Proactive corporate environmental strategy and the development of competitively valuable organizational capabilities

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study conducted in two phases within a single industry context. The first phase involved comparative case studies to ground the applicability of the resource-based view of the firm within the domain of environmental responsiveness. The second phase involved testing the relationships observed during the case studies through a mail survey. It was found that strategies of proactive responsiveness to the uncertainties inherent at the interface between the business and ecological issues were associated with the emergence of unique organizational capabilities. These capabilities, in turn, were seen to have implications for firm competitiveness.

Does CSR practice pay off in East Asian firms? A meta-analytic investigation

“…Previous studies agree that CSR actives are a kind of organizational strategic investment to build close connection with diverse stakeholders and acquire their support. Firm with better social performance can acquire more intangible resources, including organizational culture, reputation, and human resources that give them competitive advantage (Orlitzky et al, 2003;Sharma & Vredenburg, 1998). Different from above viewpoints related to stakeholder theory and the resource-based view, our signaling perspective emphasizes the signaling role of CSR practices in dealing with information asymmetry.…”

Indigenous Peoples, Resource Extraction and Sustainable Development: An Ethical Approach

“…The business case for corporate environmental and social performance has received growing attention in the management literature. It is argued that companies who demonstrate such corporate social responsibility can improve their competitive advantage and increase their market share (Garcia and Vredenburg, 2003;Hall and Vredenburg, 2003;Hart, 1995Hart, , 1997Hart and Milstein, 1999;Pablo, et al, 1999;Porter and Van Der Linde, 1995;Sharma and Vredenburg, 1998;Sharma, et al, 1994;Senge and Carstedt, 2001;Vredenburg and Westley, 1997). Ethical capital is thus a marketable commodity.…”

“…It is unlikely that sustainable development will be achieved in Canada without the support and participation of First Nations. These are the realities with which resource industries, including forestry, mining, oil and gas, are dealing increasingly (Hall and Vredenburg, 2003;Higginson, 2004;Sharma and Vredenburg, 1998;Vredenburg andWestley, 1997, 2002). Compelling factors at the community level are behind such developments.…”

The Action Logics of Environmental Leadership: A Developmental Perspective

“…Similarly, addressing the expectations of stakeholders requires managers to consider and deal with the views of citizens, governments, shareholders, environmental groups, and others (Bansal and Roth, 2000;Delmas, 2001;Henriques and Sadorsky, 1999). In order to effectively demonstrate their commitment, organizations must be proactive and anticipate emerging environmental pressures, because seemingly passive reactions to existing pressure may tarnish the corporate image and give the impression of a lack of environmental leadership (Aragón-Correa, 1998;Sharma and Vredenburg, 1998;Gonzàlez-Benito and Gonzàlez-Benito, 2006). Environmental leadership may also be motivated by the hope of gaining economic and strategic benefits, such as higher productivity, reduced material and energy costs, or an improved corporate image (Christmann, 2000;Hart, 1995;Hawken et al, 1999;Porter and van der Linde, 1995).…”

“…On the one hand, environmental management is marked by continuous change related to mounting pressure from ecologists, scientific advances, the emergence of new standards, environmental incidents, and so on. These changes require that managers have a well-developed capacity to anticipate and adapt, in order to be prepared for the emergence of new trends, constraints, and opportunities (Boiral, 2006;Sharma, 2000;Sharma and Vredenburg, 1998). On the other hand, the integration of environmental concerns into daily management involves global and cross-departmental change within the organization through questioning production practices, installing less energy-consuming equipment, introducing more environmentally friendly products, implementing new work procedures, among other measures.…”