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The research is aimed at elaborating a model in which dynamic capabilities affect sustainable competitiveness via organisational sustainability practices and the mediating role of organisational ambidexterity.

Emphasising the need for business sustainability in the face of technological breakthroughs, resource depletion and increasing expectations of stakeholders, it is necessary to reflect on a long-term organisational resilience that would enable sustainable competitiveness through dynamic capabilities. Hence, the paper provides insights on how an organisation can sustain its competitiveness by constantly balancing between the need for continuous improvement due to the pressure in economic, social and ecological environment, and the pursuit of continuous improvement of performance. The authors used structural equation modelling on data collected via a survey of 455 organisations from the Baltic region.

The results confirm the relationships between sensing and reconfiguring capabilities and sustainability practices, but reject them for scanning capabilities. They also confirm the impact of sustainability practices on some of the pillars of sustainable competitiveness. The research disclosed that ambidexterity was a mediator between dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitiveness.

The paper discloses the link between dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage by identifying the main characteristics of the constructs and revealing the linkage between them.

This study aims to examine whether and how corporate sustainability capability influences energy efficiency through competitive intensity and slack resource availability.

The authors applied a two-wave research design and administered a survey questionnaire to senior-level managers of 78 ISO-14001 and ISO-50001 certified manufacturing companies. The authors use a multi-method approach for data analysis. AMOS 23 software was applied for covariance-based structural equation modeling. In addition, SPSS 25 software was applied for hierarchical regression analysis to examine the causal relationships in the model.

The finding reveals that corporate sustainability capabilities, which include energy-saving opportunities, seizing energy-saving opportunities and resource reconfiguration, significantly improve firms’ energy efficiency. In addition, competitive intensity and slack resource availability positively moderated the relationship between corporate sustainability capability and energy efficiency.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the link between corporate sustainability capability and energy efficiency in developing countries such as Pakistan. Although the influence of various corporate sustainability capabilities on sustainable performance has been widely examined in the literature, the role of corporate sustainability capability has been limitedly explored with energy efficiency. This study extends the literature by adding to the knowledge of corporate sustainability capability that enhances boundary conditions in developing countries.

This study aimed to examine the role of big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) in fostering organizational innovation capabilities and, consequently, in achieving economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Through the lens of dynamic capability theory, this study surveyed 115 hotels using purposive sampling to gain in-depth insights regarding the factors affecting organizational sustainability in the hospitality industry. The data analysis was conducted using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings reported a substantial impact of seven core dimensions (i.e. technology, data, basic resources, technological skills, managerial skills, organizational learning and data-driven culture) in building BDAC among hotels. Moreover, BDAC was also revealed to significantly influence innovation capabilities, positively impacting all three sorts of sustainability performance. Innovation capability also mediated the relationship between BDAC and all sustainability factors.

The findings will assist policymakers and practitioners in developing effective initiatives to enhance the adoption and implementation of data science and technologies, substantially contributing to the “National IR 4.0 Policy” and “Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint” and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The originality of this study is established by investigating the interplay between BDAC, innovation capability and sustainability performance, particularly in the context of the hotel industry, whereas the existing studies focus on exploring the advantages of BDA.

This chapter argues that organizations are not sustainable if they operate in unsustainable societal and ecological contexts, and that operating in a way that contributes to the health of the larger system requires organizations to develop new capabilities. It demonstrates the role that rich internal and external networks play in developing sustainability capability particularly in providing pathways to generate, import, apply, and disseminate knowledge about how to operate more sustainably.

The case study of the sustainability transition of Cleveland Clinic is based on four years of interviews and archival data collection examining the system’s transformational change that began in 2007. The case focuses on the building of sustainability capability, including an internal infrastructure to focus the organization on this outcome, and building of rich networks for learning and action. The case is framed with capability and network theory.

Guided and catalyzed by a small central group called the Office for a Healthy Environment, Cleveland Clinic has achieved measurable progress in key strategic focuses including waste diversion, energy efficiency, and increasing integration of local foods into its supply chain. To do so, it has developed strong internal networks to disseminate knowledge and accelerate innovation and adoption of sustainable practices. Strong, dynamic external networks have enabled Cleveland Clinic to import knowledge about sustainable practice from its environment, and have enabled it to help build the sustainability capability of its vendors, the community upon which it depends, and the health-care industry.

