System Theory of Corporate Sustainability: History
View Latest Version
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Contributor:
Sooksan Kantabutra

In response to the prevailing sustainability problems that are difficult to solve since they are characterized by complex interdependencies, and the effort to solve one aspect of a sustainability problem may lead to other problems, an interim, system-based theory of corporate sustainability to fill in significant gaps in the corporate sustainability field is developed. The full-blown theory helps the researchers to comprehend, describe and predict situations, behavioral actions and/or context. It guides the researchers to either go against orthodoxy or to continue with it to enrich the current knowledge domain.

  • corporate sustainability
  • theory building
  • resilience
  • sustainability practices
  • sustainability performance
  • sustainability organizational culture
  • sufficiency economy

1. Introduction

Corporate sustainability has become an overarching goal for corporate leaders since, for their corporations to survive and thrive, they need to daily deal with uncertainties or “wicked problems” [1] introduced by the high-velocity environment. These uncertainties are a result of the deep interconnections among the society, the environment and the economy, which in the past were viewed as three separate entities, and are often characterized by contraposition and multiple tensions [2][3][4] as a result of the prevailing imbalanced development of the three domains, mounting social pressure, and growing stringent regulations. To survive in such a context, corporate leaders are required to effectively respond to these concurrent, multiple and yet conflicting demands via a holistic, system-based perspective [5][6][7][8].
While many relevant theories [9][10][11][12][13][14] have been introduced, no single holistic, system-based approach exists to help scholars and practitioners to understand the process of corporate sustainability and allow them to advance toward sustainability as soon as needed [15][16]. In the domain of corporate sustainability alone, only a limited number of interim theories is reported scholarly [15][17]. This limited theoretical knowledge indicates a need for a more comprehensive theory to explain the process of corporate sustainability since researchers, whether adopting the positivist or phenomenological paradigm in any field, often need a full-blown theory to start forming their research. The full-blown theory helps the researchers to comprehend, describe and predict situations, behavioral actions and/or context. It guides the researchers to either go against orthodoxy or to continue with it to enrich the current knowledge domain.
Specifically, scholars have employed a number of sustainability-related theories [15], such as stakeholder theory [9], stewardship theory [13], institutional theory [14], and legitimacy theory [11], and practitioners need to use these theories together on their own discretion to achieve corporate sustainability [16]. None of them alone appears as a holistic approach that scholars can use to inform the development of their studies and practitioners can adopt/adapt toward corporate sustainability as quickly as appears needed [15].
Although an interim theory of corporate sustainability was introduced in 2020 [15] and has since informed the development of various studies around the globe [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32], it is only an interim struggle [15]. Therefore, the present entry’s objective is to construct a more complete theory of corporate sustainability as another “interim struggle” serving as a platform for further scholarly enlightenment. The entry starts by outlining knowledge gaps and significant contributions, and introducing my theory building approach that deals with limitations of the previous theoretical development. Then, it continues by introducing components of the theory, managerial implications, and directions for future research.

2. Knowledge Gaps and Significant Contributions

First, while an organization in reality is an open system with open boundaries [33], and a transfer over the boundaries between the organization and its surrounding context exists [34] (Dubin, 1976), no theory of corporate sustainability that takes organizations as an open system exists. In particular, corporations typically run into sustainability problems frequently instigated by external forces [35] such as institutional pressures, an ideal theory of corporate sustainability should consider external forces. The present theory development includes external forces as part of the emerging corporate sustainability theory, reflecting the reality of the organization as an open system [33], allowing constant interaction between the environment and the system, the first contribution.
Second, since scholars point out the pivotal role that organizational culture plays in ascertaining organizational sustainability, no existing theory of corporate sustainability addresses the cultural element of shared basic assumption, generally recognized as a fundamental element of an organizational culture [36][37]. The present theory development addresses the shared sustainability assumptions as a culture component, the second contribution.
