Business Strategy and Development最新文献

The emergence of climate change calls for the high-intensity adoption of sustainability practices in all business actors, especially small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). Yet the adoption of such practices remains lag far lower than developed nations. This article examines the relationship between sustainability practices, a firm's strategic movements towards co-innovation and entrepreneurial orientation, and SMEs performance. Using quantitative data from questionnaires, a total of 450 SMEs in Vietnam participated in this research. The results indicate two crucial findings. First, economic and social sustainability practices enable technological innovation and innovation outcomes through co-innovation and entrepreneurial orientation. Second, the effectiveness of technological innovation on SMEs performance is examined in a developing country context. These findings will provide empirical evidence for SMEs and corporations in developing countries to craft sustainable orientations and practices to aid the Sustainable Development Goals.

Geopolitical risk (GPR) presents a profound challenge to firms, particularly in regions with persistent political instability. In Eastern Europe, where conflicts like the Russia–Ukraine war heighten uncertainty, firms face immediate financial threats and long-term strategic vulnerabilities. This study examines the impact of GPR on firm performance, focusing on the moderating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices as a resilience mechanism. Using a comprehensive dataset of 1360 publicly listed firms across Poland, Russia, and Ukraine from 2014 to 2023, the analysis employs a base panel data regression model, followed by a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) approach to account for endogeneity and ensure robustness. The findings reveal a significant negative relationship between GPR and firm performance, measured by return on assets (ROA). Firms exposed to higher geopolitical risks exhibit weaker profitability. However, firms with stronger ESG performance demonstrate greater resilience, as the GMM results show that ESG engagement moderates the adverse effects of GPR on profitability. This suggests that ESG initiatives enhance adaptive capacity in volatile geopolitical environments. In terms of policy implications, ESG should be promoted as a key strategy for firms operating in politically unstable regions. Governments and regulatory bodies may consider mandatory ESG disclosures and incentivizing sustainability practices to help firms mitigate external risks, improve financial resilience, and attract stable investment. Aligning corporate strategies with global ESG standards is essential to ensuring business sustainability amid ongoing geopolitical threats.

This study is designed to conduct a systematic literature review aimed at assessing the influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on firm value. Although previous studies have explored their relationship, a comprehensive systematic review on this topic is still lacking. We conducted a detailed literature search in the Scopus and Web of Science databases and identified 73 papers published between 2016 and 2023 as the sample, covering annual trends, country and industry distribution, theoretical frameworks, proxy variables, research methods, research results, and provided direction for future research. We found a significant increase in the number of studies over the past 3 years. Cross-country studies dominated the field, with most research adopting multi-industry analysis, while studies focusing on a single industry were relatively rare. The stakeholder theory and agency theory were the most widely applied theories. Most studies showed that ESG performance had a positive effect on firm value, reflecting the growing importance that markets and investors placed on ESG performance and its contribution to long-term firm growth. However, some studies reported negative or insignificant effects, noting that the effects of ESG performance varied by industry, region, and market environment. This study suggests that future research should explore the independent and interactive effects of each ESG dimension on firm value, focusing on dynamic relationships across industries and regions, using new methods and models, and incorporating moderating variables. This study provides practical guidance for firm managers and policymakers to optimize ESG practices, enhancing firm value and promoting sustainability.

We examine the effect of female board members and foreign institutional investors on corporate social responsibility (sustainability) disclosure in Indonesian listed firms from 2015 to 2017. Our final sample comprised 1192 firm-year observations. We apply ordinary least squares pool regression to estimate the associations and address the endogeneity problem using the two-stage least squares model, generalized method of moments, and lagged variables. While previous studies have focused on the impact of female board members and foreign institutional investors on financial outcomes, we extend the literature by investigating the association between both female board members and foreign investors and sustainable disclosure in Indonesia, where the participation of women is nominal, especially at the top management level, and the level of foreign ownership is high. Our findings propose a proportion of women as board members for listed firms and promote attractive policies to increase the number of foreign investors investing in Indonesia. It also contributes to conflicting results regarding the relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment. Our results were robust after testing for endogeneity and adding more control variables. Overall, the findings have practical implications for policymakers and investors regarding corporate disclosure and governance in Indonesia.

This study explores the integration of sustainable technological innovation (STI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the Spanish agricultural sector, aiming to enhance competitiveness and sustainability. Departing from previous research that often underrepresents the unique dynamics of this sector, our analysis employs both theoretical frameworks and empirical data to assess the interplay between STI and CSR. We develop a composite CSR indicator and analyze its association with regional R&D + i investment across Spain. Findings indicate that STI adoption, particularly in precision agriculture and smart livestock management, significantly enhances CSR outcomes by optimizing resource utilization and minimizing environmental impact. However, notable regional disparities emerge, influenced by economic resources, infrastructure, and policy environments. This study contributes to the literature by elucidating the role of STI in fostering sustainable agricultural practices and underscores the necessity for targeted policy interventions to support regions lagging in CSR performance. The results advocate for integrating technological innovation with CSR strategies to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness in the agricultural sector.