Starting with the perspective that the sustainability of an organization depends on the sustainability of the ecosystems in which it exists, this chapter focuses not on the design of specific sustainability initiatives, but on the dynamic networks that underpin the capability to simultaneously improve the health of the organization and of the larger ecosystem. This perspective provides insight into new organizing principles.

This article investigates how micro-foundations of sustainability can build supply chain resilience (SCRes). Specifically, by defining supply chains as social-ecological systems, this article explores how sustainability as a supplier capability leads to the transformative development of SCRes capabilities.

Longitudinal multi-case studies were developed over the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 52 interviews were conducted with managers and employees of 12 global supplier firms as well as associated local cooperative and consultancy managers. Secondary data were also used for triangulation. An inductive approach was used for data analysis to elaborate theory through a metaphor.

Nine micro-foundations of sustainability were identified and categorised using the dynamic capabilities steps: sensing, seizing and reconfiguring. They were found to move together with the preparing, responding and transforming steps of SCRes, respectively, and thus to perform as dance partners using our dance performance metaphor. Moreover, ten supplier cases were found to be adopting a transformative social-ecological perspective as they performed all key stages of our dance performance metaphor. The transformations all resulted from either institutional or social sustainability, and the associated micro-foundations generated six main SCRes capabilities, most commonly linking visibility and organisation with institutional and social sustainability respectively.

A deeper understanding of sustainability micro-foundations is provided for supply chain managers to enhance the development of SCRes strategies in preparation for future sustainability-related crises.

Unlike previous research, this article explores an intertwined understanding of SCRes and sustainability during a crisis. Through the micro-foundations of sustainability we explain how sustainability capability builds transformative SCRes using a supplier perspective.

The reported research aims to examine the extent to which sustainability capabilities have been delivered by a specific example of Education for Sustainability (EfS) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and how important the capabilities have been in the workplace.

Students who participated in an undergraduate internationally based research project were electronically surveyed. Questions sought responses related to demographics, the relevance of five “sustainability competencies” to the participant’s employment, the degree to which the five competencies had been developed within the students’ project and capabilities participants felt were important to their careers.

Clearly supported was the relevance of all five sustainability competencies, especially that of “interpersonal competence”.

A problem-based learning (PBL) design guided the students’ project and the findings indicate that these designs can be effective in delivering the five capabilities discussed. Interpersonal capability appears to be strongly developed, probably because PBL typically involves teamwork, often across disciplines. Nonetheless, those running these PBL-based subjects could note that careful design may be needed to ensure the development of systems thinking, anticipatory and normative capabilities. Also, the five competencies provide a reasonably good guide for what is important in the workplace and for designing learning experiences.

Clarification of competencies valued in the workplace provides guidance for the design of higher education curricular so that graduates become effective sustainability professionals.

This paper aims to identify the dynamic capabilities that foster organizational resilience towards sustainability.

The study is a qualitative multi-case study with Brazilian manufacturers of different industries that provides an in-depth exploration of underlying dimensions towards resilience for sustainability.

The results indicate that to develop organizational resilience towards sustainability, both in theory and in practical terms, the actions required are long-term plans, regular meetings, benchmarking, communication between areas and distinct hierarchies, partnerships and eco-efficient actions. Regarding human aspects, the leader’s behaviour and shared culture are the means to encourage, educate and exemplify sustainability for all in the organization.

The study has limitations in the form of a small sample size. The implications indicate a relationship between resilience and dynamic capability for sustainability. In other words, resilience develops organizational, human and technological capabilities for sustainability. Such results can improve the organizational strategy construction methods towards sustainability development.

The study has two practical implications for companies to continue working for sustainability. The first practical implication is the need to work the processes that are aimed at the exchange of information both internally and externally to the organization. It has been seen in managers’ speeches that creating ways to listen to employee suggestions could make important resource-saving discoveries and release waste. Another important source of information for improvement of operations is to listen to civil associations and industry and non-governmental organizations, as well as participate in events, lectures and discussion forums. The second practical implication is the need to work with the human side of the organization; sustainability needs to be a part of the worker’s daily life, and it needs to become common to them of the need to reflect on how to improve sustainability of processes for which they are responsible. To achieve this goal, companies need to work the pillar of cohesion resilience, emphasizing the behaviour of leaders (role models) and organizational culture.

The comparative case analysis shows some practices that are able to induce good environment and provide social and organizational benefits, namely, long-term plans, regular meetings, benchmarking, communication between areas and distinct hierarchies, partnerships, eco-efficient actions, behaviour of leaders and shared culture among members of the organization. These practices are the means to encourage, educate and exemplify sustainability for all in the organization.

