The nexus of business sustainability and organizational learning: A systematic literature review to identify key learning principles for business transformation

Hermelingmeier, Verena; Wirth, Timo von

doi:10.1002/bse.2719

Cited by 50 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…While this study starts from the assumption that a TBL approach is desirable from businesses, we also have to consider that, regardless of the B Corp certification's characteristics, companies ask whether the TBL approach is practically feasible and how it can be concretely achieved (Srivastava et al, 2021). Based on the literature, we suggest that organizations' capacity to learn (Levitt & March, 1988) and their capabilities (Alonso‐Martínez et al, 2019) may help them to innovate (Brown & Duguid, 1991), to achieve sustainability performance (Bhatia, 2021; Bhatia & Jakhar, 2021) and, in general, to generate sustainability‐related change processes (De Giacomo et al, 2019; Hermelingmeier & von Wirth, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental performance of UK‐based B Corp companies: An analysis based on the triple bottom line approach

Liute

Giacomo

2021

Bus Strat Env

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The B Corp certification recognizes high social and environmental performance in business. This performance is measured in five pillars—Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers—but with no minimum threshold per pillar. This allows companies to choose those impact areas where they want to perform well. This study, based on the triple bottom line theory, analyses the environmental performance of 68 UK‐based B Corps from two environmentally sensitive sectors: manufacturing and wholesale/retail. We use an inductive approach that combines quantitative and qualitative methods to find out whether this trade‐off‐permitting approach leads to high environmental performance in companies and whether the certification successfully prevents greenwashing. Our results show firstly that companies in the two sectors tend to perform better socially than environmentally; secondly, that prioritizing one social impact area generally leads to below‐average environmental performances compared to certified peers; and thirdly, that to rule out greenwashing, B Corp should ensure certified companies display high levels of environmental performance and that they align their “green” claims to their performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The environmental performance of UK‐based B Corp companies: An analysis based on the triple bottom line approach

Liute

Giacomo

2021

Bus Strat Env

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“…In recent years, sustainability has gained even more attention than before (Barbier and Burgess, 2020; Hermelingmeier and Wirth, 2021). It already affects companies in many countries worldwide, but the strength of sustainability's impact will further grow in the years to come (Pucker, 2021; Eccles et al , 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explicating a sustainability-based view of sustainable competitive advantage

Lichtenthaler

2021

JSMA

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PurposeThis paper is a step toward a sustainability-based view of firm performance, which focuses on how companies may achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in a circular economy that is increasingly dominated by sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual research paper, which provides a coherent basis for the diverse literature about sustainability, corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, shared value innovation, sustainable design and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.FindingsThe paper complements extant reviews and dynamic frameworks, such as the natural resource-based view and the innovation-based approach, to understand how firms may profit from sustainability in their business ecosystems with multiple stakeholders concerning the triple bottom line beyond financial performance. A firm’s sustainability architecture at multiple organizational levels includes interdependent components reflecting environmental, social and economic sustainability, which enable firms to achieve more value and/or do less harm. The intertemporal renewal of this architecture and its interdependencies with non-sustainability components highlight the dynamics of sustainability transformations for understanding the sustainability–performance relationship.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to sustainability research by developing a conceptual framework, which may be a basis for integrating the variety of management-related sustainability research. It further adds to research into competitive advantage by clarifying how firms may profit from sustainability. Moreover, the conceptual framework contributes to business ecosystem research because it considers internal factors in an organization as well as external factors in a firm’s environment. Finally, this paper offers new insights into strategy dynamics because the intertemporal perspective of changing a firm’s sustainability architecture underscores the need for continuous sustainability transformations.

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“…The clustering analysis indicates the conclusions that the share of material costs in operating revenues and expenses does not directly affect the selected business indicators (Table 1, variables / SOM inputs [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Therefore, the percentage of cost reduction can be modelled by the means of these shares, if this is necessary in a particular business model of the observed companies.…”

Section: Research Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Utilisation of ANFIS in analysing impact of cost structure on Croatian maritime companies development

Valčić

2021

Pomorstvo (Online)

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The modern approach to growth analysis and development of enterprises includes the analysis of defined business models progressively. One of the essential factors of any business model is the cost structure, mostly intended to analyse and define better the processes of transferring value to the customer, maintain customer relationship and generate revenue. An analysis of the costs incurred in these processes should facilitate the effective definition of key resources, key activities and key partnerships. Modern theory distinguishes two types of business models from a cost perspective: a cost-driven model and a value-driven model. The cost-driven model is focused on minimizing costs wherever possible and such an approach has the propensity to create and maintain the lowest possible cost structure using low-cost value propositions. The value-driven model is focused on value creation and superior value propositions. The aim of this research, by using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) approach, is to create models for analysing the impact of cost structure on sustainable development and business survival with respect to selected financial indicators. Based on clustering methods, model creation is preceded by a search of the link between the business performance indicators and parameters that increase or decrease a particular cost component. The sample for creation of the model is based on financial data of five maritime Croatian companies obtained through four business years. Thus, by analysis of the companies’ business operations based on such created models it is possible to define the limits, namely the degrees of increase or decrease of a particular type of cost at which companies achieve sound business growth and development. Consequently, the management of a company is enabled to form effective business strategies. Such strategies in modern context imply innovation in business, new technological processes, efficient stock management, and improved relationships with customers and suppliers.

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The nexus of business sustainability and organizational learning: A systematic literature review to identify key learning principles for business transformation

Cited by 50 publications

References 99 publications

The environmental performance of UK‐based B Corp companies: An analysis based on the triple bottom line approach

The environmental performance of UK‐based B Corp companies: An analysis based on the triple bottom line approach

Explicating a sustainability-based view of sustainable competitive advantage

Utilisation of ANFIS in analysing impact of cost structure on Croatian maritime companies development

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