The world faces significant challenges, particularly in low-income countries, where cross-sector partnerships strive to create positive social change. Operating under severe uncertainty, these partnerships encounter various disturbances threatening their progress. Despite these challenges, our study explores the resilience strategies that these partnerships use to foster positive social change, an area previously underexplored. Our study uses a qualitative multiple-case study of four cross-sector partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we collected data via interviews, workshops, and archival sources and used thematic analysis to uncover key resilience strategies. Our findings reveal a cyclical process where, when facing disturbances, cross-sector partnerships respond with resilience strategies that help them mitigate disruptions, adapt to changing conditions, and continue expanding their positive impact. In doing so, they drive positive social change through core activities within their socio-ecological system. This research expands existing theories of organizational resilience by highlighting how cross-sector partnerships in low-income contexts can not only survive, but also expand their impact of positive social change, through resilience.

This study investigates the strategic role of carbon disclosure in shaping firm performance and board heterogeneity among heavily polluting companies in Bangladesh from 2013 to 2023. Using empirical data from 150 companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, the research examines the impact of board diversity—specifically gender, tenure, and educational heterogeneity—on carbon disclosure practices. The findings reveal that board gender and tenure heterogeneity negatively affect carbon disclosure, whereas educational heterogeneity has a positive impact. Additionally, firm performance shows a negative effect on carbon disclosure but does not significantly moderate the influence of board heterogeneity. These results underscore the importance of board diversity in enhancing carbon disclosure practices, thereby contributing to improved environmental management and firm performance in heavily polluting industries in Bangladesh. This research, grounded in legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and corporate governance literature, provides valuable insights for academics, practitioners, and policymakers focused on business strategies for environmental sustainability.

In recent years, the rise in the utilization of business intelligence (BI) as a pivotal tool for enhancing economic performance has spurred considerable interest. This study, anchored in resource-based theory, delves into the intricate relationships among BI, environmental performance (EP), financial performance (FP), green accounting (GA), and energy efficiency (EE) within manufacturing firms in Bangladesh. Employing a multistage stratified random sampling technique, a structured questionnaire was administered to 368 participants over 5 months starting in June 2023. The study employs a comprehensive analytical method that includes disjoint two-stage PLS-based structural equation modeling, artificial neural networks, and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to ensure robust and insightful results. The findings highlight the positive and significant impact of BI on EP, FP, GA, and EE for manufacturing firms, demonstrating the efficacy of BI in driving improvements across environmental and financial metrics. Notably, the study unveils the mediating effects of EE between GA and FP, as well as between BI and FP, emphasizing the crucial role of EE in bolstering financial outcomes. Moreover, EP emerges as a mediator between BI and GA, underscoring the connectedness of these constructs within the organizational frame. Pioneering in offering a BI-integrated concepts for environmental and FP, exploring mediating effects, and applying the integrated modeling approach, this research provides theoretical insights and practical implications, offering valuable guidance for stakeholders aiming to leverage BI strategies effectively.

The relevance of environmental sustainability has grown significantly among academics, professionals, and the general public. A variety of factors influence an economy's ability to support its environmental sustainability. Foreign direct investment (FDI), financial development (FD), green technological innovation (GTI), and green finance (GF) are pillars that hold the key to accomplishing sustainability goals. Despite extensive studies on the factors influencing green finance, there remains a gap in grasping the impact of green finance and various investment factors on environmental sustainability. The study's objective is to analyze the relationship between ecological sustainability, green financing, FDI, innovative green technologies, and FD in developing countries. The study employed a fixed effect and random effect model with robustness analysis to gain an empirical understanding of the relationship. The findings highlighted that green finance plays a crucial role in green technologies and encourages economies to embrace sustainability. It also supports the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) and the understanding that an increase in FDI has a positive relationship with carbon emission. The study makes a significant novel contribution by analyzing the combined influence of financial and green technological development on environmental sustainability. The numerous theoretical and practical implications for addressing the constraints posed by the PHH include tightening domestic legislation, developing international cooperation, and pushing the adoption of cleaner technology throughout industries. It helps governments enact effective environmental regulations to encourage green investment and technological innovation to have a beneficial knock-on effect on cutting ecological sustainability.

Environmental strategy research has often used organizational interpretation as a key lens for understanding how firms engage in sensemaking around natural environmental issues and environmental performance. This work has rarely empirically tested the proposed relationships of organizational interpretation in firms' sensemaking around environmental issues nor the relationship between firms' environmental sensemaking and environmental performance. We empirically test this relationship, capturing environmental sensemaking through computer-aided text analysis (CATA) of published sustainability reports, and environmental performance with the Trucost environmental dataset. Mixed-effects general linear modeling on a bespoke longitudinal dataset of 117 publicly traded companies from 2005 to 2018 reveals the three stages of the organization interpretation model of sensemaking—scanning, interpreting, and responding—align as expected. We also find firms' environmental scanning relates with year-over-year improvement in environmental performance, yet environmental interpreting correlates with worsening environmental performance. Additionally, larger firms and firms in industries with high carbon emissions gather more environmental data and exhibit more extensive environmental interpreting. This research provides insight for scholars by testing environmental sensemaking and exploring the boundary conditions of sensemaking and performance, and for practitioners and policymakers by offering a new framework for analyzing and interpreting sustainability reports and corporate environmental performance.