Corporate sustainability: the new organizational reality
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management
ISSN: 1746-5648
Article publication date: 9 November 2020
Issue publication date: 3 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Today, corporate sustainability is at a tipping point. With average lifespan of organizations shrinking, striving for corporate longevity and sustainability has become indispensable in this fast-paced world. Despite the growing interest in this domain, companies are struggling to define sustainability in a way that is relevant to their business. This article attempts to synthesize the extant literature and provide a conceptual perspective on corporate sustainability and sustainable business models.
Design/methodology/approach
Thematic literature review was done to gain an understanding of the extant literature and the ongoing debates on organizational sustainability. As the literature in context of corporate sustainability was found to be in a fluid state, a thematic review was found suitable to systematize and disclose valuable insights that open avenues for addressing sustainability concerns.
Findings
The paper attempts to throw light on the journey of organizations towards sustainability and how the context of sustainability has changed for the organizations over time. The paper discusses how companies embarked on their sustainability revolution by shifting their focus from mere compliance and philanthropy to attaining a sustainability edge and also explicates the transformation from traditional business models to sustainable business models. Finally, the research gaps are identified to pave the way for future research in the domain of corporate sustainability.
Originality/value
The extant literature on corporate sustainability is in a shambolic state. This creates a need to investigate what has been done and how the context of corporate sustainability is being shaped. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on sustainability by providing a conceptual perspective and highlighting the research gaps which pave the way for future research on sustainability paradigm.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author guidelines for Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management state that articles must be fully referenced. The authors sincerely apologise for this.Funding Information: No funding was received for this study.Conflicts of Interest: There are no conflicts of interests to be declared.Corrigendum: It has come to the attention of the publisher that the article by Dhanda, U. and Kumar Shrotryia, V. (2020), “Corporate sustainability: the new organizational reality”, published in Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 16 Nos. 3/4, pp. 464-487. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-01-2020-1886 did not sufficiently attribute a source to drawn upon.This was Lozano R. (2018), “Sustainable business models: Providing a more holistic perspective”, Bus Strat Env. Bus Strat Env. 2018;1–8. doi.org/10.1002/bse.2059
Citation
Dhanda, U. and Shrotryia, V.K. (2021), "Corporate sustainability: the new organizational reality", Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Vol. 16 No. 3/4, pp. 464-487. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-01-2020-1886
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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