Examining green policy and sustainable development from the perspective of differentiation and strategic alignment

Abstract

The study seeks to explain the influence of green policy on sustainable development from the perspective of differentiation and strategic alignment. The study examined the relationships among a divergent green management strategy, green competencies, and firm performance. The results indicate that a divergent green management strategy is associated with higher firm performance and that such relationship is moderated by green competencies. The study confirms that a differentiation strategy pays off for firms that implement green management. The study also confirms that green policy should consider the strategic alignment between green management strategy and green competencies.

Market drivers of sustainability and sustainability learning capabilities: The moderating role of sustainability control systems

“…This highlights the importance of sustainable business practices in the current changing global business environment. Because of unprecedented increase of sustainability challenges (e.g., threats of climate change), market drivers of sustainability (e.g., consumers, suppliers, competitors and shareholders) compel organisations to (re)design strategies and internal operational procedures to minimise the adverse social and environmental impacts of their operations (Feng, Zhao, & Su, 2014; Ling, 2019; Schrettle, Hinz, Scherrer‐Rathje, & Friedli, 2014). Although a large number of organisations produce sustainability reports, the effective and actual integration of sustainability practices into core business strategies mainly depends on their ability to develop organisational learning (Kloot, 1997; Siebenhüner & Arnold, 2007).…”

Evaluation of critical constructs for measurement of sustainable supply chain practices in lean‐agile firms of Indian origin: A hybrid ISM‐ANP approach

“…Wei, Mao, and Chen () found that Chinese institutional investors consider environmental information but fail to grab the long term effect and subsequently change their strategies against market volatility. Ling () examined green policy and found that firm performance is enhanced by consideration of divergent green management. Table below shows the different enablers recommended by different researchers.…”

The freedom within framework: A multilevel perspective on developing green capabilities through routines in service organisations

“…A limitation of the RBV research is that results on the relationship between environmental strategies and firm performance are inconsistent. One explanation is poor understanding as to whether strategies were well implemented, or if there was a lack of fit between green strategies and capabilities (Ling, 2019). Both the processes of strategy implementation and a more fundamental understanding of what capabilities actually are and how they are produced are required to progress.…”

“…The resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm has long been a leading theory explaining the creation of competitive advantage (Galbreath, 2009; Grant, 1996), which firms can attain through the acquisition and exploitation of resources and capabilities to exploit opportunities and neutralise threats. Firms can also create value through the ability to use capabilities to differentiate around ecological positioning (Baumgartner & Ebner, 2010, p. 78; Ling, 2019). Hart integrated the increased strategic importance of the environment by proposing the natural‐resource‐based view (NRBV) of the firm, arguing that ‘strategy and competitive advantage in the coming years will be rooted in capabilities that facilitate environmentally sustainable economic activity’.…”

“…Recent examples of research include clean technology and pollution prevention (Niemann, Dickel, & Eckardt, 2020), product innovation (Papagiannakis, Voudouris, Lioukas & Kassinsi, 2019) and how supply chain management can contribute to sustainable development (Sajjad, Eweje, & Tappin, 2019). Although studies have examined the link between specific environmental initiatives and firm performance in these fields, recent research has found that the results of this body of work are still highly inconsistent (Knight, Megicks, Agarwal, & Leenders, 2019; Ling, 2019), and the overall link between green strategy and firm performance is still not understood. Few studies have looked at the overall relation between organisational capabilities, environmental proactivity and competitive advantage (Delmas Hoffman & Kuss, 2011, p. 120).…”