PURPOSE: The aim of this research is to link sustainability strategies with risk management. DESIGN/METHOD: 33 unique cases were used for the data analysis. Using the cases, the researchers built a database to operationalise the theoretical framework. This database contains data on general characteristics of an organisation, strategic characteristics (mission, vision, value proposition, core values from the Balanced Score Card categories, strategic goals), strategy characteristics of the sustainability strategies, the 17 sustainability goals of the UN, risks (strategic, financial, operational) and control measures appropriate to the risks. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The first sub-question: Which risks at a strategic, financial, and operational level differ in organisations that pursue SDG 3 Good health and wellbeing, SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth and/or SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production, or do not pursue sustainability goals? It can be answered that sustainable values lead to different risks at strategic and financial levels, but not on an operational level. The second sub-question: Which risks on a strategic, financial, and operational level differ in organisations that pursue the sustainability strategy (Retain product ownership, Product life extension and/or Design for recycling) or do not pursue a sustainability strategy? It can be answered in a similar way as the first research question: that apparently sustainable strategies lead to different risks at strategic and financial levels, but not on an operational level. Operational risks were found but did not change in case of the sustainable strategy. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Researchers have investigated whether pursuing the sustainability strategy (part 1) or contributing to the achievement of SDGs (part 2) by an organisation causes a change in strategic, financial and/or operational risks. Patterns were sought, not the magnitude of a change, because of the number of cases examined. KEYWORDS: risk management, sustainable, business model, case study, added value. JEL: A12, A13, D7, D70
PURPOSE: The aim of this research is to link sustainability strategies with risk management. DESIGN/METHOD: 33 unique cases were used for the data analysis. Using the cases, the researchers built a database to operationalise the theoretical framework. This database contains data on general characteristics of an organisation, strategic characteristics (mission, vision, value proposition, core values from the Balanced Score Card categories, strategic goals), strategy characteristics of the sustainability strategies, the 17 sustainability goals of the UN, risks (strategic, financial, operational) and control measures appropriate to the risks. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The first sub-question: Which risks at a strategic, financial, and operational level differ in organisations that pursue SDG 3 Good health and wellbeing, SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth and/or SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production, or do not pursue sustainability goals? It can be answered that sustainable values lead to different risks at strategic and financial levels, but not on an operational level. The second sub-question: Which risks on a strategic, financial, and operational level differ in organisations that pursue the sustainability strategy (Retain product ownership, Product life extension and/or Design for recycling) or do not pursue a sustainability strategy? It can be answered in a similar way as the first research question: that apparently sustainable strategies lead to different risks at strategic and financial levels, but not on an operational level. Operational risks were found but did not change in case of the sustainable strategy. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Researchers have investigated whether pursuing the sustainability strategy (part 1) or contributing to the achievement of SDGs (part 2) by an organisation causes a change in strategic, financial and/or operational risks. Patterns were sought, not the magnitude of a change, because of the number of cases examined. KEYWORDS: risk management, sustainable, business model, case study, added value. JEL: A12, A13, D7, D70
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between sustainable performance and risk management, whereby sustainability (innovation), interdisciplinarity and leadership give new insights into the traditional perspectives on performance and risk management in the field of accounting and finance. DESIGN/METHOD: A number of 58 cases were collected. Due to the substantiated selection, 51 unique cases were used for the data analysis. Using the cases, the researchers built a database with fixed observation categories to operationalize the theoretical framework. This database contains data on widespread characteristics of an organization, strategic characteristics (mission, vision, value proposition, core values from the Balanced Score Card categories, and strategic goals), strategy characteristics of the sustainability strategies, the 17 sustainability goals of the UN, risks (from the COSO Integrated framework: strategic, financial, operational) and control measures appropriate to the risks. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The empirical research shows that if organizations have a mission and/or vision that includes sustainability, in more than half of the cases it is used in strategic goals and core values. However, this is far from happening in every organization. These organizations more often apply a sustainability strategy, and all pursue SDGs. It therefore seems that they use sustainable terms less often in the management of the company than they use in practice in the execution of the strategy. This pattern is even stronger among organizations that have not included sustainability criteria in the mission and/or vision: 60% pursue a sustainability strategy and three quarters pursue SDGs. Organizations that do not pursue a sustainability strategy do pay attention to sustainability in almost half of the cases when managing the organization. Conversely, unfortunately, not every organization that implements a sustainability strategy also propagates this via its mission/vision, strategic goals, and core values. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Researchers have investigated (part 1) whether implementing a sustainability criterion in a mission/vision has consequences for managing the organization based on sustainable strategic goals and core values; and (part 2) if a company pursues SDGs and/or a sustainability strategy, sustainability criteria are mentioned in the strategic characteristics. KEYWORDS: sustainability, strategy, leadership, risk management, performance management. JEL: A12, A13, A23, D21, D22, D62, D81
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.