Validating a framework of stakeholders in connection to business sustainability efforts in supply chains

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Ferro ◽  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Göran Svensson ◽  
Juan Carlos Sosa Varela ◽  
Beverly Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Focal Company

Purpose The purpose of this study is two-fold: to determine the extent to which companies’ efforts aimed at sustainable business practices consider stakeholders in their organisations and business networks, the marketplace and society; and to validate or refute a stakeholder framework of business sustainability efforts within focal companies, the marketplace, society and business networks. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a questionnaire survey targeting large companies across industries and sectors in Spain. The sample consisted of 231 companies generating a useable response rate of 38.5 per cent. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on a cross-industry sample to test a five-dimensional framework. Findings This study reports on the validation of initial and refined factor solutions. The factor analysis confirmed five stakeholder dimensions related to business sustainability efforts of organisations, their business networks, marketplace and society. The validated results indicate satisfactory convergent, discriminant and nomological validity and reliability through time and across contexts. Research limitations/implications The stakeholder framework in connection with business sustainability efforts in supply chains consisting of five factors was validated: the focal company, downstream stakeholders, societal stakeholders, market stakeholders and upstream stakeholders. Suggestion for further research is provided. Practical implications The validated framework of stakeholders allows an insight into the environment in which stakeholders operate and how they influence the focal company. Originality/value The manuscript contributes to the validation of a stakeholder framework of business sustainability efforts within focal companies, their business networks, the marketplace and society. The measurement properties provide support for acceptable validity and reliability across contexts and through time.

Validating a triple bottom line construct and reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Carlos Ferro ◽  
Beverly Wagner ◽  
Juan Carlos Sosa Valera ◽  
Nils M. Høgevold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Triple Bottom Line ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to validate a triple bottom line (TBL) construct, as well as to describe the TBL reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks. Design/methodology/approach This study reports on the validation of a TBL construct, in a Spanish context, of a study originally conducted in Norway. In this validation study, 230 companies were selected for participation. A total of 89 usable questionnaires were returned, generating a response rate of 38.5 per cent. Findings The empirical findings indicate major similarities and minor differences between organizations in Spain and Norway across two studies. By extension, the empirical findings appear to be valid and reliable across contexts and through time. Research limitations/implications This study explains the structural properties of the main reasons for business sustainability (economic, social and environmental) and business sustainability efforts in companies and the supply chains or business networks. Practical implications Business sustainability efforts need to be assessed in a systematic manner, and the validated TBL construct offers a foundation for doing this, though it needs to be complemented with other elements and details in connection with business sustainability. Originality/value Business sustainability efforts have been evolving over time and are increasingly seen to consider economic viability, as well as environmental sustainability and social responsibility. This study deals with how these elements of TBL are interrelated with respect to business sustainability.

A framework to navigate sustainability in business networks

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Wagner ◽  
Göran Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe a transformative business sustainability (TBS) model of stakeholders and sources in sustainable business practices with an interface and exchange node of resource residuals. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based upon a grounded methodology drawn from four in-depth case studies, spanning over six years in different countries and industries. Data were gathered from multiple sources, and interview transcriptions were returned to interviewees for clarification, accuracy, final proofreading and approval. Findings – The TBS model complements existing research by emphasising the importance of commitment to an overarching vision through corporate leadership assigning areas of strategic priority that respond to current and future environmental regulation and social needs. Research implications/limitations – Efforts aimed towards business sustainability and application of sustainable business practices in business networks include interfaces and interactions between involved stakeholders and sources. We argue that stakeholders and sources should be recognised as intertwined, where resources used in activities in a business network causing resource residuals may be recovered and reused by other actors in the business network. Practice implications – The TBS model can be used by managers to plan, implement and assess practices to provide a holistic view of sustainable business activities that supports the development of a company and its network. It may also be used to map and navigate interactions between elements within and external to the company. Originality/value – The principal contribution of the current research is twofold, a TBS model and a tool to map and navigate corporate sustainability efforts.

scholarly journals Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions and items

