Invited Editorial: A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm

Abstract

The authors revisit Hart's natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm and summarize progress that has been made in testing elements of that theory and reevaluate the NRBV in light of a number of important developments that have emerged in recent years in both the resourcebased view literature and in research on sustainable enterprise. First, the authors consider how the NRBV can both benefit from recent work in dynamic capabilities and can itself inform such work. Second, they review recent research in the areas of clean technology and business at the base of the pyramid and suggest how the NRBV can help inform research on the resources and capabilities needed to enter and succeed in these domains.

Environmental Performance and Financing Decisions Impact on Sustainable Financial Development of Chinese Environmental Protection Enterprises

“…Hart and Dowell (2011) [37] argued that firms can gain competitive advantage by developing "capabilities that facilitate environmentally sustainable economic activity". They can obtain superior performance by implementing proactive environmental strategies [38].…”

Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?

“…The resource-based view (RBV) thus seems a relevant theoretical framework, as value-creating SD practices and strategies depend not only on having unique and heterogeneous resources but also, and more important, on being able to mobilize and combine these resources. This approach emphasizes businesses' resources and internal strategic capabilities that make generating competitive advantages possible (Anderson and Eshima 2013;Castelo Branco and Lima Rodrigues 2006;Hart and Dowell 2011). Tangible resources are linked to practical aspects, while intangible resources refer to immaterial resources and capacities, such as reputation and human capital (Halme and Korpela 2014).…”

“…Nevertheless, little research has examined these mediating variables, which limits our understanding of this relationship and the factors that influence performance (Kollmann and Stöckmann 2014;Lechner and Gudmundsson 2014;Rauch et al 2009), particularly when SD practices are implemented (Dixon-Fowler et al 2013). Second, research into the link between SD practices and financial performance remains controversial (Hart and Dowell 2011), and the link between SD practices and non-financial performance has received very little attention to date. Third, as SMEs provide little information regarding their strategies and financial performance, they are less studied than large firms (Baumann-Pauly et al 2013;Bos-Brouwers 2010), despite that SMEs are the backbone of the economy.…”

Exploring the Impact of Complementary Assets on the Environmental Performance in Manufacturing SMEs

“…Some studies discussed the relationship between this norm and corporate performance [22,23]. The affiliated firms can strengthen their own financial performance by reducing transaction costs and by sharing both resources and risks with one another [24,25].…”