Exploring the business benefits of environmental stewardship

Environmental sensitivity has gained much attention in business organizations; however, there is little empirical evidence on the business benefits from environment-oriented measures. Some of the many promised benefits from environmental sensitivity are categorized and rated. The framework proposed by the Management Institute for Environment and Business is used to assess company environmental stewardship. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data from 133 business organizations known to have undertaken at least some ‘green business’ activities. The results from Pearson correlation analysis suggest that companies showing higher degrees of environmental stewardship will derive greater business benefits than organizations which aim at minimum compliance with government regulations in this area.     

Stakeholders in high-performance work systems

Recent research investigating human resource management (HRM) in organizations has used the systems approach which views HRM as a coherent set of practices. In particular, the notion of high-performance work system identifies a set of HRM practices that are presumed to be more responsive to the environmental challenges currently faced by organizations. Empirical studies have confirmed the system notion, particularly of what has been referred to as the high-performance work system, and its impact on organizations. Explaining its existence in organizations, which will help address the question of limited adoption, is only beginning, with one study each done in Great Britain and Canada. The present study extends the notion of competing interest groups to explain the existence of an HRM system, using more active influence measures. A sample of 222 business organizations in the United States reveals that, of four likely interest groups examined, unions and HRM departments prove to have competing interests in a high-performance work system.     

Transfer of labour‐management partnership in multinational companies

There has been a growing interest in how multinational corporations transfer various management practices from one country to another. The positions vary from an extreme where all practices will become globally standardised; to claims that the local context will be a decisive factor. In this article, the research question is why an MNC would want to transfer the partnership practice and what the key elements to success might be. As pointed to, partnership is a part of the company's business system, the way they are used to operating. Also important is that the risk of failing in terms of technological issues was important, and thus commitment and cooperation are crucial. Success can be understood by their effort to reduce the institutional distance as much as possible, including the choice of location, hiring policy emphasis on education and training, the strategy of building strong connections to the senior shop steward.     

Benefits of Environmental Stewardship

Abstract

Environmental sensitivity has gained much attention in business organizations; however, there is little empirical evidence on the business benefits from environment oriented measures. Some of the many promised benefits from environmental sensitivity are categorized and rated. The framework proposed by the Management Institute for Environment and Business (MEB) is used to assess company environment stewardship. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from 66 business organizations in the United States and from 31 organizations in Pacific Rim nations. These organizations were known to have undertaken at least some “green business” activities. The results suggest that companies showing higher degrees of environment stewardship will derive greater business benefits than organizations which aim at minimum compliance with government regulations in this area. While, compared with American organizations, on the average the Pacific Rim companies show significantly less environmental stewardship and derive significantly less benefits from it, “their efforts in the area have also been rewarded.”     

The environment is free: The quality analogy

This paper argues that quality improvement approaches can be applied in the environmental context. Although environmental issues can occasionally negatively impact an organization's core business, most environmental programs, if properly channeled, can lead to both improved profitability and increased social responsibility. It is argued that time-proven techniques that have helped reduce quality costs and improve market share can provide similar results when applied to many environmental problems. Techniques based on the Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) philosophy (which is based on integrating Total Quality Management (TQM) methods and environmental management methods) are already being used by many organizations. This paper builds upon the TQEM concept (which emphasizes four basic elements: customer identification, continuous improvement, do the job right the first time and a systems approach to work) by showing how other principles used in quality management can also be applied to environmental management. The issues are then illustrated through a case study of a leading German manufacturer, Bosch-Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH.     

Career development in organizations and beyond: Balancing traditional and contemporary viewpoints

The changing nature of work has resulted in major transition in the shape of careers and their management within and outside organizations. Scholars, though, tend to suggest that the changes are overwhelming and colossal, whereas in reality much has remained stable. In this paper, I bring a balanced view of the management of careers in organizations and beyond. This paper takes into account recent developments in the nature of the business environment, and at the same time acknowledges that much of the basics in career development theory and practice is still valid for Western societies.     

Environmental responsibility in SMEs: does it deliver competitive advantage?