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goran Svensson ◽  
Nils M. Høgevold ◽  
Danie Petzer ◽  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Carlos Ferro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Factor Solution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Nomological Validity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to determine the extent to which companies’™ efforts of sustainable business practices consider stakeholders within their organisations, business networks, the marketplace and society, and to develop and test a stakeholder construct in the context of companies’™ business sustainability efforts within their business networks, the marketplace and society by identifying underlying dimensions and items. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method approach was used. First, qualitative research involving a case study approach was followed so as to describe how companies in different industries in Norway implement and manage sustainable business practices. This was followed by a quantitative research phase to empirically measure and test a stakeholder construct in the context of business sustainability efforts, which is reported here. Findings – The results report both an initial factor solution as well as a refined factor solution. The factor analyses confirmed five stakeholder dimensions related to business sustainability in a cross-industry sample of organisations, their business networks, marketplace and society. These include: the focal company, downstream stakeholders, societal stakeholders, market stakeholders and upstream stakeholders. The results indicate satisfactory convergent, discriminant and nomological validity, as well as reliability of each dimension. Research limitations/implications – The study provides a stakeholder construct in the context of business sustainability efforts in focal companies and their business networks, the marketplace and society, based upon five common dimensions. The multi-dimensional framework may be used in both qualitative and quantitative research in future. It may also be used to assess stakeholders’™ business sustainability efforts. Practical implications – The multi-dimensional framework is useful for practitioners to obtain an indication of stakeholders’™ business sustainability efforts in relation to focal companies and their business networks, the marketplace and society. Originality/value – The study provides a general stakeholder construct in the context of business sustainability efforts in business networks, the marketplace and society. The proposed framework can be incorporated in further studies and could be used to assess the general status of stakeholders’™ sustainability efforts in their networks, the marketplace and society.

A framework of firms' business sustainability endeavours with internal and external stakeholders through time across oriental and occidental business contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzong-Ru Lee ◽  
Ku-Ho Lin ◽  
Chang-Hsiung Chen ◽  
Carmen Otero-Neira ◽  
Göran Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Focal Firm ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Downstream Market

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to test and compare a framework of firms' business sustainability endeavours with internal and external stakeholders in an oriental business context and to verify the validity and reliability of a stakeholder framework through time and across oriental and occidental business contexts.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative approach based on a questionnaire survey in corporate Taiwan with a response rate of 68.5%. Multivariate analysis is undertaken to uncover the measurement properties of a stakeholder framework.FindingsA framework of firms' business sustainability endeavours with internal and external stakeholders appears valid and reliable through time and across occidental and oriental business contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study verifies and fortifies a stakeholder framework through time and across business contexts consisting of five stakeholder groups: upstream, the focal firm, downstream, market and societal.Practical implicationsThe framework of firms' business sustainability endeavours provides guidance to firms in their endeavours of business sustainability with internal and external stakeholders.Originality/valueThis study contributes to existing theory and previous studies by validating a stakeholder framework of business sustainability with internal and external stakeholders beyond occidental business context to be also valid and reliable in oriental ones.

Developing a theory of focal company business sustainability efforts in connection with supply chain stakeholders

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Svensson ◽  
Carlos Ferro ◽  
Nils Hogevold ◽  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Juan Carlos Sosa Varela
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Focal Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Downstream Market

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the structural properties of a stakeholder research model of focal company business sustainability and the associated consideration of upstream, downstream, market and societal stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach Based on two industrial business samples in Norway and Spain, partial least squares– structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to empirically test a research model consisting of five stakeholder constructs. Findings The model was tested in Norway and validated in Spain. An analysis of the path coefficients and levels of significance shows that all relationships in the research model were significant and meaningful. Research limitations/implications This paper develops a model that explains and predicts company considerations of other stakeholders in the business sustainability efforts within supply chains (both upstream and downstream) and also beyond in the market and society. Practical implications The results of this study can guide companies in structuring, planning and implementing business sustainability in their supply chains, the marketplace and the society. It can also provide a foundation for monitoring and follow-up assessment of corporate decision-making. Originality/value This study contributes to supply chain management (SCM) and stakeholder theory to establish a framework for business sustainability with respect to company stakeholders in supply chains.