Third, in terms of sustainability performance management, numerous studies have adopted the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) concept [38][39] and its associated concepts (e.g., the Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability Reporting, Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance or ESG [40] to measure sustainability performance. However, Wu, Zhu, Tseng, Lim and Xue [41] argue that the traditional facets of the TBL are not adequate in addressing the highly complex sustainability issues, characterized by constant uncertainties [42]. With the prevailing misuse of the concepts of performance measurement and performance management as interchangeable concepts [43], numerous scholars have focused their efforts on sustainability performance measurement system [44][45][46][47][48][49][50] as opposed to sustainability performance management system [51][52][53], required to deal with the high complexity and uncertainty [54][55]. Essentially, sustainability requires to be managed within a system. Consequently, its performance requires to be systematically managed and measured [46]. To address this gap, a holistic system sustainability perspective is required to go beyond the “fixation and myopia” [56]. The present theory development proposes a corporate sustainability management subsystem as part of the Corporate Sustainability system, the third contribution.
Within the Corporate Sustainability system, since stakeholder benefits and trust are predictive of brand equity [57], and brand equity is becoming widely regarded as a sustainability outcome [58][59], the present theory development integrates stakeholder benefits and trust into the theory, the forth contribution. A stakeholder is any group or individual that can affect or is affected by the operation of an organization, ranging from suppliers, clients, shareholders, employees, communities, civil groups, governments, media, future generations and so on [9]. They are anyone who have a stake in the organization [9]. The Stakeholder theory [9] argues that a firm should create value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders to improve its competitiveness. Stakeholder trust in particular has been considered as a main driver for sustainable business excellence [60]. Well beyond the widely used TBL concept, stakeholder trust essentially denotes a novel corporate sustainability paradigm that directs the attention of corporate leaders and managers toward a higher level of stakeholder-corporation relationship quality, as opposed to simply stakeholder satisfaction [60].
Since (a) organizational resilience is frequently viewed as an outcome of the process of corporate sustainability [58], (b) scholars and practitioners have little knowledge about how organizational resilience can systematically be achieved via day-to-day management [61][62][63], and (c) an organizational theory that describes the resilience phenomenon in an organization via everyday practices is still lacking [32], the present theory development is the first corporate sustainability theory to include organizational resilience as an outcome of the process of corporate sustainability and to explain the day-to-day process to ensure organizational resilience, the fifth contribution.
Even though it is evident that, to ensure corporate sustainability, corporations are required to manage simultaneous, often paradoxical, demands from a wide range of stakeholders [64][65], no existing theory of corporate sustainability incorporates organizational ambidexterity [66], itself an under-developed area [67]. Since empirical evidence has demonstrated that, especially in dynamic environments, organizational ambidexterity gains the utmost performance effects [68][69][70][71], the present theory development is the first theory of corporate sustainability to address organizational ambidexterity, the sixth contribution.
Finally, in terms of theory building approach, since the focal theory of corporate sustainability is concerned with cultural beliefs and values, the Mindsponge framework [72] is adopted to help in understanding how and why a person engrosses and refuses certain values. In addition, since the sustainability problems are wicked problems or problems that are difficult to solve as they are characterized by complex interdependencies, and the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may lead to other problems, the systems-approach is required for treating such a wicked problem [1]. With the integrated theory building approach between the General Systems Theory [33] and the Mindsponge approaches [72], the emerging system theory of corporate sustainability has more power to explain the corporate sustainability phenomenon, the seventh contribution to the field, given that the existing theory of corporate sustainability [15] is not system-based.
Therefore, the present theory development contributes to the corporate sustainability field by filling in these fundamental gaps in the corporate sustainability literature.

3. Theory Building Approach

Dealing with the limitation in the theoretical corporate sustainability literature, the General Systems theory is adopted [33], given that it considers organizations as an open system, as the main approach to construct researchers' corporate sustainability theory in response to the highly dynamic nature of organizations [73]. It focuses on organizational systems and the interactions among them. This approach addresses the limitation of the existing theory of corporate sustainability [15] by enhancing its dynamic nature.
