Business Strategy and Development最新文献

We examine how governance mechanisms influence strategic change, with particular focus on the role of board gender diversity (BGD). Using a data set of 242 Italian nonfinancial listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we specifically investigate how governance mechanisms, such as board size, board independence, CEO gender, ownership concentration, and CEO duality, affect strategic change. Our results, grounded in agency and resource dependence theories, show that board independence, CEO gender, ownership concentration, and BGD each contribute positively to strategic change. In contrast, larger boards and CEO duality have a negative influence. Importantly, we find that BGD modifies the impact of other governance mechanisms on strategic change. Gender-diverse boards accentuate the positive effects of board independence, CEO gender, and ownership concentration on strategic change while attenuating the negative impact of board size. These results suggest that BGD not only adds value directly but also improves the effectiveness of other governance components. Firms can promote strategic change by optimizing their governance structures, particularly by increasing BGD, which contributes to positive governance outcomes and mitigates the drawbacks of certain governance mechanisms. Practitioners can use these insights to structure their boards more effectively, emphasizing independence, CEO gender, and ownership concentration to drive strategic change. Additionally, firms may reconsider their approach to board size and CEO duality to minimize potential adverse effects on strategic change, leading to practical assessments and potential restructuring of existing boards.

This study investigates the critical disconnect between the strategic discourse of academic literature and the operational discourse of the public on Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). Grounded in Stakeholder Theory, our objective is to empirically map and theoretically explain this gap. Employing a comparative mixed-methods design, we analyze large text corpora from academic databases (Scopus/DOAJ) and social media (X/Twitter) using computational topic modeling and thematic analysis. The findings reveal a stark divergence: while academic discourse prioritizes systemic strategies and policy integration, public discourse is overwhelmingly focused on visible, consumer-facing actions like recycling and eco-packaging. Critically, the social dimension of sustainability is starkly marginalized in public conversations compared to its theoretical treatment in academia. We argue this disconnect is a function of differing stakeholder salience in each domain, where public narratives amplify consumer interests while academic work aligns with regulatory and investor priorities. This study's contributions include empirically substantiating the discourse gap and extending Stakeholder Theory to explain digital discursive dynamics. The findings highlight a “discursive liability” for firms, underscoring the urgent need for integrated communication strategies that align systemic progress with public perception.

This study investigates the impact of gender diversity in management (GIM) on corporate financial performance (CFP) in sustainable practices, focusing on the moderating effects of sustainable product innovation (SPI) and socially responsible investment (SRI) ownership. Structural equation modelling was used to test hypotheses using data from companies across various sectors on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results show that GIM enhances CFP significantly. Even though SPI and SRI ownership positively influence financial outcomes, the effect tends to diminish the direct impact of GIM on CFP. The findings highlight the complex relationship between GIM and CFP, indicating that the interaction between gender diversity and sustainability investments is more nuanced than previously assumed, shaped by market dynamics, regulatory frameworks, or firm-specific strategies in Indonesia. These results contribute to the growing discourse on ESG and gender governance in emerging economies, offering practical implications for aligning inclusivity with sustainable financial performance in Indonesia.

While board diversity has been extensively studied, the role of task-oriented board diversity (TOBD), defined as diversity in expertise, education, and functional backgrounds, remains underexplored. Using data from Chinese-listed firms between 2012 and 2019, we demonstrate that TOBD enhances firm performance by strengthening managerial ability. This positive relationship is, particularly, pronounced when firms exhibit high absorptive capacity or are subject to strong external governance mechanisms, such as media scrutiny and audit quality. Mediation analysis confirms that managerial ability is a key mechanism through which TOBD improves both financial and environmental performance. These findings shift the focus from traditional demographic diversity to TOBD as a strategic governance tool, while identifying important boundary conditions and practical pathways for enhancing firm outcomes.

In 2015, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote economic growth alongside environmental and social sustainability. This study aims to prioritize the SDG targets that can be effectively attained through adopting Industry 4.0 practices in the Indian manufacturing industry. A framework based on Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methodologies, integrated with spherical fuzzy sets, has been proposed to achieve this. The framework employs the Spherical Fuzzy Bayesian Best-Worst Method (SF-BBWM) and the Spherical Fuzzy Multi-Attributive Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis (SF-MAIRCA) first to evaluate relevant Industry 4.0 practices and then rank the associated SDG targets to guide strategic decision-making. The analysis highlights key Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets that can be attained through adopting Industry 4.0 practices. These include SDG targets such as modernizing industries with clean and resource-efficient technologies (SDG 9.4), promoting global resource efficiency and decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation (SDG 8.4), and encouraging sustainable industrial practices (SDG 12.6). The findings offer practical insights for manufacturing stakeholders, particularly in developing nations, to facilitate the transition toward sustainable industrial development. This research presents a structured, MCDM-based framework, offering valuable decision-support tools for managers and practitioners aiming to align Industry 4.0 initiatives with sustainability goals and environmental policies.