Authenticity in business sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 666-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubiná Mahsud ◽  
Jessica Ludescher Imanaka ◽  
Gregory E. Prussia
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Future Strategy ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThis paper critiques existing approaches to business sustainability and recommends a new course of action. This paper focuses the critique on sustainable business practices (SBP) and gaining sustainable competitive advantage (SCA), as they have increasingly been the focus of strategy and management scholars.Design/methodology/approachThe relative progress in the strategy and management domains is reviewed with regard to incorporation of concepts such as sustainability, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theory. The defense industry is explored as a paradigmatic case of inauthentic sustainability.FindingsFindings reveal that existing constructs lack authentic sustainability, largely on account of the tendency of these discourses to privilege select stakeholders in the developed world. Strategic management research needs to evolve further to accommodate a broader, systemic and global focus that will yield authenticity in business sustainability. Mutual benefit for all stakeholders necessitates a paradigm shift in our thinking from competition to collaboration and creation.Practical implicationsWhen SBP and SCA get applied to certain industries, such as defense, they prop up a form of inauthentic sustainability. All global stakeholders must be included in sustainability frameworks, and some businesses, by their very definition, should not be sustained.Social implicationsMutual benefit for all stakeholders necessitates a paradigm shift in people’s thinking from competition to collaboration and creation. This paper suggests that Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) can provide the requisite direction for future strategy scholarship so as to overcome existing limitations with SPB and SCA.Originality/valueThis paper suggests that BOS can provide the requisite direction for future strategy scholarship so as to overcome existing limitations with SPB and SCA.

A sustainable business model in services: an assessment and validation

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils M. Høgevold ◽  
Goran Svensson ◽  
Carmen Padin
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Initiatives

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe a sustainable business model in a service industry. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was performed during 2012-2013. It is based upon a major Scandinavian hotel chain known for having implemented documented, extensive and systematic sustainable business practices within the company and in its business network. Data were gathered from multiple sources to explore and describe their sustainable business model. Findings – This study provides a validation in a service industry of an assessed sustainable business model derived from a goods industry and from other industries as well. The empirical findings indicate that the model appears to be universally applicable across sources and stakeholders in the service sector beyond company- and industry-specific characteristics in services. Research limitations/implications – Further research that may validate or falsify current empirical findings in other business settings is presented. Suggestions for further research are provided, such as a focus on similarities and differences across companies, industries and countries worldwide. Practical implications – Environmental initiatives and efforts need to go hand-in-hand with the social and economic ones. The interconnection between environmental, social and economic elements is necessary and crucial if it is to be successful in the marketplace and society. Social implications – A sustainable business model is not about simplistic initiatives and efforts of sustainable business practices. A multitude of initiatives and efforts are required in the marketplace and society. Originality/value – It contributes to visualize an all-embracing perspective on the challenges, complexities and dynamics of implementing sustainable business practices within and beyond corporate or organizational boundaries toward business networks in the marketplace and society.

scholarly journals A triple bottom line construct and reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils M. Høgevold ◽  
Göran Svensson ◽  
H.B. Klopper ◽  
Beverly Wagner ◽  
Juan Carlos Sosa Valera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Triple Bottom Line ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Sustainable Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
A Company

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test a Triple Bottom Line (TBL)-construct as well as to describe the TBL-reasons for implementing sustainable business practices in companies and their business networks. This study explores how linking these seemingly disparate pillars of sustainability may be facilitated through a TBL construct. The notion of sustainable business practices has been evolving and is increasingly understood to encompass considerations of economic viability, as well as environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach – The research is quantitative in nature, exploring and analysing how companies in different Norwegian industries implement and manage sustainable business practices based on TBL. The survey results are reported here. Findings – The relevance of TBL to different aspects of sustainable business practices is outlined. The study generally supports the view that a heightened propensity for sustainable business practices ensures that organisations are better equipped for meeting the challenge of integrating TBL in companies and their business networks. Research limitations/implications – The study tested a construct of TBL in the context of sustainable business practices. It may be incorporated in further research in relation to other constructs. Suggestions for further research are proposed. Practical implications – Useful for practitioners to get insights into TBL-reasons for implementing business-sustainable practices in companies and their business networks. It may also be valuable to assess the general status of business-sustainable practices in a company and their business networks. Originality/value – Linking two traditionally separate and encapsulated areas of research, namely, the area of business sustainable practices and the area of TBL. The current study has contributed to a TBL-construct in relation to other constructs in measurement and structural models. It has also contributed to provide insights of priority into the main reasons to implement the elements of TBL within companies and their business networks.