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can gain a competitive advantage and create sustainable business by adopting environmental good practices. However, the perceptions of SMEs and their approach to environmental improvements suggest that there are some fundamental misunderstandings and difficulties in achieving this in practice. A questionnaire‐based study of SMEs and their responses to the current requirements of environmental good practice was carried out in South Yorkshire. Follow‐up interviews and factory visits were also carried out. The study aimed to assess the ability of SMEs to create a competitive advantage by adopting environmental good practice and making environmental improvements to their business. The main findings were that most organizations surveyed believed environmental issues to be issues affecting their business. However, the meeting of these requirements was seen as a cost that was not transferable to customers in terms of added benefits and few organizations could show that it led to a competitive advantage. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Developing key human resources in China: an assessment of University Management Schools in Beijing,Shanghai and Tianjin in the decade 1979–88

This article focuses on differences and dynamics with respect to the organization of learning at work. It starts with a reflection on actual research perspectives on the subject of training in organizations. Four perspectives, which are currently dominant in the educational and social sciences, will be discussed: the structure-oriented approach, the system-oriented approach, the actor-oriented approach and the network approach. The network approach is a particularly promising new development in training research. We will elaborate this approach here and illustrate its potential by applying it to the analysis of training systems in two different types of organizations: bureaucratic and professional organizations. Data from recent case studies demonstrate that these types of organizations show remarkable differences with respect to the basic processes of their training systems: the shaping of training policies, the development of training programmes and the execution of training activities. In practice, training systems are much more organization-specific than training literature usually suggests. A network approach to training can provide a better understanding of the backgrounds of this organizational variety.     

Balancing priorities: Decision-making in sustainable supply chain management

The need for environmental protection and increasing demands for natural resources are forcing companies to reconsider their business models and restructure their supply chain operations. Scholars and proactive companies have begun to create more sustainable supply chains. What has not been fully addressed is how organizations deal with short-term pressures to remain economically viable while implementing these newly modeled supply chains. In this study, we use theory-building through case studies to answer the question: how do organizations balance short-term profitability and long-term environmental sustainability when making supply chain decisions under conditions of uncertainty? We present five sets of propositions that explain how exemplars in green supply chain management make decisions and balance short and long term objectives. We also identify four environmental postures that help explain the decisions organizations make when dealing with strategic trade-offs among the economic, environmental and social elements of the triple-bottom-line.     

Sustainable Production: Practices and Determinant Factors of Green Supply Chain Management of Chinese Companies

This paper explores the green supply chain management (GSCM) of companies based in the Yangtze River Delta, China. The companies' overall GSCM practice level (L_GSCM) is measured by using the data from 165 valid respondents in a questionnaire survey conducted during April and May 2009. The relationships between L_GSCM and the classified determinant factors are analyzed. It is indicated that Chinese companies are still at a preliminary stage of GSCM practices. Their environmental management in cooperation with external members of the supply chain is very marginal. A company's L_GSCM is significantly and positively associated with the external pressures from regulatory, domestic clients and business competitors. As an internal factor, a company's learning capacity greatly determines L_GSCM. We also confirm that the internal factors function as intermediate variables of external pressures in influencing a company's GSCM. A company's environmental management capacities will be strongly enhanced by frequent internal training of employees to increase its involvement in GSCM practices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Environmental purchasing and supplier management (EPSM): Theory and practice

The purpose of this research is to explore current literature and practice specifically in environmental purchasing and supplier management (EPSM) in order to understand current activities and also to suggest avenues for future research. First, an assessment of the current literature in environmental purchasing was completed which showed that most of the research in environmental purchasing is not grounded in theory, and is just beginning to appear in premiere business journals, as defined by the Financial Times journal list. This was followed by an examination of company practices in environmental purchasing by assessing a targeted cross-industry subsection of 68 corporate sustainability reports. This analysis revealed that the organizations studied are still in the relatively early stages of environmental purchasing and supplier management, and practices vary by industry predominantly because of external pressure towards environmental sustainability. The authors conclude that given the relatively early stage of development of environmental purchasing practice and research, there is significant opportunity in this area to develop theory and to influence practitioner behavior.     