The General Systems Theory process emphasizes the construction of postulates, universal concepts and principles. It is particularly suitable for organizational studies such as the present entry because the General Systems approach assumes that a system, such as an organization, is a consequence of dynamic interrelationships between system’s components and the system’s entirety, within which these components are commonly determine. It is assumed that systems govern and adapt themselves continuously via feedback. System interactions are core to this approach.
Since a system is bordered by an environment [33], all environmental elements influence the system fully or partially. Other systems can also be included in the environment, each of which has its own border. The boundary distinguishes each system from other systems and the environment, and defines a system. The environmental effects are to be considered when developing a theory and its theoretical process. In the present entry, the Corporate Sustainability system is the focal system, comprising the Sustainability Culture, Resilience and Corporate Sustainability Performance subsystems.
All systems and subsystems in this present theory development are considered as an open system because they permit effects from the high-velocity environment to flow across their border [33]. In a given system, an input goes into the system to produce an output, the process of which is called throughput, to achieve its goals. Clearly, the system and the environment interact constantly.
The General Systems Theory is uniquely characterized by feedback and equilibrium [33], making it suitable for the present organizational entry. Allowing the self-regulating system to function, feedback information about an output is fed back into the system. To finish a feedback loop, an equilibrium is reached in the system when its internal structures and collaborations among its part are of homogeneity. A new equilibrium can also be reached when the system responds timely to an environmental change via the feedback loop. In essence, this new equilibrium prepares the system for the new environment.
Next, the theory’s boundary, inputs, throughputs and outputs and their causal relationships are identified [33]. Most importantly, required for a self-regulating system, feedback and equilibrium are identified. Since the focal theory is concerned with individual beliefs and values, author also adopt the Mindsponge framework [72] to help in understanding how and why a person engrosses and refuses certain values. With the integrated approach between the General Systems Theory and the Mindsponge approach, the emerging system theory of corporate sustainability has more power to explain the corporate sustainability phenomenon, a contribution to the theory building field.
Related theoretical, conceptual and empirical literature are drawn to form the emerging theory’s body by comparing and contrasting an entire range of conjectures, whether they be possible, rational, experiential, and/or even philosophical [74]. Through such a process, highlighting can be identified [75], which later become the core elements of the system theory. Guided by Whetten [74]’s qualities of a simple theory, the questions below are developed to guide the theoretical development.
  • What are the input, throughput and output components relevant to ensuring corporate sustainability?
  • Why and how are the components related?
Based on the entry, each core theory element is identified and defined. Included is also a definition of the corporate sustainability concept. Author next define the theory’s boundaries, suggesting what the system theory predicts and does not predict. Then, the system state dynamics in sustainable organizations are explored, meaning that the nomological network among the observed components of the theory is explained. Eventually, to recognize the presumed laws of interaction, Author conclude the present theory development by expressing the resulting theory graphically and in propositions.

4. Defining Corporate Sustainability

At the macro level, scholars have described the sustainability concepts in a wide variety of ways, including the strong sustainability by Ott [76] and the model of the steady state economy by Daly [77]. With such a variety, sustainability is however commonly described along the lines of environmental, economic and social dimensions [78]. At the micro, organizational level, sustainability is defined in the present entry as a holistic approach that considers ecological, social and economic dimensions, recognizing that all must be considered together to find lasting prosperity [79]. In the sustainable enterprise literature, sustainability often refers to sustainable wellbeing for all stakeholders including the society and future generations [58][64][65]. This sustainability definition is reflected in the definition of corporate sustainability in the present entry, which is discussed more below.
Like the sustainability concepts, the definitions of corporate sustainability have flourished [80] and yet no commonly agreed definition exists, certainly affecting theorizing and researching in the field. In particular, the literature on society and business is filled to the brim with a large variety of confusing and sometimes overlapping concepts of corporate social responsibilities and corporate sustainability [15], complicating the much-needed knowledge production in this field even further. The two concepts are confusing because they both are about being responsible for the society at large [81]. However, they are not the same. The corporate sustainability concept is more inclusive than the corporate social responsibility concept because it suggests both a balance between leading and managing for short- and long-term results, and responsibility inside and outside the corporation [81].
