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1 – 10 of 137Angela Greco, Thomas Long and Gjalt de Jong
The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy change. This paper offers a theory on identity reflexivity as a cognitive mechanism of strategy change in the context of organizational hybridity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on a 2-year ethnographic study at a Dutch social housing association dealing with the process of strategy change. The empirical data comprises of in-depth semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations as well as secondary sources.
Findings
Conflicting identities at the organizational level influence heuristics at the individual level, since members tend to identify with their department's identity. Despite conflicting interpretations, paths of cognitive shortcuts – that the authors define as internal and external identity reflexivity – are shared by the conflicting identities.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this research are subject to limitations typical of a qualitative case-study, such as possibly being context dependent. The authors argue that this research contributes to the understanding of how individual heuristics relate to organizational heuristics, and suggest that the process of identity reflexivity can contribute to the alignment of conflicting identities enabling strategy formation in the context of a dual-identity organization.
Practical implications
Understanding how managers with conflicting identities achieve agreements is important to help organizational leaders to pursue sustainability-oriented strategy change.
Social implications
Given the pressure experienced by mission-driven organizations to integrate multiple sustainability demands in their mission, understanding managers' decision-making mechanism when adapting to new, often conflicting, sustainability demands is important to accelerate societal sustainability transitions.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the process of new strategy design in the context of a socially driven business. This context fundamentally differs from the one addressed by the existing heuristics literature with respect to organizational environment and role, and specific competing demands.
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Andrea Caccialanza, Daniele Cerrato and Davide Galli
This study comprehensively depicts the state of the art on sustainability research in the meat supply chain to advance the debate on challenges and issues associated with…
Abstract
Purpose
This study comprehensively depicts the state of the art on sustainability research in the meat supply chain to advance the debate on challenges and issues associated with developing sustainable supply chain management practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic literature review of 333 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and organized the extant literature into five areas of supply chain management practices: strategic orientation, continuity, collaboration, risk management, and proactivity.
Findings
Since 2016, the meat supply chain has received increasing scholarly attention. The literature shows the diffusion of highly heterogeneous sustainability practices related to multiple management areas and levels of analysis (institutional, industry, firm). The need for integrated, multilevel initiatives involving different stakeholders becomes increasingly crucial to the transition towards more sustainable meat supply chains.
Practical implications
This study highlights the importance of regulatory and stakeholder pressures in the sustainability transition. Beyond setting regulatory requirements, policymakers may facilitate the establishment of collaborations within the meat supply chain and foster the development of support services that help firms to integrate sustainability in their business models. The review also alerts entrepreneurs and managers to the benefits from cooperating with their supply chain partners to navigate the industry transition and thus more effectively respond to the demands of stakeholders and to the increasing customers’ awareness of sustainability issues.
Originality/value
This study is the first to systematize the corpus of knowledge on the sustainability of the meat supply chain by adopting a comprehensive approach to analyze relevant management and agriculture literature.
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Cristina Sancha, Leopoldo Gutierrez-Gutierrez, Ignacio Tamayo-Torres and Cristina Gimenez Thomsen
This article studies the role played by sustainability operations management (OM) practices in the relationship between governance and environmental and social performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This article studies the role played by sustainability operations management (OM) practices in the relationship between governance and environmental and social performance adopting the lenses of the upper echelons theory and the resource-based view. In particular, the authors study three main relationships: (1) the impact of governance on the implementation of sustainability OM practices, (2) the impact of sustainability OM practices on sustainability performance and (3) the mediating role of sustainability OM practices in the relationship between governance and sustainability performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To test this study’s research model, the authors retrieved secondary data of 430 firms from the United Stated (US) and Europe and analyzed it using partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
This study’s results suggest that sustainability OM practices are needed to achieve higher social and environmental performance outcomes from governance, highlighting the key role of the OM department in the achievement of a sustainability strategy.
Originality/value
This paper adopts the environmental, social, governance (ESG) neglected focus and aims to provide a better understanding of and reveal the interrelationship between governance and sustainability OM practices (i.e. environmental and social).
