiatives and product responsibility initiatives.
Originality/value
This study focusses exclusively on the social dimension of the CSR activities. The authors examine the impact of social welfare scores on firm performance by analysing the valuation effects on scores representing workforce, human rights, community and product responsibility. Moreover, the paper also examines the impact of a new dimension of product responsibility on firm performance. They also focus on both aspects of financial performance in terms of operating performance (proxied by ROE) and the joint impact of both operating and market performance (proxied by Tobin’s Q). This paper contributes to the research on the linkage of social performance to financial performance by observing that firms with high agency cost characteristics tend to invest in social initiatives for work force efficiency, maintaining human rights and product responsibility.
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Haruna Isa Mohammad and Daniel Marcel
The goal of this work is to evaluate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects competitive performance in Nigeria's banking industry, with innovation capability acting as…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this work is to evaluate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects competitive performance in Nigeria's banking industry, with innovation capability acting as a mediator and environmental uncertainty as a moderating factor.
Design/methodology/approach
The banking industry in Nigeria served as the site for the empirical investigation. Employees at deposit money institutions received a questionnaire. Direct and mediating effects and the moderating role were thus examined utilizing a final sample of 267 cases using consistent partial least squares structural equation modeling with ADANCO 2.2.1.
Findings
The data shows that CSR has both a significant strategic impact on innovation capability and a competitive innovation capability. In contrast, the outcome shows a strong effect of CSR's strategic character on performance in the marketplace. Furthermore, evidence for mediating and moderating effects was provided.
Research limitations/implications
The study was restricted to Nigerian banking institutions. Additionally, data on competitive performance were acquired from employees' perspectives, while considering the competitive performance of their rivals.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this paper is the empirical investigation of the mediating impact of innovation capability and the moderating function of environmental uncertainty in banking organizations that use a CSR strategy to attain competitive performance.
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Souty Adel Nassef Beskhyroun and Mohamed Abdel-Aziz
This paper aims to assess the efficiency of emulsified essential oils in glycerol as eco-friendly antimicrobial and plasticized agents added to the biopolymer of gelatin for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the efficiency of emulsified essential oils in glycerol as eco-friendly antimicrobial and plasticized agents added to the biopolymer of gelatin for lining historical oil paintings on canvases.
Design/methodology/approach
Cedar oil, cinnamon oil and their mixtures were emulsified in glycerol and incorporated into gelatin adhesive as green biocides and plasticizers. Physical, biological, chemical and mechanical tests were conducted on experimental mock-ups to assess the gelatin-based adhesive formulations for the reinforcement of canvas supports. Scanning electron microscope, colorimetric measurements, antimicrobial activity test, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, tensile strength and elongation tests were carried out on the mock-ups before and after the artificial aging.
Findings
The formulations of gelatin-based adhesive with cinnamon and cinnamon-cedar mixture emulsified in glycerol proved their efficiency on the antimicrobial activity test, chemically delaying the decomposition of gelatin and accordingly providing compatible mechanical properties. Gelatin-based adhesive with emulsified cinnamon oil showed a slight yellowing that was quite improved with the mixture of the cinnamon-cedar-based adhesive formulation.
Originality/value
This study promotes a green approach to lining historical oil paintings by developing green formulations from bio-based origins that minimize the shrinkage and microbial infection of gelatin for lining paintings.