In the present entry, Author adopt the definition by Kantabutra and Ketprapakorn [15] because it is well constructed in the core theories of corporate accountability [82][83], stakeholder [9], and relevant corporate social responsibility and sustainable development concepts. Corporate sustainability is a set of management notions that recognize that businesses must grow profitably, with a higher level of emphasis on the three domains of development and their reporting to the society [84]. Accordingly, corporate sustainability here refers to “the leadership and management approach that a corporation adopts so that it can profitably grow and at the same time deliver social, environmental and economic outputs [15], p. 3”. In other words, corporate sustainability is the leadership and management approach that a corporation adopts to ensure the wellbeing for all stakeholders (e.g., minority groups, less privileged individuals). Author use this definition to guide the present theory development.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su142315931

References

  1. Rittel, H.W.J.; Webber, M.M. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci. 1973, 4, 155–169.
  2. Haffar, M.; Searcy, C. Classification of trade-offs encountered in the practice of corporate sustainability. J. Bus. Ethics 2017, 140, 495–522.
  3. Hahn, T.; Figge, F.; Pinkse, J.; Preuss, L.A. Paradox perspective on corporate sustainability: Descriptive, instrumental, and normative aspects. J. Bus. Ethics 2018, 148, 235–248.
  4. Pecl, G.T.; Araujo, M.B.; Bell, J.; Blanchard, J.; Bonebrake, T.C.; Chen, I.; Clark, T.D.; Colwell, R.K.; Danielsen, F.; Evengard, B.; et al. Biodiversity redistribution under climate change: Impacts on ecosystems and human well-being. Science 2017, 355, eaai9214.
  5. Ergene, S.; Banerjee, S.B.; Hoffman, A.J. (Un)Sustainability and Organization Studies: Towards a Radical Engagement. Organ. Stud. 2021, 42, 1319–1335.
  6. Schad, J.; Bansal, P. Seeing the forest and the trees: How a systems perspective informs paradox research. J. Manag. Stud. 2018, 55, 1490–1506.
  7. Whiteman, G.; Walker, B.; Perego, P. Planetary boundaries: Ecological foundations for corporate sustainability. J. Manag. Stud. 2013, 50, 307–336.
  8. Bansal, P. Sustainable development in an age of disruption. Acad. Manag. Discov. 2019, 5, 8–12.
  9. Freeman, R. Stakeholder Management: Framework and Philosophy; Pitman: Boston, MA, USA, 1984.
  10. Grinblatt, M.; Hwang, C. Signaling and the pricing of new issues. J. Financ. 1989, 44, 393–420.
  11. Guthrie, J.; Parker, L.D. Corporate social reporting: A rebuttal of legitimacy theory. Account. Bus. Res. 1989, 19, 343–352.
  12. Jensen, M.C.; Meckling, W.H. Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. J. Financ. Econ. 1976, 3, 305–360.
  13. Hernandez, M. Promoting stewardship behavior in organizations: A leadership model. J. Bus. Ethics 2008, 80, 121–128.
  14. Melé, D. Corporate social responsibility theories. In The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility; Crane, A., Ed.; Oxford Academic Press: Oxford, UK, 2009; pp. 47–82.
  15. Kantabutra, S.; Ketprapakorn, N. Toward a theory of corporate sustainability: A theoretical integration and exploration. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 270, 122292.
  16. Rezaee, Z. Business sustainability research: A theoretical and integrated perspective. J. Account. Lit. 2016, 36, 48–64.
  17. Valente, M. Theorizing firm adoption of sustaincentrism. Organ. Stud. 2012, 33, 563–591.
  18. Adamska, A.; Dąbrowski, T.J. Investor reactions to sustainability index reconstitutions: Analysis in different institutional contexts. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 297, 126715.