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Mattia Martini, Egidio Riva and Elisabetta Marafioti
The present study connects the literature on sustainable HRM with that on employability to investigate the relationship between sustainability-oriented human resource actions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study connects the literature on sustainable HRM with that on employability to investigate the relationship between sustainability-oriented human resource actions and organizational outcomes. More specifically, this study explores how training for employability affects the employer–employee relationship and employee retention. Furthermore, this study considers competitive intensity as a potential moderator in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses draw on the fourth European Company Survey (ECS 2019) with a sample of 21?869 firms with more than ten employees. Two separate logistic regression models were used to test the hypothesis.
Findings
The results show that training for employability contributes to improving the employer–employee relationship and that competitive intensity positively shapes this relationship. Contextually, training for employability reduces the overall employee retention of the firm.
Originality/value
Although this study supports the potential win–win nature of employability support, especially for companies that operate in competitive markets and an uncertain environment, it also highlights the existence of paradoxical sustainability tensions that should be managed by employers.
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The purpose of this study is to identify the pathway that leads to cities to proceeding towards urban sustainability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the pathway that leads to cities to proceeding towards urban sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
This study intends to propose a theoretical analysis on the city as sustainable community that drives urban development adopting a smart vision for urban growth.
Findings
Cities as sustainable urban communities develop smartness as a vision for change understanding and developing the potential offered by information technology reinforcing the community by shaping collaborative governance.
Research limitations/implications
Cities using information technology as a source for urban sustainability develop smartness to evolve as smart communities following a managerial and organizational view towards sustainability as a source for continuous innovation and change within urban ecosystem.
Originality/value
Cities identify a sustainability-oriented and community-driven pathway as a vision for continuous change that helps to improve urban competitiveness, innovation and democracy ensuring high quality of life by strengthening the potential offered by technology-enabled and human-centred smartness.
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Aureo Paiva Neto, Elaine Aparecida Lopes da Silva, Lissa Valéria Fernandes Ferreira and José Felipe Ribeiro Araújo
This paper aims to explore a hotel brand personality performance through electronic word-of-mouth. A complementary attribute is designed and tested in addition to the already…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore a hotel brand personality performance through electronic word-of-mouth. A complementary attribute is designed and tested in addition to the already existing five dimensions from the brand personality scale, denominated sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 16,175 reviews from the rating session of three hotel properties behind a brand was retrieved from TripAdvisor for a data mining procedure. A complementary list of associated words was considered in addition to the 42 personality traits of Aaker’s model, and a brief inventory was developed based on the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to compose the sustainability dimension.
Findings
This study registered sincerity as the most representative dimension in its results, and ruggedness as the lowest. This is evidence that the latter is not suitable for representing a brand personality scale for hotels and could be replaced by sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the relevant findings, new surveys and tests are recommended to provide better support to the new proposed dimension.
Practical implications
This investigation enables hotel managers to work more effectively on their brand strategies based on sustainability-oriented brand personality, which could deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to the world by influencing consumption behavior in association with the SDGs.
Originality/value
This study differs from existing literature by attempting to fill a gap on the limitations of studies focused on linking brand personality to sustainability, and using data mining to reach this goal.
研究目的
本论文探索通过电子口碑形式的酒店品牌个性效用。本论文设计和检测了一个附加要素 (计价可持续性), 对现有的五项维度品牌个性量表进行补充
研究设计/方法/途径
本文样本为TripAdvisor同一品牌的三家酒店的16,175评论, 对其进行数据挖掘。本文扩充了Aaker模型的42项个性特点外的相关词汇, 并且建立了基于17项可持续发展战略目标(SDGs)的词汇库, 以确定可持续性维度
研究结果
本论文确立了真诚度为结果中最具代表性的维度, 坚固性为最低代表度。显而易见, 坚固性不适合代表酒店品牌个性, 需要被可持续性取代
研究理论限制/意义
尽管相关结果, 本文建议采用新问卷和测试来为新提出的维度做更好的理论支持
研究实际意义
hx672C;论文使得酒店经理能够更高效地运作, 基于可持续品牌个性的品牌战略, 这将带来结合SDGs的消费行为, 从而对世界带来经济、社会、和环境效益
研究原创性/价值
本论文区别于以往的文献, 连接品牌个性与可持续性, 使用数据挖掘的方法, 来实现研究目的, 对有限的相关文献做出贡献
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Sebastiano Cupertino, Gianluca Vitale and Angelo Riccaboni
This paper aims to investigate whether being sustainable is also profitable for agri-food companies in the short-term.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate whether being sustainable is also profitable for agri-food companies in the short-term.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analysed the impacts of sustainability multiple issues on one-year lagged return on assets, developing a longitudinal analysis focused on best and worst companies' samples for a timeframe of ten years. Notably, we performed OLS regressions on unbalanced panels data collecting overall 1,760 annual observations from 318 companies. Moreover, we examined the moderating effects of slack resources on the relationship between sustainability and the short-term firms' profitability.