This study examines the impact of climate risk (CLR) on the financial performance (FP) of listed firms, listed banking and insurance (BKN) firms, as well as manufacturing firms in Ghana, amid crisis periods. Using a dataset of 16 listed firms in Ghana, comprising 7 BKN firms and 9 manufacturing firms, from 2010 to 2019, the study employed the robust ordinary least squares regression to address heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation and conducted robustness tests to validate its findings. The study found that amid the banking crisis, CLR positively impacts the return on equity (ROE) and earnings per share (EPS) of BKN Ghanaian listed firms. It also positively impacts the ROE of Ghanaian-listed manufacturing firms, but it has no significant impact on their EPS. In general, CLR positively impacts Ghanaian listed firms' ROE, but does not affect their EPS. Furthermore, the Paris Agreement did not have an impact on these relationships. CLR having a mixed impact on Ghanaian listed firms' FP emphasizes the need for them to strengthen the integration of CLR mitigation in their decision-making and financial risk assessments and the need for support in addressing the challenges in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. This study pioneers an investigation into the impact of CLR on the FP of Ghanaian listed firms, comparing banking/insurance and manufacturing firms, amidst the banking crisis. It also explores the PAG's implications from a Ghanaian perspective.

The objective of this study is to thoroughly investigate the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on the sustainable performance of large manufacturing companies in Ethiopia. The study investigated the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on the sustainable performance of large manufacturing companies using leader innovation behavior as a mediating role. Survey data were collected using five-point Likert scale questionnaires, and a simple random sampling technique was deployed to determine a sample size of 286 large manufacturing companies from 1000 large manufacturing companies in the selected areas. A total of 572 samples were drawn (two respondents from each manufacturing company). However, only 501 (87.58%) of the 572 distributed questionnaires were filled and used for the data analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to predict the outcome. The study used SmartPLS4 4.1.0.9 software to analyze higher-order formative constructs and reflective constructs using a cross-sectional research design. The result of this study shows that entrepreneurial leadership practices have positive and significant correlations with sustainable performance outcomes such as economic, social, and environmental aspects of large manufacturing companies. Furthermore, the mediation analysis confirms that entrepreneurial leadership practices in large manufacturing companies have indirect positive relationships and are statistically significant with sustainable performance through Leader Innovation Behavior (LIB). Furthermore, the findings of this study depicted that there is a significant contribution to the existing literature on entrepreneurial leadership and sustainable performance practices by emphasizing the benefits of integrating leader innovation behavior to improve large manufacturing company performance as unique research findings from previously conducted studies. Therefore, it will help policymakers to use the study results to develop frameworks that promote entrepreneurial leadership practices from social, economic, and environmental perspectives for large manufacturing companies in creating an innovation-based manufacturing, entrepreneurial-oriented mindset leaders, resilient economy for a sustainable future.

This study used a comparative approach to evaluate the impact of national energy performance improvement on corporate disclosure of Environmental (E), Social (S), and Governance (G) disclosures (ESG) in companies based in the United States and Europe. The research components included renewable energy, energy intensity, and energy savings. An extensive panel dataset comprising financial and performance data for 521 U.S. companies and 305 European enterprises spanning 11 distinct industries over 20 years was examined. This panel dataset contained comprehensive information on firms' energy performance, ESG indicators, and other critical variables, which were employed to investigate the correlation between enhancements in national energy performance and companies' ESG outcomes. The findings indicated that the factors influencing ESG disclosures in European and American companies differ. In Europe, energy savings significantly improved the ESG score, with an increase of approximately 12.5 units in the ESG index for every 1 billion dollars saved in energy. In contrast, in the United States, a reduction in energy intensity and an increase in the share of renewable energy resulted in improvements of 115 and 22.3 units, respectively, in the ESG index. These findings suggested that while both regions strongly emphasize energy and environmental policies, their approaches to achieving sustainability goals vary. Furthermore, each environmental, social, and governance improvement measure impacts various economic sectors differently. Therefore, companies must adopt strategies tailored to their industry to enhance their ESG performance. This study's findings had significant implications for policymakers, politicians, companies, and government agencies formulating a roadmap to promote the transition to renewable energy sources. The main innovation of this research lies in the comprehensive comparison of the ESG performance of European and American companies. This comparison enables the identification of best practices and successful models across two continents.