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Article
Publication date: 11 July 2023

Frederik Dahlmann, Stephen Brammer and Jens K. Roehrich

Drawing on paradox theory and the category of the “performing-organizing” paradox, the study investigates the tensions firms experience in the context of organizing the processes…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on paradox theory and the category of the “performing-organizing” paradox, the study investigates the tensions firms experience in the context of organizing the processes involved in managing their indirect GHG emissions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop hypotheses to explain why the paradox elements of supply chain transparency and supply chain coordination affect firms' ability to reduce their indirect supply chains GHG emissions. Using a two-stage method based on data from Refinitiv and CDP for 2002 to 2021, the authors test this study’s hypotheses through panel regression analyses.

Findings

While greater transparency experience with scope 3 emissions disclosure, GSCM practices and broader supply chain engagement are all associated with higher levels of scope 3 emissions levels, both long-term transparency experience and GSCM practices are also associated with relative reductions in scope 3 emissions over time.

Practical implications

Given growing pressures on firms to demonstrate both transparency and legitimacy regarding their scope 3 emissions, firms must understand the characteristics of this paradox as this has implications for how emissions performance is perceived and managed. This study's results suggested that firms need to take both a long-term perspective and effectively communicate the differences involved in reporting their emissions performance to avoid unwarranted criticism.

Originality/value

Filling a gap in sustainable OSCM studies by providing large-scale quantitative insights into the relationships between organizing and performing, the authors demonstrate that the processes involved in firms' efforts of measuring and managing their indirect scope 3 emissions are paradoxically affected by whether performance outcomes are specified as annual absolute levels of scope 3 emissions, or relative changes over time.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2008

Frederik Dahlmann, Stephen Brammer and Andrew Millington

The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of environmental management practices in the UK and discuss managerial responses to environmental issues in comparison with…

3076

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of environmental management practices in the UK and discuss managerial responses to environmental issues in comparison with earlier research.

Design/methodology/approach

A telephone interview survey approach is adopted encompassing both quantitative and qualitative open‐ended questions with a sample of 167 UK companies stratified by firm size and industry sector.

Findings

The majority of firms are undertaking efforts to reduce their environmental impacts, yet economic considerations such as cost and risk reductions and achieving compliance with environmental legislation dominate firms' environmental behaviour. Especially small and medium‐sized firms appear to rely on relatively short‐term planning horizons, which ultimately prevent them from becoming more proactive in their environmental outlook. Comparison with earlier studies suggests that the overall behaviour of firms towards environmental issues remains reactive and economically‐oriented.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the growing salience of many environmental challenges, businesses fail to employ more proactive environmental strategies, suggesting that more has to be done at policy level to stimulate the incentives involved with adopting such an approach.

Originality/value

By using a mixed methods approach the paper aims to overcome problems of respondent identification and social desirability bias.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 46 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2022

Andrey Pavlov and Pietro Micheli

Traditional approaches to organizational performance management that emphasize objectivity, control and predictability are rapidly losing relevance in an environment characterized…

2350

Abstract

Purpose

Traditional approaches to organizational performance management that emphasize objectivity, control and predictability are rapidly losing relevance in an environment characterized by increasing levels of complexity and dynamism. This paper draws on complexity theory to suggest a new paradigm for managing performance in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the common features of complex systems and the corresponding concept of emergence to revisit key themes in organizational performance management and propose a set of implications for research and practice.

Findings

Understanding organizations as complex systems and performance as an emergent property of such systems leads to a set of new research questions, the adoption of alternative methods and the formulation of novel propositions. It also has various implications for both academic research and managerial practice, from moving away from the traditional notion of organizational alignment to adopting a more explicit stakeholder-based view in the design and use of measurement systems.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the great potential of complexity theory for addressing contemporary issues in the field of organizational performance management and charting the landscape for its future development.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

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