Environmental soundness: a pragmatic alternative to expectations of sustainable development in business strategy

Lamming, Richard; Faruk, Adam C.; Cousins, Paul D.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0836(199905/06)8:3<177::aid-bse196>3.0.co;2-1

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A key feature is that sustainability cannot logically be thought of as an attribute of a single firm, but can only properly be applied at the global level (Lamming et al . ); this puts linkages at the heart of SOI activity, as is reflected in the limited evidence that we found.…”

Section: Stage 3: Framework Synthesis – Final Model Of Soimentioning

confidence: 58%

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

Adams

Jeanrenaud

Bessant

et al. 2015

Int J Management Reviews

1,096

958

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article we systematically review the literature relating to Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (SOI), and present a model to help understand different types and phases of SOI in companies. SOI involves making intentional changes to organizational mind-sets and values, as well as the products, processes or practices that produce environmental and/or social benefits in addition to economic value. The model distinguishes between contexts of Operational Optimization, Organizational Transformation, and Systems Building, and is populated with a range of innovation practices illustrating what firms do to become more sustainable. The model is developed from a review of 127 articles from the academic and practitioner literature and focuses on the period between the two Earth Summits . The systematic review forms the foundation of this paper, but we supplement and populate the model with instances of SOI activity drawn from more recent practitioner literature to provide richer insights into contemporary pioneering SOI practice.

show abstract

Section: Stage 3: Framework Synthesis – Final Model Of Soimentioning

confidence: 58%

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

Adams

Jeanrenaud

Bessant

et al. 2015

Int J Management Reviews

1,096

958

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, process eco-innovations usually incorporate cleaner production technologies that reduce waste and effluents during raw material extraction, manufacturing and distribution; three activities often within a suppliers remit (Huber, 2008;Rennings et al, 2006). Product eco-innovations engage suppliers in the design stage potentially leading to the use of more environmentally sound (Lamming et al, 1999) materials and reductions in product and packaging waste (Hart and Milstein, 2003;van Hemel and Cramer, 2002). Implementing organisational ecoinnovations in a supplier's operations can lead to an improvement in the welfare of the supplier's workforce (Klewitz and Hansen, 2014).…”

Section: Eco-innovation and Its Effect On Sustainability Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Developing eco-innovations: a three-stage typology of supply networks

Roscoe

Cousins

Lamming

2016

Journal of Cleaner Production

118

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tThis paper uses grounded theory to develop and deepen our understanding of eco-innovation. It presents, through a series of four propositions, a three-stage supply network typology to help scholars and managers consider how best to develop these innovations. This typology was constructed by reviewing existing sustainability frameworks that argued that innovation was a key factor in sustainability. Moreover we found little consideration given on how to discover and develop eco-innovations. The literature proposes that a firm with strong ties with a few strategic suppliers will benefit from the knowledge and technology that spills over from suppliers to the firm during the new product development process. In contrast, the network literature explains that the creation of multiple weak ties to non-strategic suppliers may increase opportunities for identifying innovation. The network literature further suggests a third and potentially more promising route: building weak ties to suppliers that bridge 'structural holes' in the network. We suggest that strong ties with strategic suppliers will lead to the development of incremental eco-innovations while weak ties with multiple suppliers and with suppliers that bridge structural holes will tend to lead to radical eco-innovations. Finally, we suggest that once ecoinnovations are developed they should be embedded in the operational processes of other suppliers to increase the sustainability performance of the focal firm.

show abstract

“…Fineman (2000) suggests that business organizations are not necessarily well equipped to deal with the demands of sustainability, and Lamming et al (1999) state that sustainable development, precisely because it includes important social aspects as well as economic and ecological ones, is not an appro- priate goal for business as they feel that business organizations cannot properly deal with such social issues. Instead, they argue, business organizations should focus on 'environmental soundness', which includes only the ecological and economic elements.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate sustainability – integrating environmental and social concerns?

Schaefer

2004

Corp Soc Responsibility Env

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents a case of the early stages of an attempted integration of environmental management and corporate responsibility in a UK utility company, which may, in due course, develop into a more holistic orientation towards corporate sustainability. The company had made some deliberate attempts to link environmental and social responsibility issues. However, this integration was partial and contested within the company. The case shows that dealing with environmental soundness and starting to integrate environmental and social issues and management need not be a sequential process. Institutional and wider social factors are shown to play a strong role in influencing company thinking and actions in this area, seemingly sending rather mixed signals in this case. The case also highlights the role of sustainability champions in making links between the organization's business purpose, its environmental performance and its social responsibility in terms of the long term sustainability of the region and the company's future. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

show abstract

Environmental soundness: a pragmatic alternative to expectations of sustainable development in business strategy

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

Developing eco-innovations: a three-stage typology of supply networks

Corporate sustainability – integrating environmental and social concerns?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About