The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between business model innovation, corporate sustainability, and the underlying organisational values. Moreover, the paper examines how the three dimensions correlate with corporate financial performance. It is concluded that companies with innovative business models are more likely to address corporate sustainability and that business model innovation and corporate sustainability alike is typically found in organisations rooted in values of flexibility and discretion. Business model innovation and corporate sustainability thus seem to have their origin in the fundamental principles guiding the organisation. In addition, the study also finds a positive relationship between the core organisational values and financial performance. The analysis of the paper is based on survey responses from 492 managers within the Swedish fashion industry.

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In the wake of globalization, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the social and environmental aspects of international production. Companies of today not only have to be profitable, but they also have to be good corporate citizens. In response to the increasing societal pressure, many companies adopt the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by introducing codes of conduct that are expected to ensure socially responsible business practises throughout the chain—from supplier of raw materials to final end‐users. However, there are several challenges to the management and control of codes of conduct in global supply chains. Active commitment is a precondition for the successful implementation of the codes, but the incentive to comply with the codes does not necessarily extend to all the actors in the chain. Moreover, it is difficult to enforce codes of conduct in global supply chains, because the involved companies are separated geographically, economically, legally, culturally and politically. In consequence, introducing codes of conduct in global supply chains raises a series of agency problems that may result in non‐compliance. Realizing that non‐compliance can have severe consequences for the initiator (due to consumer sanctions, negative press, capital loss, government interventions, damaged brand etc.), the article analyses how the interests of the actors in the supply chain can be aligned with the terms of the codes. IKEA is used as a ‘best case’ example to illustrate how codes of conduct can be effectively managed in the supply chain. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In recent years, the idea of 'green' or 'political' consumers expressing their political beliefs in everyday life has been widely embraced. Eager to satisfy the needs of this new market segment, firms have allocated substantial resources to environmental management, social accountability, corporate citizenship, occupational health and safety etc. During the 1990s, the industrialized world also witnessed a growing number of environmental labels, expected to guide the political consumers in their shopping decisions. Evaluations of these environmental labelling (eco-labelling) programmes indicate that some labels and product groups receive a great deal of attention while others remain in obscurity. To understand these differences, the paper will discuss some of the factors that determine the market impact of environmental labelling. It is concluded that the concept of the 'green' consumer is over-simplified and fails to capture the actual complexity of consumer values, attitudes and behaviour. The results are based on existing literature and our own empirical findings. Copyright

business in society, corporate social responsibility (CSR), management, managerial perceptions,