Corporate Environmental Paradigms in Shift: Learning During the Course of Action at UPM–Kymmene

Contrary to the popular conception in the corporate environmental management literature that corporations must learn new ecocentric paradigms before they can be expected to produce environmentally sound performance, the present results suggest that cognitive–level environmental learning in organizations does not inevitably precede behaviour change. Rather, at least partially, such learning is likely to occur in the course of action. The article also proposes that external pressure can set motion, but it alone does not lead to an environmental paradigm shift. In order to undergo such a shift, organizations will have to learn a meaning of their own to support new, more environmentally sound forms of activity.
The present study examines empirically how two companies have learnt to incorporate environmental considerations into their managerial paradigms. It adopts a perspective according to which learning is portrayed as a process in which changes are brought about in the collective beliefs that the organization members hold about the relationship of their business to the natural environment (i.e. environmental management paradigm). Applying the grounded theory approach, the article identifies phases of environmental learning starting from the recognition or rejection of weak signals in 'pockets' of the organization, continuing through the gaining of new knowledge and experience towards 'competition' between old and new assumptions about the business–environment relationship, and finally proceeding to potential frame–break.     

Applying the reduce,reuse, and recycle principle in the hospitality sector: Its antecedents and performance implications

Although the literature on eco-friendly strategies followed by firms is abundant, the focus on the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rs) policies as the cornerstone of environmental sustainability is scarce. This study examines the 3Rs environmental strategy among 143 large organizations in the hospitality industry. We use the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm theory to test the strategy's determinants and its impact on business performance on a suggested conceptualization level. As hypothesized, green corporate governance and environmental management systems, along with slack financial resources, were found to positively influence the adoption of a 3Rs environmental strategy. In turn, the implementation of the latter leads to superior business performance, measured in terms of operating profits and Tobin's Q. The study has several implications on a theoretical, managerial, and public policy level where intriguing directions for future research are provided.     

Environmental Policies and Firm Value

Many organizations are currently becoming more environmentally friendly. Eco‐efficiency maximizes the effectiveness of a business operation while reducing its impact on the environment; with the necessary skills, organizations can create more value while using less input. Prior empirical studies have suggested that firms engaging in eco‐efficient activities are better valued than those without such activities. Therefore, this will enhance business efficiency and excellence. This study investigates the link between eco‐efficiency, as environmental policy, and firm value in the United Kingdom (UK) for the period 1999 to 2008. We generate new insights into environmental–financial performance by using different definitions of the term ‘eco‐efficiency’. In the UK context our results support that eco‐efficient firms have higher market values than those lacking environmental strategies. Hence, we recommend that firms become involved in environmental polices since the adoption of these polices will have a positive impact on firm value. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Corporate environmental performance evaluation: a measurement model and a new concept

While many third‐party organizations are practically evaluating corporate environmental performance (CEP), few academic studies have paid attention to third‐party environmental performance evaluation (EPE). To answer the question of what should be measured for third‐party EPE, we develop an environmental performance measurement (EPM) model consisting of environmental management performance (EMP) and environmental operational performance (EOP), and hypothesize that EMP be measured by four management performance indicators (MPIs: organizational system, stakeholder relations, operational countermeasures and environmental tracking) and EOP be measured by two operational performance indicators (OPIs: inputs and outputs). Further, to answer the question of how to enable third‐party EPE comparable across companies from different (sub‐)sectors, we propose to use the environmental intensity change index (EICI) as a measure of OPIs. Empirical tests confirm that the EICI and the evaluation based on it are comparable across companies from different sub‐sectors. Empirical tests also support the existence of the MPIs and OPIs and the two‐dimensioned constructs of CEP. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Managing the environmental adaptation process in supplier–customer relationships

This paper details the results and managerial implications from four case studies, which examine how the environmental adaptation process (EAP) is managed within business‐to‐business relationships. The research uses models of supplier–customer interaction and inter‐organization cooperation in order to explore inter‐firm relationships and the process of adaptation. The research findings show that either party might pursue adaptations and also establishes features of the process itself as well as identifying factors that can facilitate or hinder the introduction of environmental changes. Arriving at a satisfactory outcome to the adaptation process can be determined by individual company and relationship characteristics, as well as the behaviour and experience of those managers involved in the process. Guidelines for the management of the process of environmental adaptation are proposed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Assessing the implementation of sustainable public procurement using quantitative text-analysis tools: A large-scale analysis of Belgian public procurement notices