The originality of this paper is to bring together two streams of the literature, namely, resilience and dynamic capabilities, in the context of sustainability. Drawing on this approach, the study provides a new conceptual model with empirical evidence of key aspects of resilience for sustainability as an eco-capability.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight both the need for measurement of graduate capabilities post-degree completion and the challenges posed by such a task. Higher education institutions provide an important site of learning that can equip future professionals with capabilities to manage and respond to complex sustainability challenges in their careers. Measurement of graduate uptake and application of sustainability capabilities is an important part of advancing sustainability curriculum and pedagogy to educate the twenty-first century sustainability capable graduates.

This paper explores the nature of capabilities and reviews existing approaches to capability assessment.

The nature of capabilities and their assessment post-degree completion pose a number of challenges for the development of assessment and measurement tools, which is why sustainability capability assessment methods are deserving of specific research attention.

The assessment and application of capability in graduates’ professional contexts are an important part of closing the loop between learning and teaching in higher education and professional application of this learning. It is imperative that more research be undertaken on the methodology of graduate assessment, given the need to understand graduate learning outcomes as they apply in professional settings for graduate employability, promoting sustainability and developing effective sustainability pedagogy.

Given that there is significant overlap between employability skills, generic graduate attributes and sustainability capabilities, this paper has relevance beyond the measurement of sustainability capability to the measurement of uptake and professional application of generic capabilities more broadly.

The measurement of graduate capability offers potential to enhance learning for sustainability. Measurement of graduate capabilities is a critical part of closing the loop between workplace expectations, graduate learning outcomes, learning and teaching and curriculum development during degree programs.

The review provided in this paper highlights a critical gap in research on methodologies to undertake measurement of workplace application of graduate capability. The paper explores considerations for measurement of graduate learning outcomes, specifically the difference between measuring competencies, skills and capability and the necessity for the measurement of the latter in the context of sustainability education for future professionals.

In the context of universities implementing education for sustainability (EfS), the aim of the research presented here is to review the extent to which capabilities related to sustainability are represented by the capabilities generally sought by employers, and to determine whether these are incorporated in the graduate capability statements of Australian universities.

Based on the discussion of graduate capabilities and those associated with sustainability, a web-based survey of university graduate attribute statements was undertaken.

Generally, Australian universities have established frameworks of graduate capabilities that relate to the broad needs of employers. Of eight capabilities listed as important by employers, six were identified at some two-thirds of universities. Just under half of the universities' statements contained references to sustainability, while all the literature derived sustainability capabilities, except for “systems/holistic thinking”, are represented to some degree. Those most strongly represented included understanding of social justice and equity; skills in communication and cooperation; and having commitment to social justice and equity.

Apparently, in Australian universities, the framework for the development of sustainability capabilities is broadly in place, but not all have sustainability capabilities in place. This framework supports the implementation of EfS, but without development of pedagogy to underlie implementation, the authors have little insight about the extent of implementation, and whether graduates leave with sustainability capabilities.

Uniquely this research identifies the extent to which Australian universities are providing direction in the development of capabilities related to the requirements of employers, and for sustainability.

This study investigates whether corporate sustainability capability (CSC) along with project management maturity (PMM) based capability contribute to perceived organizational success. It also studies how this contribution varies by project type employed in the organization.

The research is based on survey data collected from 66 managers of mostly small service businesses. The survey instrument consisted of a four-part questionnaire with 41 indicators focusing on CSC, maturity in project management knowledge areas and perceived internal and external organizational success. The SEM methodology, GLM (General Linear Model), and ANOVA are used for the analysis of the causal relationship among the indicators. The moderating effect of Project Type is analyzed using the Multi Group Analysis.

The findings demonstrate the impact of the successful integration of corporate sustainability and organizational PMM efforts on organizational success. Project management capability strengthens the effects of sustainability efforts, specifically in economic and social sustainability. Moreover, project type ranging from derivative to breakthrough moderates this effect.

The findings demonstrate the strategic importance of corporate sustainability and its integration with organizational project management, valuing project sustainability management.

The study shows the importance of project management and sustainability capabilities for organizations in managing projects and developing vision, policy, and guidance with stakeholders, leading to organizational success.

This study reveals most success is achieved by maturity in stakeholder management, time, quality, communication and human resource management areas, economic and social sustainability capabilities demonstrated by platform and breakthrough projects.