  19. Franco, S. The influence of the external and internal environments of multinational enterprises on the sustainability commitment of their subsidiaries: A cluster analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 297, 126654.
  20. Frempong, M.F.; Mu, Y.; Adu-Yeboah, S.S.; Hossin, M.A.; Amoako, R. Corporate sustainability and customer loyalty: The role of firm’s green image. J. Psychol. Afr. 2022, 32, 54–60.
  21. Greenland, S.; Saleem, M.; Misra, R.; Mason, J. Sustainable management education and an empirical five-pillar model of sustainability. Int. J. Manag. Educ. 2022, 20, 100658.
  22. Kücükgül, E.; Cerin, P.; Liu, Y. Enhancing the value of corporate sustainability: An approach for aligning multiple SDGs guides on reporting. J. Clean. Prod. 2022, 333, 130005.
  23. Mishra, P.; Yadav, M. Environmental capabilities, proactive environmental strategy and competitive advantage: A natural-resource-based view of firms operating in India. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 291, 125249.
  24. Nader, J.; El-Khalil, R.; Nassar, E.; Hong, P. Pandemic planning, sustainability practices, and organizational performance: An empirical investigation of global manufacturing firms. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 2022, 246, 108419.
  25. Pazienza, M.; Jong, M.D.; Schoenmaker, D. Clarifying the concept of corporate sustainability and providing convergence for its definition. Sustainability 2022, 14, 7838.
  26. Roblek, V.; Thorpe, O.; Bach, M.P.; Jerman, A.; Meško, M. The fourth industrial revolution and the sustainability practices: A comparative automated content analysis approach of theory and practice. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8497.
  27. Rubel, M.R.B.; Kee, D.M.H.; Rimi, N.N. Green human resource management and supervisor pro-environmental behavior: The role of green work climate perceptions. J. Clean. Prod. 2021, 313, 127669.
  28. Sebaka, L.; Zhao, S. Internal organizational networks and green innovation performance in Chinese new ventures: The roles of corporate proactive environmental strategy and the regulatory quality. Eur. J. Innov. Manag. 2022. ahead-of-print.
  29. Strielkowski, W.; Firsova, I.; Azarova, S.; Shatskaya, I. Novel Insights in the leadership in business and economics: A post-coronavirus update. Economies 2022, 10, 48.
  30. Silva, C.S.; Magano, J.; Matos, A.; Nogueira, T. Sustainable quality management systems in the current paradigm: The role of leadership. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2056.
  31. Shah, S.Q.A.; Lai, F.W.; Shad, M.K.; Jan, A.A. Developing a green governance framework for the performance enhancement of the oil and gas industry. Sustainability 2022, 14, 3735.
  32. Yu, J.; Zhu, L. Corporate ambidexterity: Uncovering the antecedents of enduring sustainable performance. J. Clean. Prod. 2022, 365, 132740.
  33. Von Bertalanffy, L. The meaning of general system theory. In General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications; Von Bertalanffy, L., Ed.; Braziller: New York, NY, USA, 1973; pp. 30–53.
  34. Dubin, R. Theory building in applied areas. In Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Dunnette, M.D., Ed.; Rand McNally: Chicago, IL, USA, 1976; pp. 17–39.
  35. Barasa, E.; Mbau, R.; Gilson, L. What is resilience and how can it be nurtured? A systematic review of empirical literature on organizational resilience. Int. J. Health Policy Manag. 2018, 7, 491–503.
  36. Baumgartner, R.J. Organizational culture and leadership: Preconditions for the development of a sustainable corporation. Sustain. Dev. 2009, 17, 102–113.
  37. Schein, E.H. The concept of “client” from a process consultation perspective: A guide for change agents. J. Organ. Change Manag. 1997, 10, 202–216.
  38. Elkington, J. Towards the sustainable corporation: Win-win-win business strategies for sustainable development. Calif. Manag. Rev. 1994, 36, 90–100.