A cross-country comparison and validation of firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas P.E. Karlsson ◽  
Hélène Laurell ◽  
John Lindgren ◽  
Tobias Pehrsson ◽  
Svante Andersson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Support ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Internal Stakeholders ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Downstream Market

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare and validate firms’ internal and external stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices across business settings. It aims to assess the validity and reliability of a stakeholder framework appearing in previous studies.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a questionnaire survey and a cross-industry sample consisting of the largest firms in corporate Sweden. Multivariate analysis tests the stakeholder framework. Each of the 294 key informants was initially identified and contacted by telephone, generating a response rate of 36.5 per cent.FindingsThe tested stakeholder framework appears valid and reliable across countries to assess the internal stakeholders of focal firms, as well as their up- and downstream, market and societal stakeholders. This study provides additional empirical support to categorize firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices.Research limitations/implicationsThis study validates previous findings in terms of Swedish firms’ considerations of internal and external stakeholders in sustainable business practices in relation to one similar country (Norway) and one different country (Spain). The study also shows how the three countries perceive the focal company and societal stakeholders differently.Practical implicationsThe tested framework sheds light on focal firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices and elucidates the extent to which firms’ account for their internal and external stakeholders in sustainable business practices.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the development of valid and reliable stakeholder theory across contexts and through time. In particular, it contributes to the development of a valid and reliable framework to categorize firms’ stakeholder considerations in sustainable business practices.

Implementing and managing economic, social and environmental efforts of business sustainability

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Svensson ◽  
Beverly Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Business Practices ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Society Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Sustainability

Purpose – Current research examines and reports how four companies – each committed to economic, social and environmental efforts of business sustainability – implement and manage their “sustainable business models” and application of sustainable business practices in the marketplace and society. “Business sustainability” is defined as a company’s economic, social and environmental efforts to implement and manage both its own and its business network’s impact on Earth’s life and ecosystems. The purpose of this paper is to describe constituents of business sustainability efforts within the economic, social and environmental categories. Design/methodology/approach – The current research is based upon a grounded methodology drawn from four in-depth case studies, spanning over five years in different countries and industries. Data were gathered from multiple sources, including secondary data, company records, internet information, face-to-face interviews and on-site observation. Transcriptions were thereafter returned to interviewees for clarification and accuracy, and for final proofreading and approval. Findings – The research identifies a set of business sustainability constituents within the economic, social and environmental categories of the triple bottom line (TBL) approach. It appears to be the first study over time and across contexts of the content of the TBL consisting of economic, social and environmental categories based upon empirical findings and propositions on how they can be assessed and related to each other. Research limitations/implications – The research provides a foundation of measurement and structural properties of business sustainability efforts. A cause-and-effect relationship between the TBL categories is a new and complementary approach to assess business sustainability that so far appears not to have been revealed in previous research and theory. Practical implications – The research furthers the understanding of implementing and managing economic, social and environmental efforts of business sustainability in a comprehensive, balanced and connected manner. The economic, social and environmental constituents of business sustainability need to be addressed in conjunction with one another, as they ultimately restrain the degrees of freedom in the context of the meta-constituent that frames them (i.e. the Planet Earth). Originality/value – The principal contribution is to demonstrate the breakdown of constituents into common denominators of economic, social and environmental categories, based upon empirical observations. The case studies reported generate a model that combines a conceptual and managerial framework aimed at implementing and managing sustainable business practices; they offer a contribution by shedding light on constituents that may be relevant and essential in framing economic, social and environmental efforts of business sustainability in the marketplace and society.

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