Public organizations are using sustainable public procurement (SPP) as a policy tool to address societal and environmental issues. Having a policy on SPP however does not guarantee implementation. Several barriers have for example been identified that prevent public procurers from implementing SPP in their procurement projects, such as financial constraints, lack of knowledge or motivation. The question therefore arises how much SPP public organizations actually implement in their procurement projects. However, existing studies often focus on the environmental part of SPP and often rely on using interviews or surveys to assess the perceived degree of SPP (which have been accused of being subject to social desirability bias and low response rates). Little is therefore known about what SPP is in practice, and how frequently it is implemented. In this study, we therefore provide a detailed operationalization of SPP that encompasses the full concept. We subsequently assess the implementation of SPP in practice using text mining techniques to analyse over 140.000 Belgian public procurement notices that were published between 2011 and 2016. The research shows that in more than 70% of the notices (with an annex) SPP is implemented, but there appears to be a downward trend. It seems that SPP is implemented less over time, rather than more. Environmentally friendly procurement was, relative to other types of SPP, prevalent over time and across regions. For SPP to live up to its potential there are thus still barriers to be overcome.     

Corporate Strategies for Managing Climate Risks

This paper focuses on organizations and their management of climate risks. Climate risks stem from continued changes in climate means and the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. We ask whether companies also apply the usual process of corporate risk management to climate risks. In seeking to answer this question, we review several literature streams in order to set out an initial theoretical reflection. Based on this we conducted an exploratory case study with 11 electric utilities. Our results illustrate that these companies perceive climatic changes as a material issue for their business. However, management has restricted knowledge about such climatic changes and thus cannot precisely determine the potential negative impacts on business activities. As a consequence, the companies have implemented a climate risk management that does not differ from the usual process of managing other business risks. Our results further illustrate that there is some variation in how individual firms manage climate risks: While risk identification and risk assessment are equally important for all electric utilities, there are differences in how management determines the direction of the individual response to climate risks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models

Business model innovation has seen a recent surge in academic research and business practice. Changes to business models are recognized as a fundamental approach to realize innovations for sustainability. However, little is known about the successful adoption of sustainable business models (SBMs). The purpose of this paper is to develop a unified theoretical perspective for understanding business model innovations that lead to better organizational economic, environmental and social performance. The paper examines bodies of literature on business model innovation, sustainability innovation, networks theory, stakeholder theory and product–service systems. We develop five propositions that support the creation of SBMs in a unified perspective, which lays a foundation to support organizations in investigating and experimenting with alternative new business models. This article contributes to the emerging field of SBMs, which embed economic, environmental and social flows of value that are created, delivered and captured in a value network. It highlights gaps for addressing the challenges of business model innovation for sustainability and suggests avenues for future research. © 2017 The Authors. Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

The scope and trajectory of strategic HR research: evidence from American and British journals

Many have argued that the field of human resource (HR) management has successfully transformed itself from the functional orientation of personnel management to a strategic orientation that is more relevant to the goals and effectiveness of business in the current competitive landscape. In this article, we assess that proposition by reviewing almost 1000 award-winning papers and articles published in leading US and British management journals since the mid-1990s. We use this data to evaluate the scope of HR research in the field, the extent to which it has changed, and whether changes in this research have kept pace with changes that organizations face in the current global economy. Consistent with the strategic HR framework, we find that the question of the link between HR and performance has, indeed, become the dominant one among both micro- and macro-organizational scholars. Contrary to expectations, however, micro-level research continues to be more prevalent than macro-organizational studies; and we find little change in the subjects and sites of research or theoretical approaches adopted. These characteristics of HR research are in sharp contrast with the dramatic changes occurring in the world of work – suggesting a mismatch between what HR scholars study and what issues and dilemmas organizations face. Finally, by assessing similarities and differences between the American and British scholarship, we are able to suggest a research agenda, more relevant to the current global economy, which builds on the strengths of each tradition.