  39. Goh, C.S.; Chong, H.Y.; Jack, L.; Faris, A.F.M. Revisiting triple bottom line within the context of sustainable construction: A systematic review. J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 252, 119884.
  40. Tseng, M.L.; Chang, C.-H.; Lin, C.-W.R.; Wu, K.-J.; Chen, Q.; Xia, L.; Xue, B. Future trends and guidance for the triple bottom line and sustainability: A data driven bibliometric analysis. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2020, 27, 33543–33567.
  41. Wu, K.J.; Zhu, Y.; Tseng, M.L.; Lim, M.K.; Xue, B. Developing a hierarchical structure of the co-benefits of the triple bottom line under uncertainty. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 195, 908–918.
  42. Tseng, M.L. Using social media and qualitative and quantitative information scales to benchmark corporate sustainability. J. Clean. Prod. 2017, 142, 727–738.
  43. Garengo, P.; Biazzo, S. From ISO quality standards to an integrated management system: An implementation process in SME. Total Qual. Manag. Bus. Excell. 2013, 24, 310–335.
  44. Cagno, E.; Neri, A.; Howard, M.; Brenna, G.; Trianni, A. Industrial sustainability performance measurement systems: A novel framework. J. Clean. Prod. 2019, 230, 1354–1375.
  45. Delai, I.; Takahashi, S. Sustainability measurement system: A reference model proposal. Soc. Responsib. J. 2011, 7, 438–471.
  46. Gianni, M.; Gotzamani, K.; Tsiotras, G. Multiple perspectives on integrated management systems and corporate sustainability performance. J. Clean. Prod. 2017, 168, 1297–1311.
  47. Korphaibool, V.; Chatjuthamard, P.; Treepongkaruna, S. Scoring Sufficiency Economy Philosophy through GRI standards and firm risk: A case study of Thai listed companies. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2321.
  48. Schaltegger, S.; Wagner, M. Managing sustainability performance measurement and reporting in an integrated manner. Sustainability accounting as the link between the sustainability balanced scorecard and sustainability reporting. In Sustainability Accounting and Reporting; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2006; pp. 681–697.
  49. Searcy, C. Corporate sustainability performance measurement systems: A review and research agenda. J. Bus. Ethics 2012, 107, 239–253.
  50. Pryshlakivsky, J.; Searcy, C. A Heuristic Model for Establishing Trade-Offs in Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems. J. Bus. Ethics 2017, 144, 323–342.
  51. Giannoukou, I.; Beneki, C.C. Towards sustainability performance management system of tourism enterprises: A tourism sustainable balanced scorecard framework. Int. J. Glob. Environ. Issues 2018, 17, 175–196.
  52. Souza, J.P.E.; Alves, J.M. Lean-integrated management system: A model for sustainability improvement. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 172, 2667–2682.
  53. Warhurst, A. Sustainability Indicators and Sustainability Performance Management; Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project Report No. 43; International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): London, UK, 2002; 129p.
  54. Forrester, J.W. System dynamics, systems thinking, and soft OR. Syst. Dyn. Rev. 1994, 10, 245–256.
  55. Senge, P. Collaborating for systemic change. MIT Sloan Manag. Rev. 2007, 48, 44–53.
  56. Lozano, R. Are companies planning their organisational changes for corporate sustainability? An analysis of three case studies on resistance to change and their strategies to overcome it. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 2013, 20, 275–295.
  57. Winit, W.; Kantabutra, S. Sustaining Thai SMEs through perceived benefits and happiness. Manag. Res. Rev. 2017, 40, 556–577.
  58. Avery, G.C.; Bergsteiner, H. Sufficiency Thinking: Thailand’s Gift to an Unsustainable World; Routledge: New York, NY, USA, 2020.
  59. Kantabutra, S. Exploring relationships among sustainability organizational culture components at a leading Asian industrial conglomerate. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1733.
  60. Dervitsiotis, K. The pursuit of sustainable business excellence: Guiding transformation for effective organizational change. Total Qual. Manag. Bus. Excell. 2003, 14, 251–267.