Findings
The results show that the best sustainable companies usually improve future profitability. Conversely, the worst ones should prioritize efforts in specific initiatives (i.e. responsible products, eco-innovation, management and governance commitment to sustainability), which positively affect their profitability and compensate possible short-term financial losses due to CSR strategy execution and sustainable production/supply chain management. Finally, the study found mixed results regarding the moderating effects of slack resources on the scrutinized relationships.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the key environmental, social and governance aspects to be addressed for consolidating and enhancing the virtuous relationship between non-financial and financial performance, distinguishing between best and worst sustainability performers.
Originality/value
This study is among the first that decomposed sustainability in multiple micro aspects (i.e. sustainable strategy, products and processes) investigating the effects of each of them on the short-term agri-food firms' profitability.
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Jessica Wehner, Naghmeh Taghavi Nejad Deilami, Ceren Altuntas Vural and Árni Halldórsson
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework consisting of actions, processes (i.e. at the operations interface) and services (i.e. at the customer interface).
Design/methodology/approach
Following a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability managers at LSPs and the data were analysed via inductive coding. Based on the results and the literature, the authors developed a maturity model for LSPs' transitions to environmental sustainability.
Findings
LSPs' sustainable development occurs via operational processes, services at the customer interface, and actions that support those processes and services. Energy efficiency efforts are characterised by process depth that helps LSPs to align with their customers' energy efficiency improvement processes. While services related to energy efficiency connect LSPs and their customers, actions in support vary depending on the logistics activities in which LSPs participate.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to test and verify the maturity model and to clarify the interdependency of its three dimensions.
Practical implications
By categorising energy efficiency initiatives and proposing a maturity model for LSPs' sustainable development via energy efficiency, the authors have developed a tool for logistics actors to assess their progress towards improved sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by providing a three-pillar framework to understand the sustainability transitions of LSPs through energy efficiency. Developing a maturity model using this framework also contributes to the literature with an approach to assess sustainability advancement in the logistics industry.
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Fabricio Stocker, Aymen Sajjad, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq and Larissa Marchiori Pacheco
Paola Ferretti, Cristina Gonnella and Pierluigi Martino
Drawing insights from institutional theory, this paper aims to examine whether and to what extent banks have reconfigured their management control systems (MCSs) in response to…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing insights from institutional theory, this paper aims to examine whether and to what extent banks have reconfigured their management control systems (MCSs) in response to growing institutional pressures towards sustainability, understood as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted an exploratory study at the three largest Italian banking groups to shed light on changes made in MCSs to account for ESG issues. The analysis is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with managers from the sustainability and controls areas, as well as from other relevant operational areas particularly concerned with the integration process of ESG issues. Additionally, secondary data sources were used. The Malmi and Brown (2008) MCS framework, consisting of a package of five types of formal and informal control mechanisms, was used to structure and analyse the empirical data.
Findings
The examined banks widely implemented numerous changes to their MCSs as a response to the heightened sustainability pressures from regulatory bodies and stakeholders. In particular, with the exception of action planning, the results show an extensive integration of ESG issues into the five control mechanisms of Malmi and Brown’s framework, namely, long-term planning, cybernetic, reward/compensation, administrative and cultural controls.
Practical implications
By identifying the approaches banks followed in reconfiguring traditional MCSs, this research sheds light on how adequate MCSs can promote banks’ “sustainable behaviours”. The results can, thus, contribute to defining best practices on how MCSs can be redesigned to support the integration of ESG issues into the banks’ way of doing business.
Originality/value
Overall, the findings support the theoretical assertion that institutional pressures influence the design of banks’ MCSs, and that both formal and informal controls are necessary to ensure a real engagement towards sustainability. More specifically, this study reveals that MCSs, by encompassing both formal and informal controls, are central to enabling banks to appropriately understand, plan and control the transition towards business models fully oriented to the integration of ESG issues. Thereby, this allows banks to effectively respond to the increased stakeholder demands around ESG concerns.
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