  61. Duchek, S. Organizational resilience: A capability-based conceptualization. Bus. Res. 2020, 13, 215–246.
  62. Duit, A. Resilience thinking: Lessons for public administration. Public Adm. 2016, 94, 364–380.
  63. Reeves, M.; Whitaker, K.A. Guide to Building a More Resilient Business. Harv. Bus. Rev. 2020, 2–8.
  64. Avery, G. Leadership for Sustainable Futures: Achieving Success in a Competitive World; Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, UK, 2005.
  65. Avery, G.; Bergsteiner, H. Sustainable leadership practices for enhancing business resilience and performance. Strategy Leadersh. 2011, 39, 5–15.
  66. Tushman, M.L.; O’Reilly III, C.A. Ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change. Calif. Manag. Rev. 1996, 38, 8–29.
  67. Kassotaki, O. Review of organizational ambidexterity research. SAGE Open 2022, 12, 1–22.
  68. Jansen, J.; Van Den Bosch, F.; Volberda, H. Exploratory innovation, exploitative innovation, and performance: Effects of organizational antecedents and environmental moderators. Manag. Sci. 2006, 52, 1661–1674.
  69. Junni, P.; Sarala, R.; Taras, V.; Tarba, S. Organizational ambidexterity and performance: A meta-analysis. Acad. Manag. Perspect. 2013, 27, 299–312.
  70. Kortmann, S. The mediating role of strategic orientations on the relationship between ambidexterity-oriented decisions and innovative ambidexterity. J. Prod. Innov. Manag. 2014, 32, 666–684.
  71. Lin, L.-H.; Ho, Y.-L. Institutional pressures and environmental performance in the global automotive industry: The mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Long Range Plan. 2016, 49, 764–775.
  72. Vuong, Q.H. Global mindset as the integration of emerging socio-cultural values through mindsponge processes: A transition economy perspective. In Global Mindsets: Exploration and Perspectives; Kuada, J., Ed.; Routledge: London, UK, 2016.
  73. Daft, R.L. Organization Theory and Design; Cengage Learning: Boston, MA, USA, 2015.
  74. Whetten, D.A. What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Acad. Manag. Rev. 1989, 14, 490–495.
  75. Weick, K. Cognitive processes in organizations. In Research in Organizational Behavior; Staw, B., Ed.; JAI: Greenwich, CT, USA, 1989; pp. 41–74.
  76. Ott, K. On Substantiating the Conception of Strong Sustainability In Sustainable Development: Relationships to Culture, Knowledge and Ethics ; KIT Scientific Publishing: Karlsruhe, Germany, 2011; ISBN 9791036538230. Available online: http://books.openedition.org/ksp/4356 (accessed on 24 November 2022).
  77. Daly, H.E. Steady-State Economics, 2nd ed.; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 1991.
  78. Purvis, B.; Mao, Y.; Robinson, D. Three pillars of sustainability: In search of conceptual origins. Sustain. Sci. 2019, 14, 681–695.
  79. University of Alberta. What Is Sustainability? Available online: www.mcgill.ca/sustainability/files/sustainability/what-is-sustainability.pdf (accessed on 13 August 2022).
  80. Swarnapali, R. Corporate sustainability: A literature review. J. Account. Res. Educ. 2017, 1, 1–15.
  81. Ashrafia, M.; Adams, M.; Walkera, T.R.; Magnan, G. How corporate social responsibility can be integrated into corporate sustainability: A theoretical review of their relationships. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol. 2018, 25, 672–682.
  82. Benston, G.J. Accounting and corporate accountability. Account. Organ. Soc. 1982, 7, 87–105.
  83. Watts, R.; Zimmerman, J. Positive Accounting Theory; Prentice-Hall: Englewood, NJ, USA, 1986.
  84. Wilson, M. Corporate Sustainability: What is it and where does it come from? Ivey Bus. J. 2003, 67, 1–5.
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
This entry is offline, you can click here to edit this entry!
ScholarVision Creations
Feedback